Rebuilding Your Credit

[Duncanrr]

Not sure how many people here are able to answer this question but ill pose it anyways. I'm helping sister rebuild her credit. I'm making the phone calls and handling all aspects of this. Question: should I introduce myself as her attorney or her brother?

I called IC Systems earlier today and said I was her attorney and they refused to answer any questions and told me I needed to call legal. I'm wondering if ill get better results for her as her attorney or as her brother.

[sharpie]

Is there a reason she can't just call them herself?   There is nothing magical or mystical about the whole thing, just grab the tiger by the tail and get to work on fixing your mess.  If somebody else had done all the work for me, I probably would not have learned my lesson, or felt the satisfaction of knowing what I had accomplished.

[madmann26]

You're probably gonna get that anywhere you turn.

Not to sound like a d!ck or douche, your sister will find it much more rewarding if she does this herself.

I get it. I have a sister and respect what you're doing, don't get me wrong.

[gingerdad]

Attorney myself for over 12-yrs and 2 thoughts here:

1. You need to think about your state's rules of profesional responsibility.  I am not an expert on that area, but as a general matter, if I am representing someone else I would generally identify myself as an attorney.  If you are helping out a sibling and not serving as their attorney per se, may not rise to the level of representation, but something you need to think about.
2. Generally, I avoid identifying myself as a lawyer unless #1 applies.  Find that puts folks on the defensive.

[Duncanrr]

Agree. I dont believe it raises to level of representation but i normally err on side of caution and say im both her attorney and brother.

The reason she doesn't call is she works in hospital and its difficult for her to call during weekdays when many of these people are available.

[tmobileguy]

it is illegal (its actually a felony) to claim you are an attorney and handle her debts if you're not actually an attorney...It would essentially be viewed as practicing law without a license which is a felony. I would definitely go with the brother route...

[Duncanrr]

I'm actually an attorney.

[tmobileguy]

oh...ok...sorry, from the original post it sounded like you were going to say you were an attorney for a more aggressive approach...yeah, I definitely would not be qualified to even attempt to answer that question...

[Shogun]

I knew Duncanrr was an attorney!   LOL

OK, here's how it should go.  She should actually contact them herself, I know you say it's hard for to do this, but it's the best starting scenario.  Now if you want to type her snail mail or emails for her and she agrees to those, it's perfectly fine.  When contacting the debtors, they probably won't talk to anyone except her, unless she gives some sort of permission for you to speak for her, as her brother that is helping her handle her affairs.

Now when contacting as her attorney, once the creditor is aware that she has legal counsel, all communications should come through you.  This I believe would be an escalation of her handling things on her own.

So, maybe start with a few snail mailings, see what that gets, consult with her on your progress.  If you need her to make a phone call, then you write it down and help coach her through it.  I very much stress including her in the proceeds.  I've been working on my DW's and I inform and ask her about everything.

If everything else fails, whip out the lawyer card.  Anyway, that's my 2 cents on it.