The Today Show

[enuffznuff]

on the Today show today, they were discussing debt settlement companies (the consensus: Bad Idea)

but what I found interesting, was their money expert, jean chatsky, said "Bankruptcy, we all know what that is, but it's not the easy fix it used to be. you WILL HAVE to pay some of the money back"


True, of course, for a 13 only...How interesting.

[MSbklawyer]

I am convinced -- I can't prove it, but I am convinced, that credit card companies pay good money to have this kind of misinformation put out there. For a number of years after the 2005 reform act, so many people thought that bankruptcy relief had gone away completely. They were shocked when I told them that bankruptcy was still an option.

[drowning123]

Free advertisement for the debt consolidation companies.

[enuffznuff]

I just couldn't believe it when she said that, and the emphasis was hers. you WILL HAVE to pay some of the money back.

wow.

[angles]

more misconceptions and lies being spread to the public. she obviously knows finances and with that BK, so i would have to agree that there is some CC company backing her out there.

[tobee43]

I am convinced -- I can't prove it, but I am convinced, that credit card companies pay good money to have this kind of misinformation put out there. For a number of years after the 2005 reform act, so many people thought that bankruptcy relief had gone away completely. They were shocked when I told them that bankruptcy was still an option.

come now.....it's the BANKS and their lobbyist...controlling the world...changing the bk laws...spreading the word that's it's harder to file a bk than it is to see a pig fly! wooing the lawyers of this country with a promise of endless monthly payouts from throwing people into 13's...i got their numbers!!

[ironpirate]

If more people understood the process and ease of Bankruptcy there would be even more people filing. This forum is an information gold mine.

[Logan]

If more people understood the process and ease of Bankruptcy there would be even more people filing. This forum is an information gold mine.

I agree. Although I had no idea how easy it was and when my divorce attorney told I should go BK I said NOWAY. In the end it was better that I filed 3 years later due to timing of things out of my control but BK was the best financial decision of my life!

[tobee43]

I agree. Although I had no idea how easy it was and when my divorce attorney told I should go BK I said NOWAY. In the end it was better that I filed 3 years later due to timing of things out of my control but BK was the best financial decision of my life!

and that's the point, the banks are such heavy handed lobbyist in washington that they had the power to change the laws big time.

now, while i'm NOT saying there were none that were ripping off the banks...it usually and historically has been the opposite as most of us are aware of at this point. the banks have now been exposed.

by putting the "fear" out there.... like jean chatsky did, and to mislead and misinform many americas; it acts as a deteriorate for the everyday jane and joe to be scared out of their pants to file... and thus so many they continue to pay the banks before putting food on their tables (1 in 6 americans are now going hungry). a state sorry state of affairs indeed!!

[kartoons19]

I noticed this morning on Yahoo.com that BK Protection is in the top 5 searches. So hopefully people that are in dire straights will find this forum. I know I wish I never had to file, but this has been a great place to get all of the facts about bk. Hopefully others will also come here and find out that it is not as scary or painful as the "experts" want us to think it is.

[tobee43]

I noticed this morning on Yahoo.com that BK Protection is in the top 5 searches. So hopefully people that are in dire straights will find to this forum. I know I wish I never had to file, but this has been a great place to get all of the facts about bk. Hopefully others will also come here and find out that it is not as scary or painful as the "experts" want us to think it is.

one would hope...it is the single best site to get information and support for most everyone.

i think this site will most likely have lasting effects on most of us...simply just to have a place to be comfortable with about asking questions and getting facts and responses from people going through the same situation.

the BEST is how coming here, certainly lets you know...you are not alone!!

[kartoons19]

the BEST is how coming here, certainly lets you know...you are not alone!!

Amen to that! Especially for those of us who have told very few people.

[tobee43]

Amen to that! Especially for those of us who have told very few people.

that's the truth...even our son doesn't know...he's be mordified...

[enuffznuff]

I saw another one, this was some other news show, on fox news channel, I didn't know the anchors, but anyway, they were talking about how debt collectors are using facebook and twitter to find people, and to keep your info private and not friend people you don't know (ok, fine) but then the correspondent they were talking to goes on to say "if a creditor gets a judgement against you and you don't pay, you will go to jail".

Really? wow, there's a lot of folks here who should've been in jail then. ( I realize there are a few stories of people being jailed for contempt, but usually that has to do with not showing up for something you are ordered to show up for, etc). But she said it flat like that, as if it were fact, that you should pay your debts, because if a company gets a judgement and you don't pay it, you go to jail.

[ccsjoe]

I think the biggest piece of the puzzle in all of this is education. People do not know, in general, how easy (relatively) it is to file bankruptcy, how it is not the end of the world. Most people still have misconceptions about bankruptcy=desitution. Excuse me, but we have two full time jobs, earn well over median and filed CH7, far from destitue. And yes, the press, driven by ignorance and lobbyists, help spread the misconceptions...woman goes to jail for unpaid debt...no, woman goes to jail for contempt...idiots! Unfortunately, most people will not read beyond the headline. Two months ago, when I first thought of BK seriously, I almost soiled myself....I thought, I am not a loser, we are not desperate or destitute, I am not an irresponsible shmuck looking for a free ride. Well guess what. a few weeks of educating ourselves on this subject and we fit right in...and we're still none of the names I called ourselves. Education is key. Information is power. Manipulation of information and control of distribution channels is...well, y'all figure that one out.