The James Dicks Blog

It’s time to take back your dignity from the bill collectors.  I live in central Florida and a month or so a tragic story unfolded, centered around a family also from central Florida.  I don’t know all the facts but it was apparently financial in nature.  The family recently filed bankruptcy and was about $85,000 in debt.  The father had lost his job, got another one and then lost that one as well.  The father snapped at some point and shot his wife and two teenage children before shooting himself.  It was heartbreaking to say the least.  But nothing is so bad to end it all.  Financial hard ship can be devastating, and starting over can be overwhelming, but you can still prevail with your faith and hard work.

Bankruptcy will allow you to take control of your finances again.  But the most important thing to do is take control of the creditors calling you.  If you have not taken a few moments you need to read the Fair Debt Collection Practice act. You can find it at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/cre27.pdf.

This will give you the ammunition you need to fight back against the creditors who will flat out ignore your rights and lie to you.

Here are a few things that you can do to take control of some of these “blood suckers.” I know that’s strong but what else can you say about some of these collectors. Okay here we go.

(1)  Have fun- you must turn the hardship and situation into something that simply has a little lighter side to it.  I know we have all seen the Seinfeld episode where the telemarketer called Jerry at dinner.  Jerry then said “can I get your home number and call you back?” Exactly, they don’t want to be called at home either much less during dinner.

(2) When the collector calls, put them on hold for a few hours, seriously if you just put the phone down no one else can call.  Try taking the call using a different accent; whatever gives you some joy. Tell the collector to hold for one moment, make some banging clicking noises and then come back on the line and say sorry about that I had to turn on my tape recorder, go ahead what were you saying?  I bet they change their tune. I am not saying that you need to do this to dodge your bill collectors; I am only saying to do this to simply take back your life and work out your debts on your time not theirs. 

(3) Actually, the best thing to do is call your bill collectors every Monday or whatever day works for you each week.  You can give them an update.  Call them before they call you, even if you can’t pay; the communication goes along way.

(4)  Next time they call you, put them on notice.  Tell them to never call you again, then when you hang up send them a “Cease and Desist” letter with certified return receipts, letting them know that you no longer want to be contacted by phone. Tell them you are utilizing the rights afforded you under the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act and that you want all communication as outlined in the act to be by U.S. mail.  Violation of this request can result in possible civil and criminal actions.

(5) Trap Call. This may be over kill but you can get a 30 day free trial by going to trapcall.com.  It cost $25 per month which is a little steep for personal use but the free trial may be all you need for 30 days.  For small business it is sure a great use of $25.  Here is what they do; you sign up then put in your cell phone number.  Trap call will then intercept all phone calls made to your cell phone, I think it has to be a cell phone but you can check.  Since many people today are using a cell phone for their home number I felt this was worthy of discussing.  Once you have set up the service you can manage your calls through the site.  Anyone that calls doesn’t experience anything different.  But it is completely different.  First, if anyone leaves you a message, trap call will transcribe it and send it you via text message which is a cool feature.  If a bill collector calls you that is annoying then you can go to your mange calls and place that number on the “black list” and the next time they call, if you don’t answer, they will get “the number you have dialed is no longer in service please check the number and try again.”  That’s right, it will announce an “out of order” message every time you allow a black list number go to your voice mail.  If someone calls and you press ignore on your phone they will get nothing.  They will actually think that their phone didn’t go through correctly.  You can press ignore every time and they will simply just loose the call.  You can also use the feature to record all your calls, anytime someone calls you, a record option is available.  If you ever have someone call you from a private number you can select ignore, and while the caller hears ringing, you will see the name of the caller.  Never talk to another bill collector again, giving you the ultimate piece of mind.

Remember, you do have rights.  Know your rights and don’t allow any bill collector to intimidate you or abuse your rights.  Stand up for your rights.

All my best,

James

If you quit then it’s over, if you never give up then you always have a chance.  First in foremost, I am a Christian and that being said you must have faith above all. If you are facing foreclosure then you may want to read this carefully.  I have written about this previously but it is time to address again.  I have gotten numerous calls in the last few weeks, friends and family alike that are facing tough financial crisis.

Whether or not you are behind on your mortgage, you can ask your lender for a mortgage modification. Remember, if you are not behind on your mortgage you can still ask for a modification.  Rest assured you will be told that there is nothing they can do for you until you are late.  Do not fall into that trap!  I personally know many people that have gotten mortgage modifications after they were told they could not.  The lender told them they would have to be at least 90 days late.  I know for a fact they have never been late and had their balances lowered, the interest and/or payments lowered, forgiven or waived.  But you simply can’t take “no” for a answer

If you are late – same thing; don’t take “no” for an answer!  Just keep asking until you get the answer you are looking for.

