The Law Office of James Michel
Consumer Defense and Bankruptcy Attorney
If you have a Chase credit card (any credit card issued by J.P.Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.), you should read this, even if you have the card for emergencies and don’t regularly use it. On June 5, 2019, Chase Bank announced that most Chase credit cards will from now on include an arbitration clause, or an …
Protect Your Rights Regarding Chase Bank Credit CardsRead More
The caller on the other end of the line had a question: “Can you do anything about a default judgment?” “Of course you can,” I responded. “It’s called a motion to vacate or set aside a default judgment, and I file them all the time.” The caller explained that he had just spoken to two …
Let’s say you’ve just been served with a debt collection lawsuit. The company suing you is a debt buyer, a company who claims it purchased the right to enforce a debt you ran up on a credit card or other credit account. You’re being sued for about $7500. But you’ve read on the Internet or …
Some folks in the San Francisco Bay Area are surprised to get multiple telephone calls in one day from debt collectors in other parts of the country, including from other time zones. It’s extremely annoying to be harassed with multiple calls, repeatedly having to explain that the debt isn’t yours (mistaken identity or you’re a …
The old adage about the certainty of taxation is also true in debt relief. When a creditor cancels a debt, the Internal Revenue Service considers that to be taxable income. It’s also called “debt forgiveness income.” As discussed in a previous post on Debt Settlement, if you agree to settle a debt as opposed to …
Many people who call us have questions about their student loans and repayment programs but they don’t yet know which of their loans are private bank loans and which are federally guaranteed. The best way to find out is to go to the National Student Loan Data System website (NSLDS) provided by the U.S. Department …
Are My Student Loans Private or Federally-Guaranteed?Read More
Has a debt collector contacted you and asked how you are going to pay a debt, and then informed you that the creditor already has a judgment against you? This sometimes happens if you were served papers but never filed a written response. It’s also possible that you never knew about the lawsuit because the …
