pre-filing counseling and privacy

[HHM]

Excuse me - but my financial info. should not be any of the counseling agency's business in determining if I can pay my debts without filing. The means test is the ultimate determination.

LOL, write your congressman.

What you have to realize, the purpose of the pre-BK course is to steer people away from filing BK and see if they qualify for a DMP.

[IOIOIO]

I'm now just about counseled. After that first place that came off as exploiters of the vulnerable at every step, I found consumerbankruptcycounseling.info, which has a much more consumer advocating rap on their web site. I then researched the Tides Center, which they say they're a project of, and was confident that this place isn't out to exploit me. I completed their session with no fees, no requests for confidential personal information, no hassle. They say they get back to you in 3-5 days at most with their analyst's feedback and a link to the certificate, and you're done. If they follow through, it shows what a bunch of predators the other place was, but happily (and sadly) they have so many tells, they must only rely on ensnaring the vulnerable and are happy to lose the skeptical consumers.

[magyar123]

LOL, write your congressman.

What you have to realize, the purpose of the pre-BK course is to steer people away from filing BK and see if they qualify for a DMP.

That might be the case - but the counseling service does not hand out a "report card" or determination that so and so should not be allowed to file or repay through a DMP.

[IOIOIO]

True to their word, less than 48 hours after finishing their internet course I received the certificate. No hassle at all, no fee, all online. They say on their web site they don't think the change to bankruptcy law was fair and that they're dedicated to enabling people to get access to the bankruptcy system as easily as possible, so they're funded to make the gatekeeper function of counseling as routine as they can legally do.

[Tbornetun]

no fee??? At a minimum the credit counseling has cost our clients $50. We are in Minnesota.
We don't tell the clients which agency to use, we give them the list from the DOJ website. Most pick the first one because it is easiest. Allen Credit Counseling.
As for the SSN, the credit counseling agency that our clients use most often asks for it. They run a full credit report for our clients to make sure they aren't forgetting any debt. The SSN is also used when I call to obtain the cert (sometimes the fax or email doesn't go through).
The people who have used the agency have never been contacted again or felt any pressure for anything. In fact, the clients use the same agency again to do the Financial Management course.
It could be the state we are in, who knows.