23 Oct
Posted by: Andrew Bunbury in: Bad Credit News
Consolidated Horticulture, a nursery that supplies large quantities of nursery goods to major stores like Walmart, Home Depot and Lowe’s, has filed for chapter bankruptcy protection.
The bankruptcy of Consolidated Horticulture comes through the filing of its affiliate, retailer Hines Nurseries, a company with based in California, Oregon and Texas.
Hines Nurseries has locations across California, as well as stores in Arizona, Oregon and Texas.
Consolidated Horticulture is based out of Irvine, California. Representatives blamed slow sales in a tough economy for their chapter bankruptcy filing. Specifically, Bloomberg cited “weak consumer demand, anemic home-building activity and pricing pressure” from customers as reasons for the bankruptcy filing as reported by the company itself.
The company listed about $179 million is assets in the bankruptcy petition, and about $87 million in debt.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Wilmington, Delaware.
This is not the first time that the Hines Nurseries have dealt with bankruptcy. The c
Financial experts may distinguish between “good debt” and “bad debt,” but your circumstances can help with determining how to prioritize paying off your debt. Here’s how debts can cost high finance charges and more:
19 Oct
Posted by: Gemma Zox in: Bad Credit News
Columnist Brian O’Connell writes in Newsweek that U.S. consumers are expected to file 1.6 million bankruptcies by year end, the highest level since 2005. As the economy lingers in the doldrums, more Americans are going without health insurance. Many families are forced into bankruptcy when meeting living expenses without jobs or paying insurmountable health care costs. Although you may be well and have a job, it’s important to recognize potential signs of trouble in order to avoid appearing in bankruptcy court.
Getting the facts: Knowing what’s real, and where you stand
Having a wallet full of credit cards with high credit lines can provide a false sense of financial security; you figure you can handle unexpected expenses by whipping out the plastic. This may take care of an immediate need, but incurring high amounts of debt on high annual percentage rate (APR) credit cards creates debt that’s nearly impossible to pay off. The fir
19 Oct
Posted by: Luca Malley in: Bad Credit News
Debt counseling is the process of looking at your finances and your credit, and choosing the best course of action to help you pay off the debt sooner rather than later. You can do this yourself; you don’t necessarily have to pay someone to do it for you as long as you are willing to confront the debt head on and be honest with yourself. Do it yourself debt counseling works for many people, and even if it does not work, it may be worth your time and energy to attempt it on your own since there are fees associated with working with a debt counseling agency. Do it yourself debt counseling and associated actions are more successful when you are prepared.
Whatever course of action you have decided on, you need to be prepared before you call your creditors and attempt to settle or consolidate. Before calling obtain a copy of your current bill, written letters from the creditor offering a settlement, as well as the specific amount that you are able to pay upon settlement. T
18 Oct
Posted by: Andrew Bunbury in: Bad Credit News
Celebrity songstress Toni Braxton is singing a tune she’s heard before: bankruptcy. The diva and winner of Grammy, Billboard and American Music Awards has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy for the second time in the last decade and a half.
In Braxton’s latest Chapter 7 bankruptcy case, the singer has filed for protection in Los Angeles with reported assets of between $1 and $10 million, and debts and liabilities in the $10 to $50 million range.
As a part of the Chapter 7 filing, Braxton will likely be called upon to liquidate her assets to pay off creditors and debtors.
Her list of creditors includes not only luxury goods retailers and high end restaurants, but also medical bills and funds to performing arts industry groups. Amo
It seems everywhere you go you’ll hear about debt management. If you turn on the television, read a magazine or newspaper, or even drive down the road and look at the billboards you’ll find information about what debt management can do for you. But, if you are like many people, you don’t really know what debt management is. This is unfortunate, because debt management can help a great many people improve their financial situation.
Debt management involves a third party company or individual who assists a debtor in repaying their debt. The idea is for the debt management company to help the debtor better understand their finances so they can get their debt under control. Usually the process involves a structured repayment plan that is set up by the third party debt management company. The s
The final phase of federal legislation offering protection todebt-swamped consumers became effective October 27, but may not be stringent enough to fully protect consumers from debt settlement and debt consolidation scams. Although for-profit debt settlement /debt consolidation companies are required to disclose cost, potential negative consequences to concumers (for example, negative credit reporting of past due accounts) and how long a proposed debt settlement or debt consolidation plan will take to complete.
Financial guru Michelle Singletary points out in her blog, The Color of Money, that debt consolidation, debt settlement, and consumer credit counseling services will no longer be allowed to collect fees up front, but they are allowed to keep any fees collected regardless of whether consumers complete their debt reduction plans.