Delinquency Notices

Massachusetts Bankruptcy Lawyers Anthony Bucacci and Robert Simonian (508)673-9500


What Can You Do if You Have Delinquent Debt?

From a lender’s perspective, you’re technically late on your debt if you fail to make a payment before midnight on the day it’s due. But in the world of credit reports and credit scores, there are differing degrees of delinquency, each with its own meaning and consequences.

What sets these different levels of delinquency apart is time—and more specifically, the number of days that elapse after the due date and before payment is made (if it is made at all). Here’s a breakdown on how it works.

Debt Delinquency Timeframe

The length of time a debt is past due will have different effects on your credit and finances.

1 – 30 Days Past Due

If you make a late payment within 30 days of its due date, the consequences will depend on your lender’s policies and discretion. Some lenders treat payments as “on time” if they’re received within 10 days of the due date. Other lenders impose a late fee as soon as a payment deadline is missed, the amount of which can vary depending on the type of loan or credit account and the size of the payment. (If you contact your lender, they may consider removing the late fee.)

Late payments are not reported to the credit bureaus until you have missed a full billing cycle, which is typically 30 days. Once a payment is 30 days late, most lenders will report it as delinquent to the national credit bureaus (Experian, TransUnion and Equifax), which causes a delinquency to appear on your credit reports. That, in turn, can have a significant negative impact on your credit scores. Lenders don’t report all accounts to the credit bureaus at the same time each month, so there may be a lag between when your account goes 30 days past due and when that delinquency appears on your credit report.

If you know you won’t be able to make a payment on time, reach out to your lender before the due date. Doing so may give you a chance to avoid hurting your credit. Your lender will still want to collect the payment, but may be able to help you. Lenders generally would rather work with you to try to prevent the loss of funds than take more drastic action to recover losses after the fact. That’s why it’s important to contact your lender before you miss a payment due date, or as soon afterward as possible, to ask for assistance.

30 – 60 Days Past Due

If you miss a second monthly payment due date, your lender will likely charge additional late fees or penalties, and you won’t have much chance of getting them waived. The account will be marked 60 days past due on your credit reports, which may cause still a further decline in your credit scores.

60 – 90 Days Past Due

After you’ve surpassed 60 days past due, the lender is likely to step up efforts to collect the missed payments. You can expect some combination of letters, phone calls and online alerts or emails urging you to bring your account current.

You may also eventually see a 90 days past-due notice appear on your credit report, yet another negative entry that can further damage your credit scores.

90 – 120 Days Past Due

After your account hits the 90 days past-due mark, your lender will likely send you a certified letter demanding that you bring your payments current. Depending on the type of loan in question, they might also notify you of their intention to recover their losses:

In the case of a mortgage loan, that could mean a notice declaring they’ll initiate foreclosure in 30 days.

With an auto loan, that could mean repossessing the vehicle. (Some lenders pursue repossession sooner, when payments are 60 or even 30 days past due. Depending on state and local laws, they may not give advance warning before doing so.)

In the case of a credit card account or personal loan, that could mean closing your account permanently, declaring it an uncollectable charge-off, and selling the debt to a collection agency.
These notices often mark your last opportunity to work with the lender. At this stage, you may still be able to set up a payment plan to bring your account current.

Charge-offs, repossessions and foreclosures all appear as negative entries on your credit reports, and typically remain for seven years from the first missed payment that triggered them.

120 – 180 Days Past Due

After 120 days, in addition to any other steps made to recover their losses, the lender may turn your outstanding debt over to a collection agency. Once that happens, you can no longer work with your original creditor to make good on the debt. You must work with the collection agency, and nothing more can be done to bring the original account back into good standing.

If your account is placed “in collections,” the original account will be noted as closed on your credit report and the new account (created by the collection agency) may be added to your report, indicating the amount you owe the collection agency and whether the debt is paid or unpaid.

If your account is placed in collections, you can expect the collection agency to begin attempting to collect the debt about 180 days after the initial missed payment. Collection agencies are notorious for their persistence, but generally they must stop calling you if you ask them to do so in writing. If you pay the amount you owe the agency in full, the collection account on your credit report will be marked “paid.” If you negotiate a partial payment with the collection agency, your account will be marked “settled.” Keep in mind that a status of settled is also considered negative.

Paying or settling a collection account could benefit your credit scores depending on the scoring model used: Some, but not all, exclude paid collections from score calculations. However, your scores likely will have been damaged pretty severely by the cumulative impacts of late payments, charge-offs and collections (plus foreclosure or repossession, if applicable). A lender reviewing your credit report might view a paid collection more favorably than an unpaid one when considering your loan application, though many lenders will consider recent collection accounts of any status as a red flag when determining your creditworthiness.

Paid, unpaid or settled, collection accounts remain on your credit report for seven years from the date of the first delinquency that led to the charge-off.