Here is the first thing you need to do – whether you are late or not.  Call your lender and specifically ask for the Loss Mitigation department.  Again, don’t take “no” for an answer.  You may have to call multiple times, but you will find someone to answer the phone who actually cares and that can get you going in the direction you need.  What you will find out is that you will receive as many answers to the same questions as the number phone calls you make.

Once you get Loss Mitigation, let them know your situation.  Let them know whether you were laid off, fired, had a pay cut…whatever. You have to let them know your financial situation has changed from when you first purchased your home, including the fact that your home is probably worth 30 percent or less than when you initially bought it.  In fact you might even consider giving the keys back to the lender and just buy the house next door for 50 percent less.

I can tell you that the banks – all of them – need to cut deals to sell their real-estate owned and/or non-performing assets.  In fact, many of the banks are encouraged or even rewarded by the government for getting rid of their non-performing assets.  That translates into working deals out with you.

If the bank reworks your loan and makes it current, then the bank will be able to move that loan off their non-performing assets list.  They are very motivated to do this.  The longer the property takes to foreclose, the longer it takes the bank to free up the money they have tied up on the non-performing asset, thus they want to cut deals and modify loans more than ever before.  So don’t be the one reading this saying I already did what you are saying and was told “no.” If you are saying this, you will lose.  The banks are changing their minds daily.

After you have started the process with your lender, you can go to “Hope Now” online.  They may tell you that you cannot file with them, again don’t take “no” for an answer; insist that they do.  Hey, even if you get denied – so what.  I know people that have been denied numerous times by their bank and by the “Hope Now” program only to actually get approved many “no’s” later. And that goes for people that have never been late before.

Okay, this is especially for you former Countywide people out there.  I have heard that Bank of America is so far behind that they are suspending actions of foreclosures on their Countrywide loans until they get caught up.  Furthermore, I specifically know someone who has a loan with Countywide that is currently going through the modification program.  They were about 90 days late as of February and called Bank of America to request a mortgage modification; they also filed with “Hope Now.”  Here is what has happened so far.   Nothing!  I mean nothing!  Well, except they haven’t made a payment and their loan is current.  What the bank did was tack the past due payments of the loan to the backend and then made the loan current.  They then said that until they get caught up to review the modification request no payments would be due and that the loan would stay current. So each month they get a statement from the bank giving them the loan balance and showing that they are current with nothing owed.  It has been months since the modification request. If you have an old Countrywide loan, start making your calls now requesting a mortgage modification.

I hope this helps you and don’t forget you must have faith above all things.  Don’t give up or as my uncle says, “don’t take yourself out of the game, it always gets better and as long as you move the ball along, things will change.”

All my best –

James Dicks

It takes only a few minutes and yet boating enthusiasts still don’t take the time to potentially insure their personal safety while on the water.

A few years back I was fishing the SKA, the southern King Fish Association tournaments, with a few friends.  We were sitting at one of the captain’s meetings listening to the US Coast Guard try to convince the boat team captains to file a float plan and how important it was to have one.  Shall I say they were encouraging everyone to prepare one, as the routine was to fill one out and then put it in your vehicle or give to a loved one before heading out on the water. 

A float plan is simply an outline of your trip, where you are heading with whom and when you are leaving and returning.  And in case something goes wrong, the authorities are more likely to find you because they’ll have a starting and ending location.  The difference between life and death on the water is more often than not based on time.  The sooner a search can start the better chances for survival you have. 

My lifelong friend is currently a Chief in the Coast Guard reserves and has been for more than 21 years including active duty as well as several deployments in times of need.  Together we created a service that is free of charge.  We knew this would help both the boating community and the Coast Guard in times of distress on the water. 

It is automated and can be opened and closed very quickly.  If you are a boater then you need to take five minutes of your time and check out www.usfloatplan.com.  It could save your life!

In just the past few months, two NFL players and their friend lost their lives in an offshore fishing accident in Florida.  A float plan could have potentially affected the outcome of that search and rescue.  They ultimately died because of hypothermia after being stranded in the cold Gulf of Mexico winter waters for too long.  A Float Plan just might have saved their lives.

We received an email from a happy and safe boater in California recently;

Dear US Float Plan,

I would like to thank you and the US Float Plan organization for the great service provided to boaters.  I have always tried to let a relative or friend know about our boating trips in advance, and importantly, when we planned on returning home.  However, it seems that many times when we would “take off” on short notice, no one was notified.  US Float Plan solved that problem since I could have an existing plan ready for use for those routes we frequently cruised, and “open” a plan in minutes using the internet.

A few weeks ago, my wife and I were ready to set out on the Sacramento Delta, and I filed a float plan on your site.  Before leaving home, I received an “overdue notification” from your website.  Well, I had put in the wrong date on the plan that I filed, and so the computer sent out the notice to me, and also to my son who was the designated contact.  I closed the plan and told my son to ignore the notice.  I filed another plan and we left for the boat.

