Considering becoming Cons.Advocate

Hey all,
In the recent months, I have been embarking on a credit repair adventure. It's been taxing on my marriage, and consuming a lot of what was my "free" time. Time that would be used with the family. On the order of protecting my family, and providing for our well being, I tend to apply my focus on the threats that seem imminent, and stand in the way of my achieving my goals.

Currently, I am employed with a car dealership as a line technician. I have been in the field as a professionally certified ASE technician, also maintaining credentials with two major auto manufacturers, Toyota and Mercedes-Benz (currently). I used to be a desk jockey, but eight months after uprooting my family from our home and taking a new job in a different state, I was laid off. At that time, my wife and I decided that my interest and aptitude in repairing cars would be sufficient to support us until we could move back "home". My wife's father was ailing, and we decided it would be prudent to return to our home state.

In the midst of job hunting, house hunting, etc and all the other nuances that accompany a move, I decided that work wasn't about the money. I have made over $70K in a year being behind a desk, but with that come the costs of playing politics. I don't kiss a$$, and I never will. I refuse to suck up in order to advance my position in a company. I firmly believe that my moral convictions and my work ethic cost me my job. I decided to stick with a career that I enjoyed, and I still do to this day. Every day has something challenging, and there is not one day that goes by that I am thankful for the blessings that God has given to me.

My mother told me, when I was a teenager, that I was "One of the most compassionate person"s that she had ever met. Sometimes this is a detriment, but not as one would see it to be all that bad to have. I sometimes tend to over commit myself to helping other people out. Now that I'm in my 30's, I find myself wanting more and more to capitalize on my experiences in helping those in need. I have volunteered in the community, with non-profit organizations, Special Olympics, etc. Sometimes at the expense of my family, and my finances. Which leads me to where I was a couple of months ago.

After having a blood-pressure raising conversation with a CA, I started researching about what I could do to fight back against, for all intents and purposes, a corrupt industry. All one must do is briefly scan the boards; the violations of federal law that are heaped upon the uneducated consumers are rampant. I had a friend of mine refer me to Creditwrench, where it seemed interesting, but the outline confusing, and the information a bit far-fetched. I gleaned some information off of his site, and began to think about what I can do to fight back. I equated it to coming to a gunfight, and I needed ammo. Armed with the information I, had a newfound cause. I am going to fix my own credit! Hell, I can fix cars, I can fix my credit!

You ask, "What does that have to do with becoming a consumer advocate?" EVERYTHING. Even though I have been successful with the methods implemented over the past couple of months to get me to this point, I don't want to jump into the proverbial Colosseum with the lions and not have someone to represent me. I spent half of a day calling attorneys in my area, and found 2, of which they are booked up for the next few weeks. That tells me that there is a shortage of attorneys who can help consumers fight back. I saw two mentions of "Debtors Rights" in the entire section of our Yellow Pages. This was out of about 400 listings. Sounds like a good case of supply and demand!

This past Monday, I was over at my friends' business, and he showed me a forum post, turned website, that brought me to tears. http://zrxoa.org/03Z1Rthreads/hitandrun.htm

I read this message, and I could sense his frustration about the hopelessness of his situation. I felt his pain and desperation, although not to the magnitude that he was experiencing. I cannot believe that with the billions of dollars that financing and credit card companies and hospitals make as profit every year, NONE of them can find compassion in this situation. ABSOLUTELY HORRIFIC AND APPALLING.

I feel that in this instance, for the tragedy he was dealt, a creditor could eliminate the burden that an overburdened person was dealing with. I mean, if he had a $4,000 balance on a Cap One card, wouldn't you think they could forgive it? Absolutely not. Instead, they want to exacerbate the problem. "Let's pour more salt in your road rash."

I'm not saying that I could have helped his situation, but if more consumers knew their rights and more of the CA's were taken to task, perhaps the industry would become more compassionate to the plight of the unfortunate. Wishful thinking? Maybe. But mark my words, I will not tolerate it. I vow to help those in need, with whatever knowledge I gain, wherever I gain it. I'm re-enrolling this fall at our local state college, where I matriculated in years past. I will finish my undergraduates and purse a career in law, becoming a consumer advocate. Woe be unto those who dare stand in my way.

 

Re: Re: Considering becoming Cons.A

Allow me to preface this post with a statement. I give credit where credit is due. Period.

