Credit Repair Attorneys Knowledge Base
Credit Repair Attorneys? "Credit Repair Attorneys" do they exist and how can i find one. I'm sick and tired of dealing with my credit report on my own. Recently I disputed some items and because Im in Texas my Equifax report is handled through something called CSS which just made things even more confusing, and then to top it off Trans Union did remove some of the items disputed but it turns out that they wiped my credit history completely even the good things. This is a pain in the **s and Im just fed up with it. Has anyone had any luck with an attorney?
Credit repair?? Where should I go to have my credit repaired? Attorney, credit counselors, who? A lot of my credit issues are about 5-7yrs old. Thanks ahead of time! Also how much will it cost?
Please help. I am hoping someone can advice me on some good credit repair companies/attorneys.? I have just returned to the country after working overseas and gotten my credit report. It is awful. There are mistakes and perhaps a few things that are correct. All were based on emergency surgery I had with no health insurance. My story may be worse than some and better than others. Regardless, I need help getting it corrected. I know that there are many companies out there, some that are good and some that are not. I am hoping there are some individuals who can guide me towards the good ones. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Can I bring legal action to an attorney that promised to help me with credit repair, and has bounced? I paid $300 to an attorney that works with a real estate firm specializing in credit repair, by disputing and of such nature. He hasn't done anything, he is now unable to be reached? Took my money and left but still around. Can I bring legal action to him? (His company states that he's doing it on his own). I need a good attorney to help me out, what kind of attorney could help me in this case? Please help me.
Legitimate credit repair company? I'm looking for any referrals to a good credit repair company or attorney. I understand that they cannot legally do anything that I can't do and there is no guarantee that my score will improve - that I will basically just be paying for their services. Also, many of them are considered scams, etc. So, I would like to know if anyone has personally experienced help from one of these companies in credit repair.
Who should I speak with about repairing my bad credit? I have some unpaid bills that are about 5-6yrs old. Obviously my credit is bad because of this. Who should I speak with about repairing my credit? Attorney? Credit counselor? Who? How much?I've been told about the statue of limitations but I'm not sure I understand the system. Please help I really want to take care of this.
Can you really repair 'bad credit' on your own, ? How? A friend has some late payments and some old credit card bills as well as an incorrect item on her credit. How can this be repaired. She does not have the funds for an attorney and those companies that claim to "repair bad credit" are sometimes a scam. Help me to help her.
credit report repair, what does it all mean and what can I do to help ? Hi,I am working Identiy Guard and it isn't expensive and all they do is provide updates when someone accesses my report and helps me contact issues. But I have settled via attorney 99.9% of my accounts, and like it says I have a credit card open that isn't open. To whom do i turn to get help just to understand it because I want it as clean as possible to raise my FICO score and because it has a lot of errors on it that would help my score. But I just don't understand all of the terminology there ? Any help or advice, please do not yahoo search and copy site, I need some practical person experienced device. They even say I should open a new credit card account because I haven't had any for 6 years and I need to show I can have one and pay it. ???
As a mortgage loan officer, can I repair client's credit for them if I don't charge a fee? When I close the loan, will that count as compensation? Is there a license I would need or do I need a Power of Attorney? Will a Borrower Authorization Form suffice? Why is it that only lawyers do this? I just want to save them some time by sending the letters for them and create some loans for myself at the same time. If there are no licensing requirements, can I charge for this service to make a small profit and make sure I'm working with serious home buyers?
How do I remove a judgement from my credit report after a Chapter 7? I was discharged from a Chapter 7 in January 2006. Before i filled, i had a car loan that I was in collections for. The car was in an accident (friend was driving) and was taken to a body shop to be repaired. Long story short, the repairs never happened and I received a notice that the car had been "reposessed". I soon after received a summons notice in regards to the unpaid debt. I filled the chapter 7 and was told by my attorney that it would be taken care of. The lender was listed in my schedule D as a secured claim and under section 5 as "Repossessions, foreclosures and returns (because i no longer had the car to "surrender"). i just pulled my credit report and found 2 sections labeled "judgement" on my credit report. My attorney is no where to be found. (phone number is disconnected and 411 doesn't have any new numbers for him). My question is, can this judgement be removed from my credit report or am i going to be stuck with paying the $9000+ ??
Can you contest a debt thats listed on your credit? My husband has some thing on his credit from a former apartment building where he broke the lease due to the management company severly not doing their job (they didnt take care of noisy neighbors, didnt make repairs or provide much needed pest control). We've even reported the apartment complexs to the Apartment Association, but im not sure if he can contest their outragegous charges. He also has a debt from a cell phone company & an insurance company trying to charge him for service after he asked them to turn the service off (no, they're not cancellation fees either). Can he contest any of these? And if so, how do you go about doing that? Do we need to hire an attorney? Ok, if your going to answer my question, please refrain from being a total jackass in the process. I have done my research on my states laws involving tenants rights and you can break a lease and file a complaint against the complex on the grounds that management did not properly look out for your comfort & security. My husbands car was broken into & damaged while living there & he was even exposed to mold spores because management didnt properly fix his a/c. The management company did not do their job, plain and simple. My QUESTION is can we contest the debt that is now on his credit. I didnt ask for your opinion of my husband, I asked for an answer. P.S. Thank you to those who actually answered the question in a civil manner. :)
Attorney/paralegal question, if I paid my attorney 2 settle my credit accounts Y didn't he fix my cr. report I'm going around in circles but determined to get this fixed and done. I had huge huge health issues which financially messed up my credit. I was going to do bankruptcy and went to a lawyer and he said we should settle and pay him to do it. My family members helped and we decided this sounded best. All was settled and I think the attorney wrangled quite well for us, but now, 3 years later and I'm healthy enough to check things out, my credit report is a mess. Why didn't the attorney tell me to make sure things were updated and help me understand it all. Seems like if I went bankrupt it would all have been cleared in 7 years ?? Any suggestions for quick and efficient long credit report repair ? I need advice. And of course no money after being so ill for so long. dragonfir.. I can clean it up because a lot of the accounts that my attorney settled are still listed as current and late. Not so and I have the attorney letters, but thanks for the secured card info, I'm going to do it.
Credit after foreclosure question...? Long story short, my house was stolen by a dirty mortgage broker. This is a guy wanted by several gov't agencies, and currently in court with the DA's office. He literally stole my house (and several other people's) and my lawyers said my best option was to stop paying and hope the bank forecloses on him. Yes, I am still pursuing legal action for this situtation. OK, so I only stopped paying on the house, and it apparently (one year later) just sold in a foreclosure auction. I now have a foreclosure on my credit report, which I know will be there for 7 years. All of my revolving credit cards are paid on time and usually in full. I have money in the bank. So basically, everything else is in tact but *the house*. Who do I call to repair my credit? Debt consolidation company, bankruptcy attorney (even though I am NOT filing for bankruptcy)? Is time my only option? How do I repair it if my only debt is the house? Let me know if you know the answer to this because I am confused.
How can I clean my credit report up and raise my score? Hello, I have copied and pasted my current Transunion credit report below. I have not included my identifying information for obvious reasons! Are there any experts in credit repair that can take a look at this to see what I can do to remove the bad stuff, and raise my score? Thank you very much all. ***FICO CLASSIC 04 SCORE +622 : SERIOUS DELINQUENCY, AND PUBLIC RECORD OR ***COLLECTION FILED; PROPORTION OF BALANCES TO CREDIT LIMITS IS TOO HIGH ON ***BANK REVOLVING OR OTHER REVOLVING ACCOUNTS; NUMBER OF ACCOUNTS WITH ***DELINQUENCY; LENGTH OF TIME SINCE DEROGATORY PUBLIC RECORD OR COLLECTION ***IS TOO SHORT *** ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- C R E D I T S U M M A R Y * * * T O T A L F I L E H I S T O R Y PR=1 COL=3 NEG=7 HSTNEG=0 TRD=21 RVL=5 INST=14 MTG=0 OPN=2 INQ=0 HIGH CRED CRED LIM BALANCE PAST DUE MNTHLY PAY AVAILABLE REVOLVING: $2447 $2400 $706 $0 $30 71% INSTALLMENT: $62.0K $ $28.3K $0 $781 OPEN: $0 $ $ $ 0% TOTALS: $64.4K $2400 $29.0K $0 $811 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- P U B L I C R E C O R D S SOURCE DATE LIAB ECOA COURT ASSETS PAID DOCKET# TYPE PLAINTIFF/ATTORNEY Z 5087700 10/05R $0 I FE $0 2/06 560167 CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY DISCHARGED R SCOTT BELL ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- C O L L E C T I O N S SUBNAME SUBCODE ECOA OPENED CLOSED $PLACED CREDITOR MOP ACCOUNT# VERIFIED BALANCE REMARKS HP SEARS Y 7568006 C 8/05 $315 15 WEST COAST CASH OUR B900WES0421296227 8/08A CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY CRD PRT ASSO Y 4326001 I 4/06 10/05C $604 BRIGHT HOUSE NETWO OUR 1305048275 9/07A CH 7 BKRPT/ ACCT DIS GRANT MERCAN Y 4441001 I 5/05 $65 MEDICAL OUR 1TRM300051005B4 5/06M CHAPTER 7 BANKRUPTCY ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- T R A D E S SUBNAME SUBCODE OPENED HIGHCRED TERMS MAXDELQ PAYPAT 1-12 MOP ACCOUNT# VERFIED CREDLIM PASTDUE AMT-MOP PAYPAT 13-24 ECOA COLLATRL/LOANTYPE CLSD/PD BALANCE REMARKS MO 30/60/90 FST PREMIER B 41PF018 7/06 $252 111111111111 R01 486955704590 8/08A $200 $0 111111111111 I CREDIT CARD 11/07C $0 ACCT CLSD BY CONSUMER 25 0/ 0/ 0 CNS PORT SVC F 31UC001 10/06 $14.2K 60M370 111111111111 I01 40010916658 7/08A $0 111111111 I AUTOMOBILE $11.2K 21 0/ 0/ 0 FIRST DATA F 85ZN001 5/08 $1872 48M39 1X1 I01 520460280000 7/08A $0 I LEASE $1755 3 0/ 0/ 0 CITI AUTO F 890D30G 7/07 $17.0K 72M372 111111111111 I01 4009907901 7/08A $0 I AUTOMOBILE $15.3K 12 0/ 0/ 0 HSBC BANK B 7991189 10/07 $336 MIN15 111111111 R01 515599000592 7/08A $300 $0 I CREDIT CARD $219 9 0/ 0/ 0 CAP ONE B 1DTV001 4/07 $535 MIN15 111111111111 R01 517805726917 7/08A $500 $0 11 I CREDIT CARD $487 14 0/ 0/ 0
re-establishing credit after bad FICO score, is this good ? Hi, I don't owe anyone, anything, but my credit report needs to be cleaned up as I'm working on that. I settled all accounts via an attorney, not paid in full, but settled. I am thinking of getting this low APR credit card and using it to buy something like $25 a month and then pay it each month, just to show I can do it. But I know if I "open:" some things, those settled accounts might come after me, I need all the help I can, especially warnings on what not to do to open those settled accounts. I know not to have anything current put to credit agencies, what else sets red flags newly to my credit report as it was all "settled". Will this credit card open up a can of worms, I don't need it exactly, I just want to start establishing credit. And also, the work to repair it started with the attorney in 2002 and was finished probably in 2004. Isn't it after so many years (2 ?), it lessens the impact of the settled accounts on my FICO score ?
