July 2001

Meet The Gang!

No, that doesn’t mean the guys that hang out on the corner! It’s the Credit Bureau gang.

Over the years we have discovered that our long-term clients are ones that we have established good relationships with.  Ones that will call us with problems or concerns and allow us to “fix” it.  Or call us to express their glee from receiving a big check.  It’s all about communication and staying in tune with each other’s issues and making everyone’s day a little easier.

So, in this ever-changing automated and electronic world, I thought it would be important to know that at the Credit Bureau, we consider our people to be our greatest asset.  We think after you get to know them, you may agree.  Therefore, in upcoming newsletters we will be running articles about our staff so you too will know why we are fortunate to have them here at the Credit Bureau.

We take every advantage of the latest technologies to help us collect more for you.  However, we try to remember, the “new age” is great, but a voice on the other end of the line is better than e-mail any day!

Tina S. Walther
Client Consultant

New “Early Treatment Program” Now Available

ETP is a program designed to allow clients the advantage of agency involvement, without the higher contingency fee, when the debtor needs just a little motivation.  It benefits clients that wish to employ a soft collection product which supplements their office by handling all calls, concerns and monies during the first 30 days.  ETP provides a greater recovery advantage then our pre-collect programs by utilizing more letters and collector involvement.

Multiple letters will be forwarded to your debtor for a one time listing fee of $5.00 in addition to a 10% contingency fee on all monies collected.  All disputes will be forwarded back to our clients for a speedy response to take advantage of the ETP fee structure.  Unpaid balances will automatically roll into regular contingency collections after 30 days.  Pre-mature cancellation of accounts will result in our nominal discovery rates.

If this sounds like a program that could benefit your office, please give us a call at 734-665-6173 or 800-710-4821.

Debbie Hundersmarck

Client Consultant

Highlights of the Bankruptcy Reform Bill

-      Spells out what is a reasonable amount to pay for food, clothing, transportation and housing, and requires the debtor to live within those guidelines unless there is a good reason not to;

-      Makes it harder to shield assets by moving to Texas for Florida (or another state with a high homestead exemption) and buying an expensive house;

-      Forces the debtor to pay the full cost of an auto loan or lose the vehicle to repossession, even if the vehicle isn’t worth the outstanding balance on the loan;

-      Requires debtors to complete courses in personal financial management before their debts are discharged in bankruptcy;

-      Raises the priority of child-support and alimony payments;

-      Places a $1 million cap on the amount in Roth and regular Individual Retirement Accounts that can be shielded from creditors;

-      Protects money that has been put in education IRAs;

-      Requires debtors to pay all charges made to credit cards in the three months before filing for bankruptcy;

-      Makes it easier for landlords to evict bankrupt tenants who are behind on their rent;

-      Lets creditors ask the court to dissolve the bankruptcy plan if a debtor is late in filing paperwork, such as copies of paycheck stubs and tax returns;

-      Requires bank regulators to study whether credit card companies are offering credit indiscriminately, without regard to whether consumers can repay their debt, and whether the resulting debt is contributing to bankruptcies;

-      Requires credit card issuers to disclose how long it will take to pay off a balance if you pay just the minimum every month, and prohibits the issuer from closing your account just because you pay off the balance every month and don’t pay interest.

-      Instructs the Federal Reserve to find out whether people are going bankrupt because of credit card debt amassed in college.

Bankrate.com, March 2001

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Ann Arbor Credit Bureau, Inc.
311 N. Main   Ann Arbor, Michigan   48104
800.710.4821     734.665.6173
info@a2cb.com