MarkTime, I agree with you on some of the issues that you presented. I agree that the majority of Americans have bought into the lie that you "need" to have a high beacon score and perfect credit to get "stuff". Then with your newfound credit, you go out and buy stuff you can't afford, to impress people you don't like, and then you have to figure out how you are going to pay it off. Having a great credit rating means only one thing. You have the ability to go DEEPLY into debt at the drop of a hat.

I don't want to seem like I am preaching against using credit to help you when it comes to things like purchasing a house, or an automobile. But allow me to explain where I am coming from. I have a 15 year fixed rate mortgage, one paid for car, one not paid for. Everything else that is under my roof is paid for. The majority of my debt is for medical bills, student loans, and "stupid tax" as I call my credit card balances. I follow the teachings of Dave Ramsey, and his book "The Total Money Makeover."

Allow me to explain how I got to this point. I was reading a previous post on Creditwrench's board, and agreed with the poster that the recidivism rate for bankruptcy filers is really high. The only way that you will be able to fix your broken financial life is to realize that there is nobody else responsible for your financial position and the mistakes that you make except for the PERSON IN THE MIRROR! You have to take responsibility for the actions that you took, or lack thereof.

If I may get on my soap box, and share a little of my life.

Here's our situation. I am the only income for our family, since we both decided that our children have benefited from having one parent stay at home with them. It is showing because our son, who just graduated the 1st grade is reading on a 4th grade level. He's academically gifted, and our 1 year-old has a vocabulary of about 12 words. These are the benefits of a hard working mother, who has the lowest paying job there is, but reaps the most rewards.

As a professional automotive technician, my salary has been in the $30-35K range for the past year. I took a higher paying job last October, and realized that we were given the opportunity to get out of our mess that took us 8 years to accumulate. We were both sick and tired of being sick and tired, and literally living paycheck to paycheck.

I had heard of Bill's Creditwrench program before, but hadn't signed up for it, because most of the debt we had was really old, or was being paid on monthly. I was considering BK, but didn't follow through with it. I felt a moral objection that BK is trying to weasel out of legitimate debt that one has incurred. CONTROL YOUR SPENDING, AND YOU CONTROL YOUR DEBT! It can't get any easier... don't buy if you can't pay for it outright.

In March 2004, I got a nasty call from a bill collector, and my blood pressure was through the roof. I normally don't let BC's faze me, but this guy took the cake. He had the audacity to physically threaten me! That's when I had an epiphany. I equated my dealing with this jerk to being in the Old West. I was headed for a gunfight, and needed shotgun shells for my shotgun. Bill has provided me with the shells, and I'm firing away at these old debts.

I'd like to offer advice with regard to a lifestyle change for those who are in financial distress. In October of 2003, I began listening to a nationally syndicated talk show host by the name of Dave Ramsey. Dave offers hope to those who have had the hope kicked out of them. He is the author of several New York Times best selling books, of which his most recent book is titled "The Total Money Makeover". I picked up a copy of his book, read it in 4 days, and my wife and I decided that we are going to change our family tree. Our goal is that we are going to be debt free in 16-18 months.

At the beginning of this year, my wife and I sat down, and found that we had $35,360.89 worth of debt, not including our mortgage. Following the principles laid out in Dave's book, we made a written budget, which allowed us to control our spending. No more frivolous purchases, and no more worrying if the power is going to get shut off. We found that we had over $700 per month of "disposable income". This is what we were haphazardly using to pay our old debts off with. With written budget in hand, we began to systematically pay off our bills, one by one.

As of the first of May, our total debt(not including the mortgage) has been whittled down to $30,393.98. We wouldn't have been able to do it without help from Creditwrench and a written plan. Creditwrench enables you to clean up the mess, and feel good about taking the dirtbag CA's to the cleaners! I've got several in the process, and am chomping at the bit.

I realize that the only benefit of having a pristine beacon score is to allow one to go DEEPLY into debt in a hurry. Not any more... I've had it! I'm pumped up, and ready to get our lives back on track, and I owe it to these two fine individuals: Bill Bauer and Dave Ramsey.

I had my first victory three weeks ago with a 2-year old collection account, that I was able to pay off, and get removed from my bureaus! Man that felt great!

If you would like more information on Dave's services, visit www.daveramsey.com. Get down to your local bookstore and buy his book. It will change your life! It has ours!