Fixing my credit and have a few question about report? I have pulled my credit directly from all three reporting agencies and I want to start fixing my credit. I have a few questions about what is being placed on my credit. 1.) An acct I paid off reads paid, closed/ collection account - Is this what it is suppose to read and is that good? 2.) I had a car reposesed in Oct of 06. The original car loan was for about $15k, I paid approx $5k on the car before getting into trouble. I know they sold the car at an auction for about $6k. so I shoudl owe about $5k, plus some legal expenses. It is reporting Original Amount of $10,500, with a $7,120 is written off (whats that mean?) and a $0 balance as of 12/2006 (under recent balance) But last payment recieved was 12/06 for $5645. So I am confused on this debt and it is one of the things I want to really fix (as it is the highest debt and I want to buy a car in the future). 3.) A credit card I had about the same time I lost my card is reported on my report as Status: Transferred, closed/ account charged off. $311 Written off. Again, what does that mean? If this account has been sold to another creditor (as it states) why are they reporting the debt as well? Further down my report the other company is reporting the same debt, so i am getting a doubly whammy for the same acct. 4.) A company shows a recent payment on an account that I have NOT paid on. This is actualy the new company from question number 3. They show I made a payment of $675 this month, but I did not. Why would they say this? 5.) Why does only one company show my Balance History? 6.) I have inquiries on my report that I do not know how to explain (like an Attorney from Paul Law Offices in UT. I live in WA state and have not contacted an attorney for any reason. The inquiry was made 06/2008. 7.) I have a judgment against me from an old roommate for a phone bill she said I owe, the courts agreed because I could not show up (I was in hospital having a baby). I have paid this back to her and she has yet to report it to the courts that I paid it. What do I do, she wont answer my emails, phone calls, or Certified Letters asking her to let them know I paid it. Plus I was an idiot and didn't keep a record of payment. 8.) I have a judgment from an apartment complex that I was evicted from and I want to pay this off. However now a days even if it is paid off you can not find an apartment to rent to you if you have an evictions (paid or not). How can I get a judgment removed from my credit? I read somewhere if you get the plaintiff to agree to it being removed they will, but is this true? 9.) Under my personal information I have tons of aliases. Mainly they are mis spellings of my last name, but it will report that mis spelling several times because they will add my middle name, or report last, first and then middle. Does this hurt my credit and how do I fix it. I have only had two last names, my maiden name and my now married name. My mothers name is listed as well as a name I am known to go by. Believe me this is not true and I would never want to be known as her. 10.) I moved a lot and does the number of addresses hurt your credit, some of the addresses are reported three or four times even though I have only lived there once. 11.) I have been told that my credit wont be repaired by paying opff certain debts. Many of these debts on my report are for under $100, to $300 and I can easily pay those off. Will it improve my score by doing this? Can I call these debt places and give my address to get statments and such so I know I am paying the correct agency? Are they required to send me a statment (I had a credit agency refuse to mail me a statment before)? Do you have any other suggestions that may help me? I am not looking to get credit or anything like that, but here in the next two years I want to be able to buy a house and what not. My low low credit scores are hurting me and I want to fix it.
I want to fix my credit and I have questions about my report? I have pulled my credit directly from all three reporting agencies and I want to start fixing my credit. I have a few questions about what is being placed on my credit. 1.) An acct I paid off reads paid, closed/ collection account - Is this what it is suppose to read and is that good? 2.) I had a car reposesed in Oct of 06. The original car loan was for about $15k, I paid approx $5k on the car before getting into trouble. I know they sold the car at an auction for about $6k. so I shoudl owe about $5k, plus some legal expenses. It is reporting Original Amount of $10,500, with a $7,120 is written off (whats that mean?) and a $0 balance as of 12/2006 (under recent balance) But last payment recieved was 12/06 for $5645. So I am confused on this debt and it is one of the things I want to really fix (as it is the highest debt and I want to buy a car in the future). 3.) A credit card I had about the same time I lost my card is reported on my report as Status: Transferred, closed/ account charged off. $311 Written off. Again, what does that mean? If this account has been sold to another creditor (as it states) why are they reporting the debt as well? Further down my report the other company is reporting the same debt, so i am getting a doubly whammy for the same acct. 4.) A company shows a recent payment on an account that I have NOT paid on. This is actualy the new company from question number 3. They show I made a payment of $675 this month, but I did not. Why would they say this? 5.) Why does only one company show my Balance History? 6.) I have inquiries on my report that I do not know how to explain (like an Attorney from Paul Law Offices in UT. I live in WA state and have not contacted an attorney for any reason. The inquiry was made 06/2008. 7.) I have a judgment against me from an old roommate for a phone bill she said I owe, the courts agreed because I could not show up (I was in hospital having a baby). I have paid this back to her and she has yet to report it to the courts that I paid it. What do I do, she wont answer my emails, phone calls, or Certified Letters asking her to let them know I paid it. Plus I was an idiot and didn't keep a record of payment. 8.) I have a judgment from an apartment complex that I was evicted from and I want to pay this off. However now a days even if it is paid off you can not find an apartment to rent to you if you have an evictions (paid or not). How can I get a judgment removed from my credit? I read somewhere if you get the plaintiff to agree to it being removed they will, but is this true? 9.) Under my personal information I have tons of aliases. Mainly they are mis spellings of my last name, but it will report that mis spelling several times because they will add my middle name, or report last, first and then middle. Does this hurt my credit and how do I fix it. I have only had two last names, my maiden name and my now married name. My mothers name is listed as well as a name I am known to go by. Believe me this is not true and I would never want to be known as her. 10.) I moved a lot and does the number of addresses hurt your credit, some of the addresses are reported three or four times even though I have only lived there once. 11.) I have been told that my credit wont be repaired by paying opff certain debts. Many of these debts on my report are for under $100, to $300 and I can easily pay those off. Will it improve my score by doing this? Can I call these debt places and give my address to get statments and such so I know I am paying the correct agency? Are they required to send me a statment (I had a credit agency refuse to mail me a statment before)? Do you have any other suggestions that may help me? I am not looking to get credit or anything like that, but here in the next two years I want to be able to buy a house and what not. My low low credit scores are hurting me and I want to fix it.
Bankruptcy Chapter 13 questions.. Can I let it get dismissed and file a chapter 7 instead? Here's the deal: I am 3 months into a 3 year Chapter 13 bankruptcy. I want to convert to Chapter 7, but it is way too much for me to afford right now. If I fall behind on my Trustee payments (of 90.00 per month), and the Ch 13 is dismissed, will it still show up on my credit? I was given bad advice by a lawyer and he told me that I should file, but after talking with people who are in finance, they tell me it was the wrong thing to do! I am wanting to 1. let my case get dismissed, 2. go to a paralegal to file Chapter 7 or even go through Credit Repair, and 3. rebuild my credit. So my questions are: What should I do as far as steps go? I am very lost and my attorney has not been returning my calls, and I am scared about all this. Can I fire this stupid attorney? Which paralegals are good in TX? THANKS!
seller agents question? pretend your selling a house for someone and im a buyer is this realistic if i ask for this as buyer, i choose escrow and the title company i want a apprasial clause so if the apprasial is below the asking price i dont have to buy it right to inspection and my approval, if theres too many repairs needed, i dont have to buy anything i want 30 business days to complete my inspection, get financing, and check comps ect... i have the right to assign the contract or nominate a trust for title seller pays for title search and insurance policy seller will pay up to 6% for closgin cost, if closing cost is 3%, it will only be 3% and not higher buyer will offer more than the asking price, and get cash back at closing, and have a third party submit an invoice my offer is contingent on approval of contractor bids for repairs and on attorneys approval buyer ask for small "repair credit" for paint, new carpet ect.. closing will be on or about an agreed date AS A SELLER AGENT FOR AN AVERAGE TRANSACTION, WOULD YOU COUNTER OFFER ANYTHING OR IS MOST OF IT FAIR? BASED ON YOUR AVERAGE SELLING TRANSACTIONS?
Where do I begin? I have defaulted on my Chapter 13, due to a job loss. I just recently found a job and want to start pay the creditor from the bankruptcy list. I know the chapter 13 has been dismiss but how to got back to the creditor and start paying them off. Should I contact the attorney that I worked with or work with a credit repair company? Two of the creditor have recently taken me to court and will start to try to garnish my pay, I would like to avoid all this and start to pay.
I filed Bankruptcy in 2005. Why are some of the creditors still asking for payment? When I checked my credit report i saw several companies i had owed money to still showing "in collections" and not charged off in bankruptcy. today i just revieved another notice saying i owed this company money when it was to be put on my bankruptcy. Should i send them a copy of my bankruptcy? I didnt do a repair or contest thing with my credit report on items that should of been on my bankruptcy is there more i should be doing? FYI i did the bankruptcy on my own and not with an attorney. oops I meant i did do a repair on my credit report.
Is there any way to get out of a car contract? I have a car that I got from a lot that sales to people with my kind of credit "disability". The first car I got needed over $6000 in repairs and the title wasn't clear for sale, a Honda Accord no less, so the dealer offered to trade in the vehicle for another Honda. I was 4 days late for a payment and they repo'ed the car and charged me $250 to get it back the next day!(plus the car note). Something smells fishy and I want out! Can anyone help me on this one and oh by the way I can't afford an attorney. Just so you know, this is the first time I was late and I had this 2nd vehicle for 5 months.
