Legal Toolkit Ohio Bankruptcy, Debt and Consumer Law

What to KnowWhat to ExpectWhat to DoWhere to Read MoreWhat to BringWhat to Ask

What to Do About Bankruptcy, Debt and Consumer Law

a

Bankruptcy

  1. Do not contact creditors prior to meeting with your attorney; let the attorney guide you related to creditor communication.
  2. Gather detailed information about your finances (see list in "What to Have")
  3. Stop incurring additional debt (unsecured purchases made up to 30 days prior to bankruptcy filing are frequently not eligible for discharge)

b

Identity Theft

  1. Place a "Fraud Alert" on your account with the Fraud Department of one of the 3 Major Credit Reporting Agencies (see Where to Read More for links)
  2. Close accounts you know to have been opened fraudulently
  3. File an ID Theft Affidavit with the Federal Trade Commission (see "Where to Read More" for links)
  4. File a report with local Police or Police in the location where the fraud happened.

c

Credit Report Inaccuracies

  1. Contact, in writing, the appropriate Credit Reporting Agency (Experian, Transunion, or Equifax) to dispute errors on your credit report. Include copies of disputed records. Unless they think your dispute frivolous, they must investigate within 30 days.
  2. Contact the provider of the information to the Credit Reporting Agency (usually the company providing credit) in writing, with copies of inaccurate information and ask them to correct it.
  3. Once the error has been corrected, ask the Credit Reporting Agency to send notices of correction to anyone who has requested your credit report in the last 6 months (or last 2 years for employment credit checks). If investigation doesn’t resolve the dispute, ask that a statement of dispute be included in your file.

d

Faulty Product or Bad Business Issues

  1. Contact a product liability lawyer and/or file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau (see Where to Read More for links to BBB).