But under the newly enacted Credit CARD Act, FreeCreditReport.com and other sites like it will soon be required to include a disclaimer in their ads that “this is not the free credit report provided for by Federal law.” Although most of the CARD Act provisions went into effect last week, Congress chose to delay enforcement of this provision until September, apparently because of the costs and time of producing television ads.

And by the way, if you’re looking for a credit report that is actually free, the only way to get it is through www.AnnualCreditReport.com.

Huffington Post | FreeCreditReport.com Commercials To Be Curbed, But Not Till September | March 1, 2010

• Consider a motion to vacate the judgment. If the judgment was obtained by default, you may be able to bring a motion and eliminate the judgment. This will give you a chance to defend yourself. Think of it as a do-over. But you’re only able to get a judgment vacated in very limited circumstances. A consumer lawyer can help you decide if a motion to vacate is right for your case.

• Negotiate a settlement or payment plan. If a motion to vacate the judgment is not appropriate in your situation, your options are pretty limited because the time to dispute the debt has passed. In many cases, your best choice may be to engage the creditor and arrange for payment. That may be the only way to avoid the stress and inconvenience of garnishments. Good deals are hard to come by after judgment because you’ve lost most of your leverage. But if you can demonstrate a significant financial hardship, or have a lump sum of cash available, you may be able to get the creditor to knock a decent chunk of the balance off.

• Remember that the FDCPA applies even after the judgment is entered. So keep a record of all the conversations you have with the debt collector and save all letters and voice mails from them. And if you think that a debt collector has violated the FDCPA, consider talking to a consumer lawyer about the situation.

• If all else fails, bankruptcy may be your best option. If the judgment is for a significant amount of money, or if you have multiple judgments, your best choice may be bankruptcy. Consider talking to an experienced bankruptcy lawyer to figure out whether bankruptcy is right for you.

If you live in Minnesota and need help with a debt collection judgment, feel free to contact me to discuss your case further.

(photo: Xurble)

The long awaited Credit CARD Act goes into effect today. As summarized by the Consumer Law & Policy Blog, the Act has these main benefits:

• The interest rate on one credit card account can’t be raise because you were late or missed a payment on another card account.
• Most promotional rates have to last at least 6 months.
• Your billing statement has to tell you about the penalties and other consequences for late payments.
• There are much stronger restrictions about how credit cards can be marketed to people under 21.
• Generally, credit card companies can’t charge fees for going over the card’s credit limit.

New Credit Card Law Effective Tomorrow (Monday, February 22) | CL&P Blog | February 21, 2010