Has anyone seen this?It looks legit.I just received it today.It's not a 419 scam? NOTICE FROM FEDERAL COURT. PLEASE READ. You may be eligible to receive a benefit from a class-action settlement if you purchased and paid for a credit score or credit monitoring from ConsumerInfo.com or an Experian Entity between June 17, 1998 and December 27, 2006. A federal court has directed that this notice be sent to inform you of a proposed class-action settlement. Records show that you entered into an agreement over the Internet with ConsumerInfo.com or an Experian Entity to purchase any Credit Check or Credit Check Monitoring (which were formerly known as CreditCheck® Monitoring Service), Credit Manager (including Yahoo! Credit Manager), Triple Alert, or Triple Advantage credit-monitoring product, or you paid for a credit score sold on a website that also sold one of these credit-monitoring products, between June 17, 1998 and December 27, 2006. If so, you may be eligible to receive a benefit under the proposed settlement. The settlement will resolve a lawsuit over whether Defendants violated the federal Credit Repair Organizations Act or are liable for claims where the stated basis is about improvement of a consumer's credit record, history, or rating. Under the settlement, Defendants deny that they are liable, but have agreed not to make certain statements on particular websites and to provide all Settlement Class Members with the opportunity to obtain their choice of a settlement benefit: either (i) a credit score or (ii) 60 days of credit monitoring, as described below and on the settlement website. To see if you are a Class Member and to obtain full notice of the proposed Settlement, the required procedures, the Effective Date, the deadlines, your obligations, and your options, you must visit www.browningsettlement.com. This email is only a brief summary of the full notice that is posted on the website. If you are an eligible Settlement Class Member, you have rights, obligations, and options under the proposed settlement. You have until May 15, 2007 to make your decision. Your legal rights are affected whether you act or not. 1. Submit A Registration Form Online Or By Mail This is the only way to get a settlement benefit of either a credit score or 60 days of credit monitoring. You will choose your benefit, and you must keep all of your registration information updated. If you choose credit monitoring, and you don't cancel your credit-monitoring membership after using your code to obtain the credit monitoring benefit but prior to the expiration of the 60 day, settlement benefit period, you will be billed at the then-applicable rate, which is currently $9.95, for each month that you continue your membership. Beginning on the Effective Date of the settlement, you will be able to register online or by mail. If you register online, your registration must be completed no later than sixty (60) days after the Effective Date, and submitted online by midnight Pacific Time. If you register by mail, your registration must be mailed and postmarked on or before sixty (60) days after the Effective Date. For more information on these deadlines, the Effective Date of the settlement, the registration procedures, and the settlement benefit, you must visit www.browningsettlement.com. Do not contact the Court. 2. Exclude Yourself This is the only option that allows you to ever be part of any other lawsuit about the claims in this case. You will not be eligible for a settlement benefit. Your request for exclusion must be mailed and postmarked on or before May 15, 2007. Any request for exclusion must be mailed to the Browning Settlement Administrator. Do not contact the Court. 3. Object Write to the Browning Settlement Administrator in order to tell the Court about why you don't like the settlement. Your objection must be mailed and postmarked on or before May 15, 2007. Do not contact the Court. 4. Go to a Hearing Write to the Browning Settlement Administrator to ask to speak in Court about the fairness of the settlement. Your request to speak at the hearing must be mailed and postmarked on or before May 15, 2007. The final fairness hearing is set for July 31, 2007, at which time the Court will consider whether to finally approve the settlement and a request by the lawyers representing all Class Members for no more than $2,550,000 in attorney's fees and costs. 5. Do Nothing You will automatically be included in the Settlement Class and give up your right to be part of any other lawsuit about the claims in this case, but you will not be eligible to receive a settlement benefit unless you submit a registration form. To get complete information about the proposed settlement, the required procedures, the Effective Date, the deadlines, your obligations, and your options, you must visit www.browningsettlement.com. Do not contact the Court. Please do not reply to this message. We are unable to respond to inquiries sent in reply to this email. To contact us, please access the official settlement website at www.browningsettlement.com. You can't tell me that it's a scam without justifying your answer.It's not asking me for any personal information at all! Please keep that in mind while answering. I was already enrolled in this service and reported them to the Federal Trade Commission three times.Does that help? This line makes the whole thing seem more legit. 2. Exclude Yourself This is the only option that allows you to ever be part of any other lawsuit about the claims in this case. You will not be eligible for a settlement benefit. Your request for exclusion must be mailed and postmarked on or before May 15, 2007. Any request for exclusion must be mailed to the Browning Settlement Administrator. Do not contact the Court.
Collection agency charging 50% in fees? Thanks to the information provided by the helpful people from Yahoo answers I decided to ditch the credit repair company and do the work myself to repair my credit. First the good news, my score has increased by a whopping 200 points. Now the bad news, I have an old university debt that I am trying to dispute because I did not withdraw for medical reasons and they are trying to get me to pay it. The original debt was 879.00, and now it is on my credit as a bad debt for 1349.00. This is over 50% in a charge, fee or what have you. I called the school today and first the lady agreed with me, and said she would call the agency to see what is going on, and she calls me back and says they use an "inverse" method when calculating the fees. I am waiting on the Louisiana state attorney general office to call me back with the actual amount they can charge I was told 35%? Any suggestion in the meantime?
Advice on budgeting and feeling desperate when there is not enough money.? I know everyone has to come up with a budget in order to handle bills and pay important things.I have been through so much, too much in credit card debts that I had to stop paying them, foreclosure on my home, still owe some things that are minor like attorney fees for a traffic violation, etc. I went through all this before I seperated from my husband, and it got worst when I seperated, however, we are back together now. I have a trustworthy person who is trying to help me repair my credit, and I know that it can take a long time, but I get desperate sometimes even now because I have not had an opportunity to buy me winter clothes. I have been offered an opportunity with my bank to maybe get a platinum Visa card with a low limit just to have something and at the same time to try to rebuild my credit.I have felt so embarrassed so many times about not having good credit and owing all this money.It makes me feel useless.My husband and I are now living with my Mom, paying only have of... half of the expenses in the home, like food, electricity bill, satellite bill, house payment, etc.I just feel like I should maybe try to get that opportunity of the Band Credit Card, but like this person who is trying to help me adviced, you need to make sure that you can pay back the amount that you use on time to regain good credit. Any advice and suggestions are appreciated, no smart remarks please.
Unsecured debt lawsuit!? My attorney wants to litigate and challenge, I want to file bankruptcy. I am only 1 year away from SOL. I am looking for best option to repair credit in near future! Any advice?
What kind of lawyer do I need for help with a situation between me and my mortgage company? my mortgage company sent me a notice in Dec. of 2005 saying we were two payments ahead even though we are in a chapter 13 bankruptcy. I questioned this and they sent me a payment history showing we were ahead two payments on our post petition payments. We indeed skipped the next two payments. Then almost 2 years later we get a notice that we are behind and they are going to start foreclosure. They discovered that those "extra" payments were suppossed to go on pre-petition arearages, not post-petition payments, and moved them, making our payments past due. They stopped taking our payments and even returned two payments we had already sent. We have arranged a repayment schedule with them but now the back payments and attorneys fees are about $16,000. ! Not to mention that our credit and payment history is screwed up again! Is there anything we can do about THEIR screw up? At least something to help repair our credit?
What do you think of the following article? EXTRA HELP When Special Education Goes Too Easy on Students Parents Say Schools Game System, Let Kids Graduate Without Skills By JOHN HECHINGER and DANIEL GOLDEN August 21, 2007; Page A1 GREENPORT, N.Y. -- On June 25, 2006, Michael Bredemeyer threw his tasseled cap in the air and cheered after getting his high school diploma. Two days later, his parents mailed the diploma back. [More Data on Mainstreaming] * * * Plus, read more about the challenges of integrating special-needs students, at WSJ.com/Mainstreaming. Michael, now 19 years old, has learning disabilities and finished high school at a seventh-grade reading level, despite scoring above average on IQ tests. The Bredemeyers say he passed some classes because teachers inflated his grades and accepted poor work. By awarding him a meaningless diploma, they say, school officials avoided paying for ongoing instruction. "I felt proud because he had worked so hard," says Michael's mother, Beverly, her voice breaking. "You don't want to take that away from him. But you knew it wasn't real. What's he going to do in the future? Will he be able to go to college and get a job?" The Bredemeyers represent a new voice in special education: parents disappointed not because their children are failing, but because they're passing without learning. These families complain that schools give their children an easy academic ride through regular-education classes, undermining a new era of higher expectations for the 14% of U.S. students who are in special education. Years ago, schools assumed that students with disabilities would lag behind their non-disabled peers. They often were taught in separate buildings and left out of standardized testing. But a combination of two federal laws, adopted a quarter-century apart, have made it national policy to hold almost all children with disabilities to the same academic standards as other students. The 1975 statute now known as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act promoted putting special-education students in mainstream classrooms. The 2001 No Child Left Behind Act said schools would be punished if disabled children don't pass the same state tests as other students. It also requires states to set standards for high-school graduation rates and meet them for all students, including those with disabilities. By some measures, the extra attention is paying off. Test scores and classroom grades of disabled students are rising, and their high-school graduation rate increased to 54% in 2004 from 42% in 1996. But critics say some of the gains have come because schools have learned to game the system. For instance, federal rules allow states to make "reasonable accommodations" to help disabled students pass tests and graduate, such as allowing extra time on exams. Some schools, say critics, are giving students too much help, for instance by guiding students to the right answers on multiple-choice tests. MAKING THE GRADE • The Issue: Some parents of students with learning disabilities say their children are graduating too easily. • The Background: Federal laws raised school standards, but left loopholes. Increasingly, special-education students get special help to pass tests. • The Problem: If schools game the system, those students move on without the skills they need. From 2000 to 2005, special-education fourth graders showed more improvement in reading and math than the general population on an important benchmark test, the National Assessment of Educational Progress. But accommodations also increased. In 2005, 70% of fourth-grade special education students received some sort of accommodation while taking the math portion, up from 44% five years earlier. In reading, 63% used accommodations in 2005, up from 29% in 2000. On tests used to measure compliance with No Child Left Behind, more states are permitting students with disabilities to use calculators on arithmetic tests or have reading-comprehension tests be read aloud. Massachusetts education commissioner David Driscoll warned school administrators in February that an alarming number of special education students -- a quarter or half in some cases -- were receiving such accommodations on state exams. With unclear guidelines, "People start driving trucks through loopholes," he said in an interview. Some school districts have an informal policy against failing students with disabilities even if they miss many classes or aren't learning. "I can go into any school we represent and have somebody tell me we have to pass special education students" to avoid being blamed for not providing the right services if students fail, says Janet Horton, a Texas special-education attorney. Federal law says special-education students should receive a "free appropriate public education," but it doesn't prohibit failing them. Mardys Leeper and Carol Merrill, former teachers at West Philadelphia High School in Pennsylvania, say a special-education administrator there ordered them to pass special-education students. Ms. Leeper says she made concessions for students with disabilities, such as letting them write shorter essays or copy paragraphs she wrote onto a word processor rather than composing their own. But when those students didn't make an effort, or skipped class, both teachers say they sometimes sought to fail them -- only to have the administrator insist on passing grades. The reason they were given: Students had met the goals of their federally mandated individual education plans, IEPs, spelling out goals and services for each special-education student. "Students who weren't even participating, even trying, we couldn't fail them," says Ms. Merrill, an English teacher who retired this year. Even if they couldn't read, "I had to give them a 'D.'" The administrator couldn't be reached for comment. Brenda Taylor, head of special education for the Philadelphia school district, called the matter a "breakdown in communication." The district has no written policy against failing special-education students, she says. But rather than being "punitive" if a student performs poorly or cuts class, she says, the district prefers to revise a student's IEP. "We're not in the business of failing students," Ms. Taylor says. Only 19 states require all students to earn the same kind of diploma, according to a recent University of Minnesota survey. Some of those states let special-education students amass fewer course credits to earn the degree, the survey found. Other states give substitute