When we were about 5 minutes out from the marina, I was surprised; then pleased to receive a cell phone call from you.  You were concerned about the overdue notice, and wanted to know that we were safe.  What a great feeling that the US Float Plan notifications worked, and that you were concerned enough to call and make sure were OK.  Thank you for providing this service.

Regards,

Mike D.

CA”

Be safe – Use the USFloatPlan (www.USFloatPlan.com) before your next planned trip on the water.

Safe travels –

James Dicks

On a day-to-day basis, the stock and bond markets pretty much follow the sentiment of the day.  And, at times, it actually gets to be pretty ridiculous.  For instance, the stock exchanges were extremely weak recently based upon the fact that the Chinese reported a $2.0 trillion deficit. Or was it the fact that an economic report didn’t hit street estimates or what the G8 might or might not do?   Investors seem to worry about everything.  Let’s remember, there are very some dangerous and volatile things happening, both in the global scene and in our own personal economic situations.  Events like the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, poor earnings reports, weak economic numbers, or the threat of missiles or cyber attacks from North Korea.

Look, we all have enough to keep our minds busy on a daily basis.  Our day-to-day routines with our families and our jobs normally guarantee a steady stream of decisions to make and problems to solve.  So, why worry about the world’s financial markets.  Most of the situations that change the direction of the markets are completely out of our control anyway.  What we should be concentrating on is how we can create a personal portfolio that is relatively immune to these outside events.  Create a portfolio that can weather the storm of global uncertainty. 

You’ve heard all of it before.  Diversification and proper money management are the best methods of insuring that your investments will be protected from the highs and lows in the markets.  In a diversified portfolio, should a single investment react poorly to negative national or international events, you can normally count on another investment to make up the difference. 

Examine your personal investment structure on a semi-annual basis, or at the very least, annually.  Really investigate what you are invested in.  Do your holdings include stocks, what about interest rate instruments, mutual funds, real estate, commodities, the foreign exchange markets?  Choose the opportunities that give you the most comfort.  Learn as much as you can about the investments you don’t understand that could possibly help your future financial growth.  For instance, if you don’t understand REIT’s (Real Estate Investment Trusts), read about them, ask questions, study the topic before you make any monetary move.    

Once you are involved in a particular investment, make sure you follow its progress.  If you are trading stocks, always set your stops and limits to guard against losses.  If you are investing in a 401(k) plan at work, study your investment options often and rebalance, when necessary.  The key to a positive investment life is education. 

You can count on the world situation being volatile today, tomorrow, next week, and probably for the rest of your life.  The stock markets will continue to show weakness on some days and strength on others.  If you meet the challenge of creating a balanced portfolio through diversification you most likely will worry less and definitely have more time to enjoy the most important things your life has to offer, family and friends.   It really is that simple.

In today’s business world, the need to excel beyond the competition is what makes a successful company a reality.  It’s more than the development of a solid business plan or the hiring of a professional management staff; it’s a commitment made by every individual within the organization to go beyond the standards – to exceed the values that are set forth by the company’s policy.

One way a company can make sure it accomplishes this undertaking is in the hiring process.  But after that it comes down to the basic individual pride demonstrated by each person within the organization.  There was a book written many years ago entitled How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.  In today’s world, if the entire corporate team doesn’t try, your company will flounder and fail.  Hey, look at what has happened to some of the largest companies in the world today; General Motors, for instance.  Stagnation, uncontrolled growth, few new ideas directed it down the road to bankruptcy.  In order to survive, they will have to make substantial changes in the manner in which they conduct their business or disappear forever. 

Each person must show up at the beginning of the day with their realistic goals in place and ready to be initiated.  Every employee must intimately know their mission, and how that specific mission fits into the big picture of the company’s goals and direction.  Also, an effective manager must understand how to effectively use his or her emotions to motivate their subordinates and fellow employees to get the job done successfully.  Be the model; the military calls it leadership by example.  If you do things that exceed the standards, it’s contagious.  Others will start doing the same – it really does work.

Training is also extremely important when trying to move the company forward.  Employees must be willing to take the time to expand their horizons.  With extra information acquired from night classes or Internet courses, a professional staff can begin to expand the company’s ability to produce innovative products in minimum time.  Plus, when the company invests in the individual, it shows that the company cares about their personal success, as well.  It’s better for a company to invest in each of its employee’s right from the start in order to reap the benefits later.  And it’s not just about money; corporate reputation is an extremely important thing to have in today’s highly competitive world.  Training is also applicable to the management staff as well.  Management training can help them to identify specific skills and talents in others; allowing management to place the right people in the right jobs.

Doing whatever it takes to succeed is a trait that needs to be shared within each American business.  Have the willingness to make suggestions; even when think they might be ridiculed by others.  Possess the enthusiasm to take a project and put your own spin on it; take ownership.  Be prepared and ready to work extra hours when called upon to do so.  If the American business structure is going to succeed it’s going to take the extra effort of everyone on the team.  It’s up to you to make the first move and let your professional light shine brightly.