Posted on 04/04/2008 5:47:11 AM PDT by BGHater
American Bankruptcy Institute says first-quarter filings rose as households creak under heavy debt load.
The number of individuals filing for bankruptcy surged during the first-quarter as American households struggled to stay on top of debt, according to a report released Wednesday.
The American Bankruptcy Institute said that consumer bankruptcy filings increased 27% nationwide in the first three months of the year, compared with the same period last year. In March alone, 86,165 individuals filed for consumer bankruptcy - a 13% increase over the 76,120 cases filed in February.
"Bankruptcies are rising due to the heavy burden of household debt and growing mortgage problems," said ABI Executive Director Samuel J. Gerdano. "We expect this trend to continue through 2008."
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Can’t wait for the people here to say that there aren’t any problems with the economy.
Got that law changed just in time, didn’t they? ;)
Gosh. I wonder just whose fault it is that people spend way too much and use credit cards for everything? Must be those evil bankers sending goon squads to force people to buy 52” TVs that they can’t afford.
I agree with stiff bankruptcy laws. I’ve seen people spend like there’s no tomorrow and then just walk off leaving their debts for the rest of us to pick up when the judges forgive them everything. It used to be that declaring bankruptcy meant you had to sell just about everything to pay off as much as you could. It’s good to tighten things back up to the way they used to be.
If you can’t afford stuff, don’t buy it. It’s really really simple.
I hope people are nicer to you when you need help.
Ive seen people spend like theres no tomorrow and then just walk off leaving their debts for the rest of us to pick up when the judges forgive them everything.
Do you really think everybody is the same? A common reason for filing bankruptcy is unexpected medical bills or a loss of a job.
It used to be that declaring bankruptcy meant you had to sell just about everything to pay off as much as you could. Its good to tighten things back up to the way they used to be.
In most states it is still that way. Perhaps debtors prisons would be in order.
Do you mean W’s gift to the credit card companies? But they were suffering so. /s
And haven’t you noticed rates going down since then? /s
I’m not going to say there are no problems with the economy, but this isn’t one of them.
Bankruptcies have increased but are far below what they were. See this chart from the same Institute. It shows through 2nd quarter 2007 bankruptcies. Even with the increases this year, bankruptcies are far lower than historically.
http://www.abiworld.org/statcharts/PersonalBankruptcyQuarter.pdf
Beware of percentages taken out of context.
literally,
under the OLD code you could lien strip the unsecured value of a homstead collateral and renegotiate the mortage for the ACTUAL value of the house.
NOW you can’t short sale to the debtor, you have to surrender or pay off the inflated value of the collateral.
BTW for those who don’t know, the credit counseling class is a 30 minute PHONE CALL.
Ping
You both are correct.
yes but the debt consoldators are creating a future spike. They are funded by the credit card agencies as a covert/defacto collection agency.
In the end those people go into bankrupcy anyways and debt consolodation is treated the same as a bankrupcy anyways.
In the end the constitution provides of bankrupcy as a second chance and people get screwed by ignorance.
Sorry, but (even when you *don’t* overspend) when filling a car up is $30 more than a year ago (2x per week = $240 more per month) and increases in grocery bills of 20-30% plus random bend-you-over-and-take-it increases in gas, electric and water bills, this “growing, no recession economy” has effectively taken an average of $500-$700/month right out of the pockets/budget of “average people.”
The spin we keep hearing is nauseating - average folks who live average lifestyles are getting creamed. Has nothing to do with overspending or taking out Magical Mortgages.
Wow, you fill up your car twice a week? You sure do a lot of driving.
How many miles do you put on your car a year?
Possibly so, but at least they promote working out of debt by consumers, instead of just stiffing the vendors.
When my son was fatally injured in an automobile accident, the at-fault party did not have any insurance coverage because they did not pay the premium. When we filed a Wrongful Death lawsuit six months later they declared Chapter 11, effectively ending any chance we had of collecting any settlement.
Their finances were laid bare for all the world to see when they filed bankruptcy. Their income was slightly higher than ours. They had the same bills we had, they just stopped paying them. One month after the accident they purchased a new Ford pickup worth over $35K.
In the height of insults, in the bankruptcy papers they filed they listed their liabilities in the pending lawsuit as one dollar. My son's life was worth one dollar to them.
There is no stigma attached to bankruptcy anymore. Its the new “Get Out Of Jail Free” card. Debtors prisons ARE in order.
actually debt consolodators are often funded BY the credit card companies to get the last pennies before the bankrupcy.
Most of those poor slubs should have filed bankrupcy and the debt consolodators make matters worse.
You have to keep in mind debt consolodators are just another COLLECTION AGENCY.
You know that and I know that, up close & personal.
Only deadbeats & leeches are sympathetic to this nonsense; which, explains why its source is CNN.
"Debtors prisons ARE in order."
Don't know about that, my friend; but, I do know this.
It's always a waste of precious time trying to reason with idiots.
No where is that any truer than with *that* one.
...wears its stupidity as if it were a crown. ;^)
Bankruptcy is not a solution to the mortgage problem.
Chapter 11 is corporate reorganization.
was it a corporation?
did your attorney file a proof of claim?
did your attorney examine to see if there was a “non-exemption” provision in your state for not having the required insurance?
if you thought they were perpetrating a fraud you could have objected to their discharge by challenging their documents.
as for the $1, that is not anything other than “an amount” for a disputed claim. I would content if you rexamine the unsecured creditors schedule you will see the claim listed as disputed.
were there criminal actions filed? criminal restitution is NOT dischargable in bankrupcy. (nor is fraud or child suport or marital support)
That is too cynical. Consolidators quite often cut drastically current interest rates payed by the consumer not to mention the ability that one payment monthly gives the consumer to focus on old debt...
Unfortunately, many consumers merely pile more debt on top of the consolidated debt. Used properly, a debt consolidator can be a godsend. Used improperly, they are just an instrument to fall farther into debt.
It ultimately falls to the consumer to be responsible.
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