certificates, in some cases called IEP diplomas, to special-education students who don't qualify for standard diplomas. Many special-education parents are happy to see their children advance through school and graduate. Reggie Felton, director of federal policy for the National School Boards Association, says special-education students learn more in regular classes even if they're given a break on assignments or grading. The federal government recently decided to triple the percentage of students allowed to take easier tests, to 3% from 1%. Some legislators have proposed exempting more students. But the rebellion against too-easy passing is growing, says Pam Wright, who with her husband has co-authored books on special education issues and operates a Virginia-based information clearinghouse for special-education parents. She estimates she now receives more than 1,000 email messages a year from parents lamenting that their children with disabilities take mainstream courses but aren't being taught as much as their classmates. Dozens of parents have contended in recent administrative appeals that their children did not deserve the diplomas they received, she says. The family of Alba Somoza, who has cerebral palsy and speaks only with the help of a computer, filed one such case. Alba drew national attention in the 1990s when her family successfully pushed to include the then-third grader in a regular classroom. Then-President Bill Clinton backed her cause, and Alba, now 23, graduated with honors from a New York City high school in 2002. Last year, Alba and her family filed an administrative case claiming her education was a sham. A school report prepared weeks before she graduated showed she had language and math skills at an elementary school level, court records show. "You cannot shunt children through -- you cannot scam them through the system," says Alba's mother, Mary. [Michael Bredemeyer] Since shortly after she graduated, New York has been paying for a special program for Alba that costs $400,000 a year -- including a full-time teacher, an aide, transportation and extensive technology. The city says it is doing so out of compassion, not legal obligation. The family is seeking to continue the public funding another year to help Alba receive enough education to work as a museum docent. The Somozas lost the administrative case, but a judge in U.S. District Court in Manhattan ruled in the family's favor earlier this year and ordered another hearing. Rather than develop a program that would help Alba reach her academic goals, teachers lowered the curriculum's "level of difficulty" and removed "large and meaningful portions of its substantive content," the judge said. One teacher testified that he did most of the work on Alba's final project in 2002. New York officials say the school properly adapted the curriculum for a severely disabled student. In northern California, Jennifer McGowan, an 18-year-old who is deaf in one ear and suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disabilities, was supposed to graduate from Vacaville Unified School District in June. She didn't get her diploma -- because her family won a court injunction to stop it. In an interview, Jennifer said she often received A or B grades for poorly completed work or, at times, when she didn't do assignments at all or show up for class. Achievement tests she took in January 2005 showed that she had the math and reading skills of an elementary-school student, according to her administrative complaint. The school district denies her grades were inflated and said she showed her proficiency by passing a high-school exit exam. John Aycock, Vacaville's superintendent, said teachers did "a great job working with Jennifer." Jennifer says she failed the exit exam several times despite intensive preparation. "They just wanted to pass me and let me fly by," she says. The school system says it's not unusual to make several attempts to pass. At the Mercer Island school district in Washington state, the family of a girl with severe learning disabilities complains that, instead of the intense instruction she needed to master reading and math in eighth and ninth grades, teachers showered her with accommodations: a peer note-taker, a peer to read materials to her, oral exams, reduced assignments and a calculator on math tests. At an administrative hearing, the family -- whose names are not disclosed in the court papers -- sought to force the school system to pay for her private schooling. Noting her strong A and B grades, the district successfully argued that accommodations were helping her learn. In U.S. District Court in Seattle, a judge hearing an appeal of the case disagreed last year, saying the system improperly relied on accommodations rather than instruction, and has returned the case to a hearing officer to determine financial relief for the family. Boxes of school correspondence and Michael Bredemeyer's old tests and assignments line the hallways of his family's weather-beaten saltbox house in Orient, N.Y., on Long Island's North Fork. Michael's parents are demanding public funding for more services until age 21, to which students are entitled unless they graduate, so he can improve his academic skills for college. John Bredemeyer, a county public-health inspector, and his wife, Beverly, had high hopes for Michael, who has a strong work ethic and a knack for repairing machines. But once he entered public middle school in nearby Greenport, his parents worried that teachers were letting him skate through classes and tests. Michael, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and learning disabilities including dyslexia, says in some classes he "definitely earned" a passing grade, but others were "borderline." He took regular classes except for one period a day. "A little more one-on-one" instruction would have helped, he says. On state achievement exams, Michael's IEP permitted him extra time, simplified instructions and guidance from a teacher to slow him down if he rushed through answers. But when he completed the eighth-grade math test, his special-education teacher also took him to the resource room and directed him to redo problems he had answered incorrectly. According to a memo from Greenport Superintendent Charles Kozora, the teacher "exceeded the intent" of Michael's accommodations, boosting his score. The state investigated and invalidated Michael's test. [Revolt] Mr. Kozora said the school system had only two cases of testing irregularities in six years, few conflicts with parents over special education and "many successes" among students with disabilities. The district says achievement, and not cost, dictates its decisions on graduating students. When Michael was a junior at Greenport High, his chemistry teacher passed him with the minimum grade of 65, even though he says he spent much of the class doodling and playing solitaire on his laptop. Checking his assignments and tests, his parents couldn't understand how he could be passing. In a letter, the school principal acknowledged that the final grade was a "miscalculation" and should have been 56.6, or an F. The school offered to let him make up his lost credits by volunteering in the town library. When his parents balked, he was instead placed in courses in sociology and psychology. On one psychology pop quiz, five of Michael's seven answers were marked wrong, but a failing grade was crossed out on the paper and a passing score of 65 was substituted. The school district declined comment. For a senior English assignment, he received an A for one untitled paragraph. "I believe competition today has changed dramatically," he wrote. "Back in the day, sports was some of the only sports that had competition. Today, everyone wants to compete and only be successful. School work, school sports, major league sports, all involve high amounts of success and competition. Competition today has become very extreme." His English teacher, Michael Connolly, said he didn't remember the assignment and had no comment on the grade. On standardized tests, Michael had mixed results: On the SATs, which have a 200 to 800 scale, Michael received 330 and then 370 in two tries on the reading test, in the bottom 10% of all students nationally. On math, he scored 460 both times. He failed two state exams and passed five others. His school grades put him in the bottom one-third of his class. A month before graduation, the Bredemeyers debated whether he should accept the degree. "I wanted to have it," Michael says. "Get it and forget it." On graduation day, a school band played "Pomp and Circumstance." Michael's parents, his sister, his grandmother, aunts and uncles watched as he walked up to the podium and a school official handed him a purple diploma case with his name etched in gold letters. Michael says he knew his parents might not let him keep it. "I had a feeling they'd do something like that," he said, shrugging. "I'll eventually get it back, one of these days, months, years." This summer, Michael has been mowing lawns and picking up trash at a state park for $9 an hour. This fall, he plans to enter his second year at Suffolk County Community College, which does not require a high-school diploma. Last semester at Suffolk, he received a D-plus in freshman composition, D's in statistics and Western Civilization and an F in the history of rock 'n' roll. Write to John Hechinger at john.hechinger@wsj.com and Daniel Golden at dan.golden@wsj.com RELATED ARTICLES AND BLOGS Related Content may require a subscription | Subscribe Now -- Get 2 Weeks FREE Related Articles from the Online Journal • The Kids Are All Right • School Choice and Racial Balance • Back to Failing Schools • Tort-a-licious: The Trials of Law School Blog Posts About This Topic • SaukValley.com - Serving Dixon, Sterling & Rock Falls saukvalley.com • August 14, 2007 edspresso.com More related content Powered by Sphere
Cancelled Mortgage and I am loosing my Deposit. Help..? The attorney's, both mine & the Sellers tell me I will loose my deposit because I incurred credit card debt and that was the reason for the denial. I bought a home to rehab and used purchases applied to my credit card to pay for repairs and appliances, paint, carpeting, etc. Since I did this it adversely affected my credit score and prevented me from buying another home. My attorney said that this is a way people use credit to avoid buying a home, and because of this I cannot expect my deposit back. My purchases were used to fix up a home and sell it for a profit like thousands of other people do every day. Even though I did not know this would affect my credit I am still held responsible. Any advice would be sincerely appreciated. Thank You.
Bankruptcy or pay debt off? In the long run which would be quicker to repair and restore my credit? I'm around $20,000 in debt give or take a little. Nearly $15,000 of that is for a car that was repossessed (which someone had co-signed on, so I have screwed their credit up as well.) First of all almost a year ago I was terminated on a retaliatory basis. I had gotten credit cards for emergencies while I was working there. The boss had me going out of town and I didn't have the money and he wasn't willing to pay or reimburse for these business trips, so I HAD to get a credit card. After being terminated I contacted the companies as I had been paying into the payment protection plan. Which of course, they refused to honor until I acquired the proof that I was no longer working there. I sent a request letter to the man I was working for and he refused to give me a letter of dismissal. So, my main questions are: -Should I file bankruptcy or pay off my debt? Which would be better on my credit? -Regardless of whether I file bankruptcy or not is there any way for me to contact the credit card companies and have them take off all of the overdraft fees, late fees, and reimburse, or deduct rather the months I was out of work that THEY SHOULD have been making the payments? IS this something I should even consider doing or is it a waste of time? -Or should I have them reimburse all of the months I paid into the payment protection plan? -How much will I have to pay back? -Is there a particular site where I can further research the NEW bankruptcy law? -Around how much will an attorney cost in California? Advice please!!!! Your advice is very much appreciated.
any REAL ESTATE experts here? I made a written offer to buy a co-op unit and it got accepted. the seller's attorney is drafting the contract now. the kitchen of the unit needs some repairs and i was thinking i should have asked a $3000 credit at closing for some repairs in the written offer. is it too late to ask for this from the seller now? thank you p.s. - please let me know if you're an attorney, real estate agent etc. so i know where you're coming from . thanks again
I need help on my Tenants Rights? SORRY THIS IS SO LONG BUT ITS IMPORTANT My Boyfriend and I rented an apartment (he was the only one on the lease, but they knew I was living there). We couldnt pay the rent due to financial situations, so we decided to move and we gave them notice. This was an Apartment Complex with Many Units. We NEVER got a 3 day notice, or an Eviction notice. EVER. I know eviction Laws, and I looked them up. I copied and pasted what I read below for you to see. I started moving some things out, but I never said we were fully moved out, nor did we have to be out (we didnt have any notices). We went there today (Monday, 9/22) to get the rest of our Items, and noticed the locks were changed (which it states below that it is illegal to do without an eviction and/or 3 day notice). We went to the leasing office, and they said they tried to contact us but we never returned their calls and our phone was shut off (which I gave them our new # the day I got it, and I NEVER got ANY Calls). They said the Maintenence guy would meet us at the apartment and let us in to get the rest of our Items, and he met us there and said these EXACT words "youre lucky you came today because we were just about to start throwing your stuff out"..so thats another Illegal action. Then, we went into the Apartment and I realized that there were Items missing (i.e, my lamp that my Grandfather bought me just before he passed away..but they left the lamp shade, THEY STOLE SOME OF MY JEWELRY (and it was all real gold and expensive), they had gone through our drawers and bill folds with our important/personal documents with our social security numbers, credit cards bills/numbers, etc). I believe we have a right to sue in Small Claims like it states below, and Im wondering how I should go about it. Thank YOU! LANDLORDS CAN'T JUST THROW YOU OUT! * Only a judge can order you evicted, and only the Sheriff can put you out of your home! (See "EVICTION" feature) * Florida law does not allow a landlord to force a tenant out by: 1. Shutting off the utilities or interrupting service, even if the service is in the landlord's name. 2. Changing the locks or using a device that denies the tenant access. 3. Removing the outside doors, locks, roof, walls or windows (except for purposes of maintenance, repair or replacement). 4. Removing the tenant's personal property from the dwelling unit unless action is taken after surrender, abandonment or a lawful eviction. * A landlord may not evict a tenant solely in retaliation for the tenant complaining to a governmental agency about a code violation, joining or establishing a tenant's "union" or similar organization or asserting other tenant rights. * If any of these occur, the tenant may sue for actual and consequential damages or three month's rent, whichever is greater, plus court costs and attorney's fees. I still had until the end of September to get out. And yesterday was only the 22nd. I know that I couldnt sue, it would have to be my BF but he would do it. They put my name on the papers still though.