Source : experian.com


Rebuilding Your Credit After Bankruptcy

REBUILDING YOUR CREDIT AFTER BANKRUPTCY

Rebuilding Your Credit After BankruptcyThe most frequently asked question from our clients is “rebuilding my credit after bankruptcy?”

Chances are, that if you have made the decision to file a bankruptcy, you are at a point where some or all of your debts are behind, you receive collection notices or even law suits. At that point you probably have been making ends meet somehow without using your cards.

When you can’t obtain new credit with high debts you have to do something.  This will prevent a creditor from granting you a new card or a loan unless you take action.  Rebuilding your credit after bankruptcy becomes necessary in order to move forward in life.

You have now made the decision to obtain debt relief by hiring an attorney to file a bankruptcy.  After you can begin rebuilding your credit with a bankruptcy discharge in hand.

Your attorney takes you through the process of filing bankruptcy and then, afterwards, the weight of those collection letters, collection call and law suits is gone.

After bankruptcy, there are many avenues to obtain new credit. First and foremost, when a bankruptcy is filed the person that filed can decide to keep a car with automobile loan or a house and a mortgage.  Secondly, reaffirmation of those debts allows a bankruptcy filer to get on track immediately. Thirdly, the banks will record your mortgage payments to the credit bureaus. Once the attorney discusses reaffirmation of debts advice can be given accordingly.  Attorneys will explain the process.

What if you do not have a car loan or mortgage to reestablish yourself?

Without any debt many credit card companies are willing to grant you a fresh start. Credit card companies offer decent credit limits.  Favorable credit reporting usually increases credit limits and credit offers.  Offers of new credit from credit card companies listed in the bankruptcy often surprise clients and then clients receive new credit.

Open a secured credit card.  As a result, this will help to improve your credit. Deposit money in a bank account that issues you a secured card based upon the amount of your deposit. Lenders report timely payments and payment history to the credit bureaus.

In a short amount of time credit scores will improve.  Lenders and credit card companies will extend credit.

It is not unusual for clients to obtain automobile loan months after bankruptcy.  A mortgage is the most difficult type of credit to obtain after bankruptcy.  Usually one to two years after a bankruptcy you can obtain a mortgage.

These are some techniques to obtain the fresh start you deserve and there are many resources available.

BANKRUPTCY – UNDECIDED OR UNSURE WHAT TO DO?

Talk To Us About Your Options:

We always tell potential clients to talk to us first to see if bankruptcy is in their best interest. The consultation is always free. Talk with Attorney Robert Simonian or Attorney Anthony Bucacci in private and in total confidentiality to see if filing bankruptcy in Massachusetts is right for you.

We can almost always come up with a solution to your financial problem and help you in rebuilding credit after bankruptcy. We have filed over 10,000 cases in the past 26 years and there are very few scenarios that we have not seen. We are known for our hard work, diligence, creativity and problem solving abilities. Often we are the bankruptcy attorneys other attorneys come to with difficult cases. Call today to see what we can do for you and what options are available. Often people believe they are the only ones with financial problems and are embarrassed of their situation. This is simply not true and many famous people have had to file for bankruptcy to get a fresh start.

Why Call Bucacci & Simonian:

We are known as one of the best bankruptcy attorneys in Southeastern Massachusetts serving the Bristol County and Plymouth County areas. Please inquire with anyone as to our reputation. Reputation is everything and we are very proud of ours. We have received numerous awards from various agencies and courts including the Bankruptcy Court in Boston, Massachusetts.

Using our knowledge and skill we have had several clients complete their five year Chapter 13 bankruptcy plans where they own their home FREE & CLEAR OF MORTGAGES. We understand how important it is to save clients’ homes from foreclosure, keep their cars from being repossessed and stop creditors from suing them and attaching their wages or attempting to seize their assets. This can be stopped almost instantly and we make every effort to be very available to your clients and can accommodate emergency situations. One of our most famous cases involved saving a clients’s multi-family home. https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1863802/in-re-brizida/

What to Avoid:

Do not attempt to file for bankruptcy on your own. You can make your situation much, much worse. If the bankruptcy petition is not correct you could lose your home, your car or possessions or you could be asked to file a different kind of bankruptcy where you have to make monthly payments when it could have been avoided. If you are not properly represented a bankruptcy trustee may foreclose on your house, allow your car to be repossessed, seize a tax refund or other assets. You could file under the wrong chapter, apply the wrong exemptions, fail to file all of the necessary forms or not understand the significance of important forms.

Protect Yourself:

Call us today for a free and complete bankruptcy consultation. We can protect you from your creditors and protect your home, cars, jewelry and other assets. Creditors and collection lawyers have a job to do and it may seem that they are heartless and will take anything they can from you. They are represented and you should be too. Call us today. The Federal Bankruptcy Court indicated that seeking the advice of a qualified attorney is strongly recommended. https://www.uscourts.gov/services-forms/bankruptcy/filing-without-attorney

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