Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Wisconsin

Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between scams and real credit card charges since the rates charged by some credit cards are so outrageous that they themselves become scams. Rates of over 30% per year are common, together with huge late payment fees which can often yield total annual charges of 100-200% of your original balance! The card user agreements which initially apply often contain fine print allowing the bank to change the contract at will and without notice, effectively turning the banks into little more than modern day pirates and buccaneers. These charges do not go down once the bank sells your account to an outside collector or funding agency; in fact, usually just the opposite is true. The new owner account will interpret the bank's original contract rights in even or aggressive and exotic ways, thereby even further increasing the fees which are charged to you. If you believe that any of the fees which they are claiming against you are not authorized by your contract or that the manner in which the contract was changed violated your original contract with the bank (or is otherwise illegal, unconscionable or usurious), you should raise this defense in your legal answer, forcing the bank to prove otherwise in court. However, an average consumer attempting to do all of this on his or her own, without an attorney will often fail to properly assert such defenses without past work experience in either the legal or the banking industry. For this reason, you should never attempt to defend such a lawsuit without consulting with an attorney; preferably with one who emphasizes bankruptcy work in his law practice. Regardless of whether you have a legal defense to the credit card collection, one can often discharge tens of thousands of credit card debt as well as most other unsecured obligations such as medical bills, uninsured car accident claims or loans, for legal fees of not much more than $1000. Discharge in bankruptcy amounts to legal forgiveness of the debt and provides a permanent injunction which prohibits the creditor from making any future attempt to collect. My comments in the online web forum and intended for public education only and are not legal advice for you. You should therefore contact you own attorney before acting upon any suggestions made here. You are also welcome to contact my Racine office to set up a free initial consultation with me about my possibly accepting your case.