I'm severely depressed? This year has been the worst of my life. I have had the worst streak of luck in 2007. I am going through a nasty divorce, selected an incompetent attorney who harms my case more than he helps; had vehicle problems/repairs run me over 6K and eat run into my life savings, gotten my credit ruined, had the IRS put a levy on my wages, and I'm going to probably have to file for bankruptcy in the next few months. Things were great for me last year but it seems like a dark cloud is hovering over me at this point. I sometimes want to just say the heck with it and end my life but I keep telling myself it's just a phase and things will get better, but I'm starting to have my doubts. Could anyone on here point me to some phone numbers that do free counseling for troubled people? I'd like to visit maybe a divorce/depression therapist but I just don't have the money right now. Anyone's assistance with finding someone to contact for help would be greatly appreciated.
Should I hire an attorney to collect my depreciation value? I own a car dealership. ? A drunk driver hit my car while it was parked. The car was hit in the rear end causing about $8,500 in damages to 2004 BMW 645i. I tried to collect depreciation value from the insurance. However, the insurance company pull a car fax. The car was hit in the same spot with same estimated damages. The insurance company refuse to pay because of the car fax. I had the car on my lot for 2 months prior to the accident. I had a verbal commitment from a buyer who test drove the car 2 days prior to accident. The buyer was not interested after the accident. The car was in the shop for 2 months and another 3 week to find a buyer. I had to wholesale the car, because the body shop took 2 months to repair the vehicle. I lost $6000 because the price had drop and accident. My line of credit allowed me to hold the car for 90 days. The accident caused a financial burden on my company. We are a very small used car lot. Do you think a lawyer would take the case and win in court?
Has anyone every heard of Royal Lending Group out of NC? I have looked this company up on bbb.com but I'm not real sure how to read this information or to know if this company is legit...... Royal Lending Group The BBB reports on businesses, both accredited and non-accredited. If an organization is a BBB Accredited business, it is stated in this report. Name: Royal Lending Group Phone: (866) 569-0684 Address: 485 Fields Dr. Sanford, NC 27330 Website: www.royallendinggroup.com Principal: Owner/ Manager Customer Contact: Owner/ Manager - (866) 569-0684 File Open Date: February 2008 TOB Classification: Loans, Mortgages BBB Accreditation: This organization is not a BBB Accredited business. The BBB develops a full report BBB Definition: report - A summary of activity reflected in a company's BBB file. Includes basic business background, BBB Accreditation information, and BBB complaint activity over the previous three years. Also reports may include any known government actions, advertising issues or other information that results from activity conducted by the BBB. on a firm based on inquiry or complaint activity. This company first came to our attention in February 2008. We are attempting to develop more information on the company. At the present time we do not have enough information to issue a full report BBB Definition: report - A summary of activity reflected in a company's BBB file. Includes basic business background, BBB Accreditation information, and BBB complaint activity over the previous three years. Also reports may include any known government actions, advertising issues or other information that results from activity conducted by the BBB. . The BBB suggests you read and understand company promotional materials and contracts and check company references and licensing, where applicable. Customer Service Contact Owner/ Manager is the complaint contact person for this company and should be contacted at (866) 569-0684 before filing a complaint with the BBB. Customer Experience The BBB processed a total of 0 complaints about this company in the last 36 months, our standard reporting period. Licensing This company is in an industry that may require licensing, bonding or registration in order to lawfully do business. The BBB encourages you to check with the appropriate agency to be certain any requirements are currently being met. Industry Tips Refinancing Loans If you are considering refinancing, the Better Business Bureau suggests you shop around, compare prices and negotiate. But also move with caution when dealing with some lenders. To help you decide if refinancing is for you and to help you prepare to approach a financial institution, the BBB offers these tips. When you refinance your home, you simply apply for a new mortgage at the lower rate in order to pay off the old loan. This means that, for many lenders, you will again be required to pay most of the costs you originally incurred to get your first mortgage - loan application fees, title search, appraisal, credit check, lawyer's services, discount points (in many cases) and other finance charges. Before you go through the expense of refinancing, check the interest rates to make sure they have dropped to a level that makes refinancing worthwhile. Conventional wisdom states that a two or three percent difference between the rate on your current mortgage and the new rate over a period of time - generally several years - usually offsets the costs you must pay at closing. The ultimate amount you may save depends on many factors, including your total refinancing, whether you sell your home in the near future and the effects of refinancing on your tax situation. If you decide to refinance, obtain information from several lenders. Knowing just the amount of the monthly payment or interest rate is not enough. Ask for information about the same loan amount, loan term and type of loan so that you can compare the information. Also, be cautious of smooth-talking lenders that contact you offering easy credit, guaranteed low-interest loans or loan terms that sounds too good to be true. Fraudulent lenders often prey on people who are desperate for cash to pay bills, make home repairs or who do not understand the mortgage loan process. Their loan terms can include excessive fees, high interest rates and provisions that can make it expensive for you to get out of the loan. If a lender asks for an up-front fee before you can obtain the loan, look elsewhere. Be sure to check with the Better Business Bureau and your state attorney general for a reliability report BBB Definition: report - A summary of activity reflected in a company's BBB file. Includes basic business background, BBB Accreditation information, and BBB complaint activity over the previous three years. Also reports may include any known government actions, advertising issues or other information that results from activity conducted by the BBB. on the lending institution (s) you are considering. Once you know what each lender has to offer, negotiate for the best deal that you can. Have the lender or broker write down all costs associated with the loan. Be sure to read the loan documents carefully and be certain that all spaces are filled in before you sign them. Always assume that any document you sign is a contract. If you do not fully understand it, do not sign it! Mortgage Choices Shop, Compare and Negotiate -But Move with Caution When Refinancing Your Mortgage Report as of March 4, 2008 Copyright© 2008 BBB®, Inc. If you choose to do business with this business, please let the company know that you contacted the BBB for a report BBB Definition: report - A summary of activity reflected in a company's BBB file. Includes basic business background, BBB Accreditation information, and BBB complaint activity over the previous three years. Also reports may include any known government actions, advertising issues or other information that results from activity conducted by the BBB. . BBB reports may not be reproduced for sales or promotional purposes. The information in this report has either been provided by the company or has been compiled by the BBB from other reliable sources. As a matter of policy, the BBB does not endorse any product, service or company. BBB reports generally cover a three-year reporting period, and are provided solely to assist you in exercising your own best judgment. Information contained in this report is believed reliable but not guaranteed as to accuracy. Reports are subject to change at any time.
How does my friend sell me a house "Rent To Own" with no fees. 1000 a month for 12.5 years=150,000.? We trust each other, She is not charging me any interest. Every $ I pay goes directly to the price of the house. I am responsible for closing. I do not have $ for an attorney. She gets 1000$ for 12.5 years. Total $ is 150,000. I am responsible for any fees that have to be paid. I pay the tax on the house as well as the insurance payable to her for the remaining balance if anything happens. I know there is allot that has to happen? we are not using banks/mortgage companies simply because its a rent to own and we want to cut out all the excessive B.S. Also the house she is selling me needs a lot of cosmetic inside repairs and she knows that if she puts the house on the market she wont sell or get very little for it. Because my CREDIT is SHOT this gives me an opportunity to Buy a home. We live in Miami-Dade County, Florida. the house is in the same county. 150,000 for a home in a gated community in Kendell (Miami) You can see why i want this home! Shes moving to PA and wants done with it.
Who should I speak with about repairing my bad credit? I have some unpaid bills that are about 5-6yrs old. Obviously my credit is bad because of this. Who should I speak with about repairing my credit? Attorney? Credit counselor? Who? How much?I've been told about the statue of limitations but I'm not sure I understand the system. Please help I really want to take care of this.
I need help on my Tenants rights? SORRY THIS IS SO LONG BUT ITS IMPORTANT My Boyfriend and I rented an apartment (he was the only one on the lease, but they knew I was living there). We couldnt pay the rent due to financial situations, so we decided to move and we gave them notice. This was an Apartment Complex with Many Units. We NEVER got a 3 day notice, or an Eviction notice. EVER. I know eviction Laws, and I looked them up. I copied and pasted what I read below for you to see. I started moving some things out, but I never said we were fully moved out, nor did we have to be out (we didnt have any notices). We went there today (Monday, 9/22) to get the rest of our Items, and noticed the locks were changed (which it states below that it is illegal to do without an eviction and/or 3 day notice). We went to the leasing office, and they said they tried to contact us but we never returned their calls and our phone was shut off (which I gave them our new # the day I got it, and I NEVER got ANY Calls). They said the Maintenence guy would meet us at the apartment and let us in to get the rest of our Items, and he met us there and said these EXACT words "youre lucky you came today because we were just about to start throwing your stuff out"..so thats another Illegal action. Then, we went into the Apartment and I realized that there were Items missing (i.e, my lamp that my Grandfather bought me just before he passed away..but they left the lamp shade, they had gone through our drawers and bill folds with our important/personal documents with our social security numbers, credit cards bills/numbers, etc). I believe we have a right to sue in Small Claims like it states below, and Im wondering how I should go about it. Thank YOU! LANDLORDS CAN'T JUST THROW YOU OUT! * Only a judge can order you evicted, and only the Sheriff can put you out of your home! (See "EVICTION" feature) * Florida law does not allow a landlord to force a tenant out by: 1. Shutting off the utilities or interrupting service, even if the service is in the landlord's name. 2. Changing the locks or using a device that denies the tenant access. 3. Removing the outside doors, locks, roof, walls or windows (except for purposes of maintenance, repair or replacement). 4. Removing the tenant's personal property from the dwelling unit unless action is taken after surrender, abandonment or a lawful eviction. * A landlord may not evict a tenant solely in retaliation for the tenant complaining to a governmental agency about a code violation, joining or establishing a tenant's "union" or similar organization or asserting other tenant rights. * If any of these occur, the tenant may sue for actual and consequential damages or three month's rent, whichever is greater, plus court costs and attorney's fees. I forgot to add..Im missing jewelry also! REAL Jewelry..
I'm severely depressed? This year has been the worst of my life. I have had the worst streak of luck in 2007. I am going through a nasty divorce, selected an incompetent attorney who harms my case more than he helps; had vehicle problems/repairs run me over 6K and eat run into my life savings, gotten my credit ruined, had the IRS put a levy on my wages, and I'm going to probably have to file for bankruptcy in the next few months. Things were great for me last year but it seems like a dark cloud is hovering over me at this point. I sometimes want to just say the heck with it and end my life but I keep telling myself it's just a phase and things will get better, but I'm starting to have my doubts. Could anyone on here point me to some phone numbers that do free counseling for troubled people? I'd like to visit maybe a divorce/depression therapist but I just don't have the money right now. Anyone's assistance with finding someone to contact for help would be greatly appreciated.
