 With the struggling economy, many people are finding themselves deep in credit card debt. Therefore, consumers are forced to turn to debt consolidation in order to get control of their finances. However, before a person decides to consolidate their credit card debt, they need to be aware of the credit... |
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Living with debt is by no means easy. There’s the constant concern of living paycheck to paycheck and the never ending issue of covering monthly bills and living expenses. While most of us pride ourselves on being self-sufficient, it’s hard to ignore that we all sometimes live well beyond our means.... |
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| North Dakota |
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North Dakota residents are in need of debt consolidation services and consumer credit counseling plans as much as the rest of the country. Although the necessity for these programs is obvious, debt management is still largely missing from our financial education. The purpose of PayingPaul.Com is to help instruct people in debt about what options are at their disposal, how to figure out which one is right for their situation, and finally, how to find the best company to work with. There are two types of debt relief being offered today. The most widespread is credit counseling, which is usually handled by non profit agencies. The primary focus of these organizations is to help consumers learn how to manage their finances. If this alone will not alleviate your financial burden, then they do offer debt management plans which can help. This debt consolidation program involves getting creditors to lower interest, waive late fees and over the limit charges. These plans can help you be debt free in between four and five years. Although non-profits offer these programs, there are fees associated with debt management plans, and some consumers will have difficulty affording one. The second form of consolidation is debt settlement and negotiation. Unlike credit counseling, which targets interest rate reductions, debt settlement seeks a reduction in the actual amount you owe. These services usually last between 12 and 36 months and the savings are usually much larger than what you would obtain in credit counseling. That said, there are a number of cons of debt settlement, such as the fact that creditor calls may continue during the course of the negotiations. The reason why creditors will most likely continue to call during the course of your program is because in order to obtain settlements one must be past due on their payments. This of course will also impact your credit and in some cases, result in legal action being taken by your creditors to collect the full balance. Do you want to speak with a consultant? Submit a form today! North Dakota Debt Management Laws North Dakota has laws that regulate the debt management industry that are in place to protect consumers from high-priced, low quality services. Under North Dakota law, a “debt adjusting”, which is an old-fashioned term for a debt consolidation, is illegal. Definition Under North Dakota law, “debt adjusting” is defined as “the making of a contract, express or implied, with a debtor, whereby the debtor agrees to pay a certain amount of money or other thing of value periodically to the person engaged in the debt adjusting business who shall, for a consideration, distribute the same among certain creditors in accordance with a plan agreed upon. The term includes debt adjustment, budget counseling, debt management, or debt pooling services or the holding oneself, by words of similar import, as providing services to debtors in the management of their debts and contracting with a debtor for a fee to: a) effect the adjustment, compromise, or discharge of any account, note, or other indebtedness, of the debtor, or: b) receive from the debtor and disburse to the debtor’s creditors any money or thing of value” Exemptions The law does exempt non-profit organizations and attorneys who engage in debt management incidentally to the practice of law in North Dakota. Fees However, the law does set fee limits that debt counselors can charge, which are as follows: -$50 as an origination or set up fee -15% of the amount that is paid each month as a monthly maintenance fee For more information about “debt adjusting,” follow this link: http://www.legis.nd.gov/cencode/t13c06.pdf Warning PDF For more information about consumer credit counseling services, follow this link: Warning PDF Other Resources Filing Bankruptcy in North Dakota Bankruptcy Laws in North Dakota Debt Collection in North Dakota |
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