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Credit card laws

Should I max out my credit cards before I file for bankruptcy?

Q:  Since all of my debts will be discharged after I file for bankruptcy, should I go ahead and max out my credit cards before I file for bankruptcy in New York? A:  NO.  DO NOT RUN UP BIG CREDIT CARD BILLS BEFORE YOU FILE FOR BANKRUPTCY IN NEW YORK. If the bankruptcy judge believes …

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Can I rebuild my credit after bankruptcy in New York?

Yes, you can rebuild your credit within a few years if you’re careful about your finances and pay your bills on time after you’re done with your bankruptcy case. A lot of people worry about their credit history when they consider filing for bankruptcy in New York.  It’s a legitimate concern and a healthy impulse …

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U.S. Supreme Court Holds New York Credit-Card Surcharges Are Free Speech

New Yorkers traveling out of state may have experienced retailers offering higher prices for transactions paid by credit cards rather than cash or checks. New York bans the practice, so it’s much more common to see merchants declining credit-card transactions for purchases under $10. However, credit-card surcharges may be coming to New York thanks in …

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CFPB Issues New Rules Regulating Prepaid Cards

At the beginning of the year, I wrote about the merits of stored-value cards, and the role they can play in a New York bankruptcy. Stored-value cards are increasingly referred to as “prepaid cards” or “prepaid accounts.” They’re back in the news this month because the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) just issued new regulations …

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The Evidence Is In: The CARD Act Helped Consumers

In 2009, Congress passed the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD Act). Its goal was to prevent banks from taking advantage of credit-card users with excessive fees (mainly over-limit fees and late fees) and other tactics. A few of its notable provisions include setting minimum payment deadlines to 21 days after bills are …

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New York Regulators to Crack Down on Abusive Debt Collectors

You would think state regulators would be monitoring debt collectors already, but it turns out there were gaps in the law that allowed some debt collectors to go about their business unsupervised. The result, as you can imagine, was many people—including some who had completed New York bankruptcy—suffering abuse. The state’s Department of Financial Services …

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New York Bankruptcy Is Better Than Paying a Fraudulent Debt Collector

The New York Times Magazine ran an interesting article on the “dark, labyrinthine, and extremely lucrative world” of consumer debt collection. Its principal characters were an ex-Wall Street banker and an ex-con. Frankly, it read like the cast of characters from a comedy movie like Repo Man. One of the topics the article raised was …

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How to Challenge Charges on Your Credit Card Bill

Finding a questionable or incorrect charge on a credit card statement probably happens to most New Yorkers at least once. Most people’s natural inclination is to call the creditor and try to work it out over the phone. If that doesn’t work, the law is on your side, but it’s a slow process involving the …

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