I'm severely depressed? This year has been the worst of my life. I have had the worst streak of luck in 2007. I am going through a nasty divorce, selected an incompetent attorney who harms my case more than he helps; had vehicle problems/repairs run me over 6K and eat run into my life savings, gotten my credit ruined, had the IRS put a levy on my wages, and I'm going to probably have to file for bankruptcy in the next few months. Things were great for me last year but it seems like a dark cloud is hovering over me at this point. I sometimes want to just say the heck with it and end my life but I keep telling myself it's just a phase and things will get better, but I'm starting to have my doubts. Could anyone on here point me to some phone numbers that do free counseling for troubled people? I'd like to visit maybe a divorce/depression therapist but I just don't have the money right now. Anyone's assistance with finding someone to contact for help would be greatly appreciated.
Please help. I am hoping someone can advice me on some good credit repair companies/attorneys.? I have just returned to the country after working overseas and gotten my credit report. its awful. There are mistakes and perhaps a few things that are correct. All were based on emergency surgery I had with no health insurance. My story may be worse than some and better than others. Regardless, I need help getting it corrected. I know that there are many companies out there, some that are good and some that are not. I am hoping there are some individuals who can guide me towards the good ones. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Can you really repair 'bad credit' on your own, ? How? A friend has some late payments and some old credit card bills as well as an incorrect item on her credit. How can this be repaired. She does not have the funds for an attorney and those companies that claim to "repair bad credit" are sometimes a scam. Help me to help her.
Credit repair?? Where should I go to have my credit repaired? Attorney, credit counselors, who? A lot of my credit issues are about 5-7yrs old. Thanks ahead of time! Also how much will it cost?
credit report repair, what does it all mean and what can I do to help ? Hi,I am working Identiy Guard and it isn't expensive and all they do is provide updates when someone accesses my report and helps me contact issues. But I have settled via attorney 99.9% of my accounts, and like it says I have a credit card open that isn't open. To whom do i turn to get help just to understand it because I want it as clean as possible to raise my FICO score and because it has a lot of errors on it that would help my score. But I just don't understand all of the terminology there ?
Why don`t people research leaders and only accept the given thought of the mass media? Austin, Texas... Politex's for BUSH FAMILY SKELETONS ...www.bushwatch.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bush Watch... abortion... archives... autobiography... books... brasin's beat... bush league... blacks... blurbs... california... cartoons... charter schools... cocaine... comedy... culture... de lay... education... environment... executions... exploitation... family... foreign policy... free speech... funeralgate... gays... guns... health... insider trading... iowa... jews... justice... latinos... lotterygate... media... millions... pat... personality... press kit... quizgate... rankings... religion... schedule... songs... talk... taxes... tobacco... triangulation... welfare... end... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BUSH FAMILY MACHINATIONS, 1918-2000 1918 Prescott Bush Sr., leads a raid on a Indian tomb to secure Geronimo's skull for Skull & Bones. 1937 Prescott Bush's investment firm sets up deal for the Luftwaffe so it can obtain tetraethyl lead. 1942 Three firms with which Prescott Bush is associated are seized under the Trading with the Enemy Act. 1953 George Bush and the Liedtke brothers form Zapata Petroleum. Zapata's subsidiary, Zapata Offshore, later becomes known for its close ties to the CIA. 1954 The Bush family buys out the Liedtke brothers. 1955 George Bush sets up a Mexican drilling operation, Permago, with a frontman to obscure his ownership. The frontman later is convicted of defrauding the Mexican government of $58 million. 1959 Manuel Noriega recruited as an agent by the US Defense Intelligence Agency. 1960 Some investigators believe George Bush spent part of this year and the next in Miami on behalf of the CIA, organizing rightwing exiles for an invasion of Cuba. Is said to have worked with later Iran-Contra figure Felix Rodriguez. 1961 According to the Realist, CIA official Fletcher Prouty delivers three Navy ships to agents in Guatemala to be used in the Bay of Pigs invasion. Prouty claims he delivered the ships to a CIA agent named George Bush. Agent Bush named the ships the Barbara, Houston and Zapata. Bay of Pigs invasion fails. Right-wingers blame Kennedy for failure to provide air cover. CIA loses 15 men, another 1100 are imprisoned. George Bush invites Rep. TL. Ashley -- a fellow Skull & Boner -- down to Texas for a party in order to meet "an attractive girl." Bush writes that "she may be accompanied by an Austrian ski instructor but I think we can probably flush him at the local dance hall." Bush notes that he's had to unlist his phone because "Jane Morgan keeps calling me all the time." [From a letter in the Ashley archives uncovered by Spy magazine.] Zapata annual report boasts that the company has paid no taxes since it was founded. 1963 John F. Kennedy is assassinated. Internal FBI memo reports that on November 22 "reputable businessman" George H. W. Bush reported hearsay that a certain Young Republican "has been talking of killing the president when he comes to Houston." The Young Republican was nowhere near Dallas on that date. According to a 1988 story in The Nation, a memo from J. Edgar Hoover states that "Mr. George Bush of the CIA" had been briefed on November 23rd, 1963 about the reaction of anti-Castro Cuban exiles in Miami to the assassination of President Kennedy. George says it ain't him, admits he was in Texas but can't remember where. 1964 George Bush runs as a Goldwater Republican for Congress. Campaigns against the Civil Rights Act. 1966 Bush, runs as a moderate Republican, gets elected to Congress. Robert Mosbacher chairs Oil Men for Bush. Apache leader Ned Anderson meets with the Skull & Bones lawyer and George Bush's brother Jonathan who attempt to return the skull Prescott Bush had looted in 1933. Anderson refuses the skull because he says it isn't Geronimo's. 1968 George W. Bush joins Skull & Bones at Yale 1970 Bush loses Senate race to Lloyd Bentsen, despite $112,000 in contributions from a White House slush fund. Jim Baker is campaign chair. Bush later claims to have reported correctly all but $6000 in cash --which he denies he got. A 1992 story in the New York Times says the $6000 was listed in records of Nixon's "townhouse operation" which was designed in part to make GOP congressional candidates vulnerable to blackmail. 1971 Bush is named UN Ambassador by Nixon. Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs finds enough evidence of Noriega's involvement in drug dealing to indict him, but US Attorney's office in Miami considers grabbing Noriega in Panama for trial here to be impractical. State Department also urges BNDD to back off. 1972 Bill Liedtke gathers $700,000 in anonymous contributions for the Nixon campaign, delivering the money in cash, checks and securities to the Committee to Re-Elect the President (the infamous CREEP) one day before such contributions become illegal. Bill says he did it as a favor to George. 1973 Bush is named GOP national chair. Brings into the party the Heritage Groups Council, an organization with a number of Nazi sympathizers. Bush, according to Lowell Weicker, inquires as to whether records of the "townhouse operation" should be burned. Robert Mosbacher wins an offshore drilling concession from Philippine dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Watergate tapes indicate concern by Nixon and aide HR Haldeman that the investigation into Watergate might expose the "Bay of Pigs thing." Nixon also speaks of the "Texans" and the "Cubans." and mentions "Mosbacher." In another tape, Nixon decides following his re-election to get signed resignations from his whole government so he can centralize his power. Says Nixon to John Erlichman: "Eliminate everyone, except George Bush. Bush will do anything for our cause." 1974 Bush is named special envoy to China. 1975 DEA report notes Noreiga's involvement in drug trade. George W. Bush graduates from Harvard Business School 1976 Jerry Ford names George Bush CIA director, his fourth political patronage job in a little over five years. Bush later claims this is the first time he ever worked for the CIA. At his confirmation hearings, Bush says, "I think we should tread very carefully on governments that are constitutionally elected." Bush holds first known meeting with Noriega. Noriega starts receiving $110,000 a year from the CIA. Noriega found to be working for Cubans as well, but keeps his CIA gig. Bush sets up Team B within the CIA, a group of neo-conservative outsiders and generals who proceed to double the agency's estimate of Soviet military spending. Senate committee headed by Frank Church proposes revealing size of the country's black budget -- intelligence spending that, in contradiction to the Constitution, is kept secret even from the Hill. According to journalist Tim Weiner, Bush argues that the revelation would be a disaster and would compromise the agency beyond repair. By a one vote margin the matter is referred to the Senate. It never reaches the floor. Chilean dissident Orlando Letelier is assassinated by Chilean secret police agents. CIA fails to inform FBI of pending plot and of assassins' arrival in US. CIA claims the hit was the work of left-wingers in search of a martyr. Bush writes internal CIA memo asking to see cable on Jack Ruby visiting Santos Trafficante in jail. In 1992, Bush will deny any interest in the JFK assassination while CIA head. Bush claims nuclear war is winnable. 1977 Philippine dictator Marcos buys back Robert Mosbacher's oil concession. Mosbacher claims he was swindled. Philippine officials say they never saw any expenditures by Mosbacher on the project. 1978 Bush, Mosbacher and Jim Baker become partners in an oil deal. From a Washington Post article by Bob Woodward and Walter Pincus: "According to those involved in Bush's first political action committee, there were several occasions in 1978-79, when Bush was living in Houston and traveling the country in his first run for the presidency, that he set aside periods of up to 24 hours and told aides that he had to fly to Washington for a secret meeting of former CIA directors. Bush told his aides that he could not divulge his whereabouts, and that he would not be available." Former CIA chief Stansfield Turner denies such meetings took place. George W. Bush declares his candidacy for the Midland Congressional district. He wins the Republican primary and loses in the general election. George W. Bush begins operations of his oil firm, Arbusto Energy. With the help of Jonathan Bush, he assembles several dozen investors in a limited partnership including Dorothy Bush, Lewis Lehrman, William Draper, and James Bath, a Houston aircraft broker 1980 Bush becomes Reagan's vice presidential candidate. Runs as a rightwinger again. Mosbacher becomes chief fundraiser for Bush's presidential campaign. Forms a millionaire's club of 250 contributors, each of whom cough up $100,000. William Casey forms a working group to prepare for possible Carter October political surprise. In early October, an Iranian official meets with three top Reagan campaign aides. All three deny memory of the meeting in subsequent proceedings. On October 21, Reagan hints he has a secret plan to release the hostages. This is right around the alleged date of a Paris meeting at which the so-called "October Surprise" was settled. Some allege that at this meeting it was agreed to end the arms embargo against Iran if Iran would release its hostages after the election. While Bush's presence at this meeting has been denied by the House committee investigating the October Surprise, Bush's whereabouts at this critical time remain in doubt. The White House, in fact, has leaked conflicting stories. Rep. Dan Quayle goes on a Florida golfing vacation with seven other men and Paula Parkinson -- an insurance lobbyist who later posed nude for Playboy. Parkinson describes Quayle as a husband on the make, but says she turned him down because she was already having an affair with another congressman. Marilyn Quayle says, "anybody who knows Dan Quayle knows he would rather play golf than have sex." The Reagan-Bush campaign receives stolen copies of Carter's briefing books. Bush's campaign manager, James Baker, forces the dismissal of Bush aide Jennifer Fitzgerald, described in a 1982 Time story as having "much to say about where Bush goes, what he does and whom he sees." Bush continues to pay Fitzgerald out of his own pocket. 