WPCNR QUILL & EYESHADE. From The County Clerk Office. (EDITED) July 10, 2008: The Office of the County Clerk reported an sharp increase in consumer credit action filings against individuals for delinquent credit card debt, car loan defaults, medical and tuition bills this year. County Clerk Timothy Idoni projects over 30,000 civil actions will be started in Westchester this year.  The 2006 and 2007 totals were 25,172 and 26,169, respectively. 

 “In 2007, we averaged about 1,700 legal filings a month.  This year we are already averaging over 2,300 a month and anticipate this number will rise,” Idoni said in a news release.  “Our counter people are reporting a massive jump in consumer credit filings.  And as a struggling economy continues and banks tighten their lending practices, we want to let Westchester consumers know what they can do to protect themselves.”  County Clerk Idoni offers the following tips to consumers having difficulty paying their bills:

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Call the creditor and ask for a repayment plan.  Your creditor wants to be repaid and may be willing to work out a payment schedule you can handle. By entering into a repayment plan, you may be able to avoid your debt being assigned to a debt collector who may contact you repeatedly at your home or office.

Seek help from an accredited credit counseling service.  Credit counseling services offer assistance and counseling to help consumers get out of debt and remain debt-free.  A counselor may be able to contact your creditors and work out a repayment plan that you can manage.   For a list of reputable credit counseling agencies in your area, contact the National Foundation for Credit Counseling ( NFCC) www.nfcc.org.  

Stay away from so-called low interest rate credit card solicitations.  Consumers often find themselves in trouble when they answer mail solicitations for so called low interest rate credit cards.  Beware as some creditors offer a low introductory “teaser” rate for a short time that will balloon into a double digit interest rate that can be difficult for you to repay and hurt your credit score.

Make lifestyle and spending changes.  Keep track of your spending by creating a monthly budget that includes all expenses and bills that are covered by your income and stay on track.  Start saving what’s left and put it in the bank. Cut down on using credit cards to pay for unnecessary spending including frequent dining out, shopping sprees, and expensive cell phone plans, for example.  “Be realistic about your debt.  If it’s between 15 and 20 percent of your income, you need to start trimming down your expenses significantly”, cautioned Idoni.

The Westchester County Clerk is the Clerk for the Supreme Court where consumer credit cases may be filed.  The public can visit the Legal Division located at 110 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in White Plains between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:45 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays.  For more information on our Legal Division, please call 995-3070 or visit our website at www.westchesterclerk.com.

  Just last week, Westchester County Clerk Tim Idoni bumped into a customer filing eighty  consumer credit card actions in his office.  The customer, who has filed cases for local attorneys and banks on foreclosures and consumer credit issues for many years, shared, “I have never seen it this bad… ever.”   .