1981 Reagan-Bush inaugurated. Hostages released moments before. Shortly thereafter, arms shipments to Iran resume from Israel and America. In July, an Argentinean plane chartered by Israel crashes in Soviet territory. It is found to have made three deliveries of American military supplies to Iran. In a 1991 story in Esquire, Craig Unger quotes Alexander Haig as saying "I have a sneaking suspicion that someone in the White House winked." Says Unger: "This secret and illegal sale of military equipment continued for years afterwards." James Baker named Reagan's chief of staff. SEC filings for Zapata Oil for 1960-66 are found to have been "inadvertently destroyed." Reagan authorizes CIA assistance to Contras. 1982 CIA director William Casey begins Operation Black Eagle to expand US role in Central America. Urges use of "selected Latin American and European governments, organizations and individuals" in the project. Inslaw, a computer software company, signs a $10 million contract to install a case-tracking program in 94 US Attorney's offices. Four months later, after obtaining a copy of Inslaw's proprietary version of the program, the government cancels the contract and begins an aggressive campaign to force the company into bankruptcy. Later sources claim that the program was installed by the CIA and sold to various foreign intelligence agencies. After $3 million is poured into Arbusto with little oil and no profits, just tax shelter George W. Bush changes the company name to Bush Exploration Oil Co. Subsequently he is kept afloat by an investment from Philip Uzielli, a Princeton friend of James Baker III. For the sum of $1 million, Uzielli bought 10% of the company at a time in 1982 when the entire enterprise was valued at less than $400,000. Subsequently, to save the company George W. Bush merges with Spectrum 7, a small oil firm owned by William DeWitt and Mercer Reynolds. DeWitt had graduated from Yale a few years earlier than Bush and was the son of the former owner of the Cincinnati Reds. Bush becomes president of Spectrum 7. He also gets 14% of the Spectrum's stock. Meanwhile, 50 original investors in Arbusto get paid off at about 20 cents on the dollar. 1983 Noriega meets again with George Bush. Bush presents an autographed photo to a WWII Ukrainian leader under the Nazis, whose regime killed 100,000 Jews. KAL 007 crashes under circumstances that remain suspicious to this day. Bush promotes Jennifer Fitzgerald from appointments secretary to executive assistant. Seven staffers resign in protest. Fitzgerald tells the New York Post: "Everyone keeps painting me as this old ogre. I really don't worry about it. All these bizarre things just simply aren't true." Neil Bush forms his first oil company. He puts in $100, his partners contribute $160,000 and Neil is named president of the firm, JNB Exploration. Jeb Bush's business partner, Alberto Duque, goes bankrupt, is eventually convicted of fraud and is sentenced to 15 years in prison. 1984 Jeb Bush lobbies the Department of Health & Human Services on behalf of Cuban--American businessman Miguel Recarey, Jr., whose medical firm later collapses. Recarey, who was close to mobster Santos Trafficante, later disappears with at least $12 million in federal funds. George Bush takes part in meetings to plan increased "third country" aid to the Contras.. CIA mines Nicaraguan harbors. 1985 Jennifer Fitzgerald is sent to work on Capitol Hill after stories arise linking her romantically with George Bush. Stuart Spencer's public relation firm starts receiving over $350,000 from Panama to improve Noriega's image. CIA starts using BCCI as a conduit. George Bush thanks Oliver North for "dedication and tireless work with the hostage thing, with Central America." Bush will later deny knowing about the Contra effort until late 1986. Neil Bush joins the board of Silverado S&L, serves until 1988. Silverado loans his partners in JNB $132 million which they never repay. Silverado will eventually collapse at a taxpayer cost of $1 billion. 408 TOW anti-tank missiles are shipped from Israel to Iran. A day later, US hostage Benjamin Weir is released. 1986 VP Bush goes to Honduras to promote support for the Contras. Takes along baseball players Nolan Ryan and Gary Carter. Contra figure Felix Rodriguez meets with Donald Gregg, Bush's national security advisor, to complain about Iran-Contra operatives skimming funds from the Contras. Bush may have made several secret visits to Damascus between 1986-88 according to a 1992 report in Time, which said two senior GOP senators were pressing for a probe. The allegation is that Bush went to negotiate the release of hostages in Lebanon but in fact stonewalled Syria, "playing for campaign timing. Republicans want to get to the bottom of intelligence-community suspicions that the US somehow blew a chance to free Terry Anderson and his fellow captives." Iranian arms runner Manucher Ghorbanifar proposes "diversion" of profits from Iran arms sales to Contras. George W. Bush and partners receive more than $2 million of Harken Energy stock in exchange for a failing oil well operation, which had lost $400,000 in the prior six months. After Bush joined Harken, the largest stock position and a seat on its board were acquired by Harvard Management Company. The Harken board gave Bush $600,000 worth of the company's publicly traded stock, plus a seat on the board plus a consultancy that paid him up to $120,000 a year. When Harken runs short of cash it hooks up with investment banker Jackson Stephens of Little Rock, Arkansas, who arranges a $25 million stock purchase by Union Bank of Switzerland. Sheik Abdullah Bakhsh, who joins the board as a part of the deal, is connected to the infamous BCCI. 1987 Bush's former chief of staff, Daniel Murphy, flies to Panama with South Korean influence peddler Tongsun Park on a private plane owned by arms dealer Sargis Soghnalian to meet with Noriega. Murphy later tells a Senate subcommittee that he informed Noriega that he need not resign before the 1988 election despite the Reagan administration public pressure to the contrary. Bill Casey dies. Lee Atwater accuses Robert Dole of spreading stories about Bush and Jennifer Fitzgerald. An agreement is worked out, as reported by Sidney Blumenthal in the Washington Post: "The Dole people didn't spread any rumors and promised not to do it again. And the Bush people haven't spread rumors about the Dole people spreading rumors and won't do it again." Harken Energy project gets rescued by aid from the BCCI-connected Union Bank of Switzerland in a deal brokered by Jackson Stephens, later to show up as a key supporter of Bill Clinton. 1988 Dan Quayle is named VP candidate. Stuart Spencer is assigned to improve Dan Quayle's image, the same job he handled for Noriega and Nixon. Quayle embarrasses campaign by such statements as "[The Holocaust] was an obscene period in our nation's history," adding that "I didn't live in this century." Prisoner who claimed he sold marijuana to Quayle is put into solitary confinement by the head of federal prisons, aborting a planned news conference shortly before the election. Silverado S&L goes under after receiving 126 cease & desist orders in past four years from the Topeka office of the Office of Thrift Supervision. These orders found conflict of interests, insider abuse and other violations. Dwight Chapin, ex-Nixon dirty trickster, gets job in Bush campaign. Rudi Slavoff becomes head of Bulgarians for Bush. In 1983, Slavoff organized an event honoring Austin App, promoter of the theory that the Holocaust was a hoax. Slavoff joins other GOP ethnic leaders in the Coalition of American Nationalities co-chaired by Edward Derwinski. Among them is a former member of an Hungarian pro-Nazi party. After press revelations, eight of the leaders accused of anti-semitism resign from the campaign. Bush says: "Nobody's giving in... These people left of their own account." GOP flier warns that "all the murderers, rapists and drug pushers and child molesters in Massachusetts vote for Michael Dukakis." Bush establishes Team 100, which will eventually grow to 249 individuals who contribute nearly $25 million in soft money to help the GOP cause. The contributions also apparently help the contributors, various of whom get ambassadorial appointments, legislative favors, and intervention on regulatory and criminal matters. Bush denies knowledge of Noriega's involvement in drug dealing. The Willie Horton ad is aired. Credit for similar tactics is given to campaign guru Lee Atwater, whose PR firm had represented drug-connected Bahamian prime minister Oscar Pinding and the Philippines' Marcos. Atwater himself had represented UNITA, the CIA-backed Africa rebel group. Fred Malek, ex-Nixon aide, resigns from the Bush campaign after it's revealed that he compiled a list of Jews in the Labor Dept. as part of a Nixon investigation of a "Jewish cabal." A few days before the supposedly surprise arrest of five BCCI officials, some of the world's most powerful drug dealers quietly withdraw millions of dollars from the bank. Some government investigators believe the dealers were tipped off by sources within the Bush administration. Although Felix Rodriguez, former leading cop under Batista, claims he left the CIA in 1976, Rolling Stone reports that he is still going to CIA headquarters monthly to receive assignments and get his bulletproof Cadillac serviced. Bankruptcy judge George Bason Jr. concludes that the government stole Inslaw's software through "trickery, fraud and deceit." Stock market drops 43 points on false rumor that Washington Post was about the publish the Bush-Fitzgerald story. 1989 Bush inaugurated. Aides tell the press that the new administration would rather "stay one step behind than be one step ahead." Bush authorizes CIA support to Noriega's opposition, giving Noriega an excuse to annul Panama's elections. Bush claims executive privilege to avoid testifying in the Oliver North trial, thus becoming first president to use this power to keep his acts as vice president under wraps. Dan Quayle declares changes in Soviet Union "just a public relations extravaganza." Bush brother Prescott flies to Shanghai after the Tiananmen Square massacre to close a deal for an $18 million resort there, despite his brother's ban on high-level Chinese contacts. Prescott says, "We aren't a bunch of carrion birds coming in to pick the carcass. But there are big opportunities in China, and America can't afford to be shut out." Prescott Bush also visits Japan, searching for consulting contracts just ten days before his brother arrives on a presidential tour. The Japanese firm that paid Prescott a quarter-million dollar consulting fee comes under investigation for exchange law violations and links to the Japanese mob. C. Boyden Gray, the president's top ethics official, corrects his 1985 and 1986 financial disclosure forms. He forgot to include $98,000 in income. George Bush signs the S&L bailout bill promising that "these problems will never happen again." The Chicago Tribune reports: "After 14 fishing outings, the President has failed to catch a single fish." At White House behest, the DEA lures drug dealer to Lafayette Park to make arrest in front of presidential home for the benefit of Bush's upcoming drug speech. At first, drug dealer is dubious, asks DEA agent, "Where the fuck is the White House?" Defense secretary nominee John Tower runs into confirmation troubles when it is revealed that he has received hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees from defense contractors. Runs into more trouble with revelations of womanizing and drinking. His nomination is rejected. The sale of three communications satellites to China is announced. Prescott Bush is a $250,000 consultant in the deal. GOP memo is leaked implying that House Speaker Tom Foley is a homosexual. President Bush signs a top-secret directive ordering closer ties with Iraq, which opens the way for $1 billion in new aid just a little more than a year before Bush goes to war against that country. The agricultural credit allows Saddam Hussein to use his hard currency for a massive military buildup. A second judge concurs that the government stole Inslaw's software. The Statistical Abstract of the United States, published by the US government, reports that the GNP of East Germany during the 1980s was greater than that of West Germany. The figures come from the CIA. Bahrain officials suddenly break off offshore drilling negotiations with Amoco and decide to deal with Harken Energy, George Bush Jr.'s firm. Harken has had a series of failed ventures and no cash, so the Bass brothers are brought in to finance Harken's efforts at a cost of $50 million. Neil Bush bails out of JNB Exploration, the firm where he became president with a $100 ante, leaving his partners to worry about its debt. Days earlier he forms Apex Energy with a personal investment of $3000. The rest of the money -- $2.7 million -- comes from an SBA program designed to help "high risk start-up companies." Like JNB, it proves to be just that. Apex will later go belly-up with no assets. Two months after his father's inauguration, George W. Bush announces that he and a syndicate of investors have purchased the Texas Rangers. The investors are Edward "Rusty" Rose, Richard Rainwater, Bill DeWitt, Roland Betts (a former Yale frat brother) and Tom Bernstein (Bett's partner in a film investment concern). While Bush appears to lead the group, Rainwater makes clear that Rose is to control how the business is run. Bush's stake in the $86 million deal is 2%, financed with a $500,000 loan from a Midland Bank of which he had been a director and $106,000 from other sources. Rainwater and Rose put up 14.2 million, Betts and Bernstein invested about $6 million and the balance comes from smaller investors and loans. Bush will eventually sell his share for $15 million. 1990 Federal regulators give Bush son Neil the mildest possible penalty in the $1 billion failure of the Silverado S&L. The deal is so good that Bush drops his appeal. Among other things, Neil, as a Silverado director, voted to approve over $100 million in loans to his business partners. January: Bahrain awards exclusive offshore drilling rights to Harken Oil. This is a surprise as Harken is in very shaky financial condition, has never drilled outside of Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma and had never drilled undersea at all. The Bass brothers are brought in by Harken for sufficient equity to proceed with the effort. Harken's stock price increases from $4.50 to $5.50. George W. Bush sells two-thirds of his Harken Energy stock at the top of the market for $850,000, a 200% profit, but makes no report to the SEC until March 1991. Bush Jr. says later the SEC misplaced the report. An SEC representative responds: "nobody ever found the 'lost' filing." One week after Bush's sale, Harken reports an earnings plunge. Harken stock falls more than 60%. Bush uses most of the proceeds to pay off the bank loan he had taken a year earlier to finance his portion of the Texas Rangers deal. August: Saddam Hussein invades Kuwait. Harken's stock price drops substantially. Two months after Bush sells his stock, Harken posts losses for the 2nd quarter of well over $20 million and is shares fall another 24 %, by year end Harken is trading at $1.25. Bush has insisted that he did not know about the firm's mounting losses and that his stock sell-off was approved by Harken's general counsel. George W. Bush is asked by Carlyle Group to serve on the board of directors of Caterair, one of the nation's largest airline catering services which it had acquired in 1989. The offer is arranged by Fred Malek, long time Bush associate who is then an advisor to Carlyle. October: Arlington, Texas Mayor Richard Greene signs a contract that guarantees $135 million toward the new Texas Ranger Stadium's estimate price of $190 million. The Rangers put up no cash but finance their share through a ticket surcharge. From the team's operating revenues, the city will earn a maximum of $5 million annually in rent, no matter how much the Rangers reap from ticket sales and television (a sum that will rise to $100 million a year). Another provision permitts the franchise to buy the stadium after the accumulated rental payments reached a mere $ 60 million. The property acquired so cheaply by the Rangers includes not just a fancy new stadium with a seating capacity of 49,000 but an additional 270 acres of newly valuable land. Legislation is passed and signed that authorizes the Arlington Sports Facilities Development Authority with power to issue bonds and exercise eminent domain over any obstinate landowners. Never before had a Texas municipal authority been given the license to seize the property of a private citizen for the benefit of other private citizens. A recalcitrant Arlington family refuses to sell a 13 acre parcel near the stadium site for half its appraised value. The jury awards more than $4 million to the family. Fred Malek returns to power with ambassador status to head up planning for the economic summit. S&L industry is losing money at the rate of $3 million a minute. Bailout chief estimates total cost at $325-500 billion. Some 200 young soccer players have their games canceled for security reasons because Bush wants to go fishing on the Potomac nearby. Says one seven-year-old player: "We had a tough soccer game and he's just going fishing. He could play somewhere else." Bush son Jeb gets the federal government to pay off the $4 million he owed to a failed Florida thrift. Bush brother Jonathan's east coast brokerage fined in two states for violating laws and Jonathan is barred from public trading in Massachusetts. Bush's attorney general, Richard Thornberg, is warned about BCCI but does nothing. Federal court of appeals throws out the Inslaw case on the grounds that it did not belong in bankruptcy court. Bush says, "The economy is headed in the right direction." 1991 Former top aide to White House Chief of Staff John Sununu goes to work for a prominent figure in the BCCI scandal less than a month after leaving the Bush administration. Edward Rogers Jr. signs a $600,000 contract to give legal advice to Sheik Kamal Adham, an ex-Saudi intelligence officer who is being investigated for his role in BCCI's takeover of First American Bancshares. The Miami acting US Attorney is allegedly rebuffed by the Justice Department in his efforts to indict BCCI and some of its principal officers on tax fraud charges. Justice Department later denies this occurred. Danny Casolaro, a reporter investigating the Inslaw story, is found dead in a motel room bathtub, the day after he met a key source. The death was ruled a suicide. Perhaps he is despondent over the loss of his briefcase, which is missing from the room. George Bush spends three nights in a Houston hotel so he can claim Texas residency. Texas has no income tax. Neil Bush bails out of Apex Energy after collecting $320,000 in salary plus expenses. Bill Daniels, cable-TV magnate who has been lobbying against regulation of the cable industry, offers Neil a job. According to a representative, he "thought Neil deserved a second chance." 1992 New York Times reports that three of Bush's top fundraisers are being sued in connection with bank failures and another pleaded guilty to mail fraud in connection with an S&L. These men include the GOP national finance chair, vice chair and two co-chairs of the President's Dinner, which raised $9 million for Republican causes. Former US Attorney General Elliot Richardson, representing the owners of Inslaw, tells Mother Jones, "I don't know any case where the government has stonewalled like this." First of Harken Energy's wells off Bahrain comes up dry. George W. Bush takes a leave of absence from the firm to work in his father's campaign, saying "I don't want to involve this company in any kind of allegations of conflicts or whatever may arise." Village Voice reports that President Bush has taken at least 76 partisan flights during his term, at a cost to the taxpayers of over $6 million. Nixon's Jew hunter Fred Malek is back as Bush's campaign manager. Campaign sells photo opportunities with the president at a fundraiser for $92,000 each. Washington, DC, loses $52,000 in taxes because Bush claims to be a Texas resident. Donald H. Alexander contributes $100,000 to Team 100; shortly thereafter he's named ambassador to the Netherlands. Bush says: "I will do what I have to do to be reelected." 1993 With the new Ranger stadium being readied to open the following spring, George W. Bush announces that he would be running for governor. He is says his campaign theme will be self-reliance and personal responsibility rather than dependence on government. 1994 George W. Bush is elected Governor of Texas, defeating Ann Richards 53 to 46 %. 1999 George W. Bush executes his 99th prisoner. George W. Bush celebrates the Martin Luther King holiday by staying inside the Governor's Mansion with the windows closed so he wouldn't hear the thousands of Martin Luther King celebrants listening to speeches right outside his window on the Texas capitol grounds [across the street]. Bush claims to be reading four serious books while campaigning for president. Total pages of the four books: 1,762 * "When I was coming up, it was a dangerous world and you knew exactly who they were. It was us versus them and it was clear who them was. Today we are not so sure who the they are, but we know they're there." -- Texas Gov. George W. Bush, presidential candidate. * "Food on the family." -- George W. Bush listing one of the priorities of his future administration. * "This is Preservation month. I appreciate preservation. This is what you do when you run for president. You've got to preserve." -- George W. Bush to several hundred children at an elementary school in Nashua that was celebrating what it called Perseverance Month (not Preservation Month). * "Is your children learning?" -- George W. Bush on education. * "Some people have too much freedom." -- George W. Bush * "The Grecians." -- George W. Bush on Greek people. * "What I'm against is quotas. I'm against hard quotas, quotas that basically delineate based upon whatever. However they delineate, quotas, I think, vulcanize society." -- George W. Bush, meaning to say "balkanize," not "vulcanize" -- we think -- and something about quotas (Austin American-Statesman 3/23/99). * "Sitting down and reading a 500-page book on public policy or philosophy or something." -- George W. Bush when asked to name something he isn't good at (Talk magazine, September 1999). * "Please! Don't kill me." -- George W. Bush to Larry King, mocking what Karla Faye Tucker said when asked "What would you say to Governor Bush?" prior to her execution by lethal injection (as reported by Talk magazine, September 1999). * "Tell them I have learned from mistakes I may or may not have made." -- George W. Bush 2000 "Jeb's the smart one" -- George Bush Sr. to dinner partner Former President George Bush tries to block Gen. Manuel Noriega's release from a US prison because he fears the Panamanian strongman wants to kill him. Noriega attorney Frank Rubino says the assertion was made by Assistant US Attorney Pat Sullivan, who represented the government at a parole hearing for Noriega. Copyright 2000 The Progressive Review Also,'Sam Smith's Great American Political Repair Manual' is published by WW Norton. 2000 (continued) Al Gore gets more popular votes than George W. Bush in the November presidential elections, but a winner is unable to be declared because the outcome depends upon a state of Florida recount that must made, according to Florida law, since the eventual winner will have a majority of less than 1% of the vote. Many of the counties do not do a recount, but simply re-report their first results. Other counties decide to accept late overseas ballots, contrary to Florida law. Bush enlists James Baker to oversee his post-campaign Florida campaign. Although Jeb, as Florida governor, recuses himself from official state participation in the recount, phone records later made public lead observers to question that statement. The Florida Supreme Court directs that the entire state must physically recount all of the votes, but the U.S. Supreme Court overrules, declaring George W. Bush the victor in order to protect our tradition of the smooth transition of power. The vote was 5-4. Although the court ruled that the decision could never be used as precedent in any future legal case, it was determined that allowing the State of Florida to recount its votes, even though it is legally required to do so, would not be in the best interest of George W. Bush's presidential aspirations. On the basis of the Supreme Court's decision, Bush was declared the victor in Florida, thus winning the majority of electoral votes and thus being elected the nation's 43rd president. 2001 Bush is sworn in as president and Dick Cheney, Sec. of Defense under Poppy, is sworn in as vice-president. Numerous key members of the Regan-Bush and Bush-Quayle administrations, including those who left under a Contra cloud, are brought back into the new administration. With Bush as front man and Cheney as the brains behind the throne, Bush begins to consolidate power with fast-track plans to weaken government regulations of corporations, begin drilling on previously out of bounds environmentally fragile sites, place greater world trade powers in the White House, establish formal governmental funding of religions, allow greater civil rights discrimination in the name of freedom, shift more of the nation's wealth away from the middle class and into the hands of the wealthy through changes in the tax laws, further establish military dominance in the world and in space through missile defense, and weaken international compacts protecting the environment and controlling small arms. 79 year old Andrew Marshall, a colleague of Herman "Dr. Strangelove" Kahn at the Rand think tank in the 50's appointed head of the Pentagon's Office of Net Assessment and major speechwriter of Bush's Missle Defense System speeches. Taking a cue from the Bush Administration, Japan deals with Iran to provide oil field studies, indicating that the Clinton Sanctions Act will no longer be enforced against Iran. 2000-2001 Updates by Politex
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