Customer Reviews

DEFAULT !!! Escaping the Debt Trap and Avoiding Bankruptcy

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I read the first edition of this book and am in complete awe of it's author.
How she managed to do all this is really an amazing story in and of itself.
The other information in the book is important and valuable, and well worth owning.
Had not heard about the follow up info, mentioned in another review. Not surprised, however.
Ms Guedel, law school beckons!

I have just read this Second Edition after reading the First Edition(which I reviewed), and it is now a comfortably larger book than the First Edition (6x9" rather than pocket book size) which makes it easier to read... the print is larger too. It costs a couple of dollars more, but it also includes an important new chapter.

This is the same detailed, blow-by-blow account of a real-life couple's SUCCESSFUL defense against a bank's collections attorney without using a lawyer, including every legal pleading that was filed in this case by both Plaintiff and Defendant... but it NOW includes a present-day follow-up concerning surprising continued collection attempts.

The new final chapter details the manipulative and unscrupulous tactics that numerous debt collectors have been attempting to use on these people, even though one of these collectors was already defeated in court... and even after all of the alleged credit card accounts have already expired beyond their State's Statute of Limitations.

The law doesn't seem to matter to these bottom-feeding debt collection sharks. They will continue to prey upon people who don't understand what legal protections they have available. They will try to deceive, manipulate, and offer false reassurances about repairing your credit report and/or absolving you of your debt ... when in actual fact you will most likely face increased income taxes AND lose your legal protection against ongoing lawsuits under your State's Statute of Limitations.

This latest edition provides first-hand information about numerous experiences following the couple's defeat of the first round of debt collectors. This will help readers understand what to expect in the years following a successful defense against collections.

I highly recommend this new Second Edition.

I bought this book thinking I was going to learn how to avoid bankruptcy. I was sorely disappointed. The book is about how the author avoided it -- which, granted, she says in her youtube video. I incorrectly assumed it may also tell me how to do it. Far from it, in fact. It oddly enough does not go into great detail about how she avoided bankruptcy. Only the general idea is there. And the author seemed to imply that the technique she used to avoid bankruptcy 5 years ago may no longer be a valid approach today. Half of this book is about the author's combat with a creditor suing her. So half the book contains nothing but the legalese it took for her to defeat them. The story was somewhat interesting, and the legalese could be useful for someone defending themselves, like she did -- but it may have to be the same circumstances. But it is not the reason I bought the book. I did not learn how to avoid bankruptcy. So buyer beware.

The book was very interesting and good info but has limited value other than procedural for current cases it seems because:

1) Other than the procedural issues, the couple's main point in their motions was the Arbitration Award in 2004 from "ADS" Alternative Debt services against FunniBank (South Dakota). How are we to find such a debtor friendly arbitration company? Little is said about the arbitration other than they got nice official looking Award Certificates in the mail.

There are various reports that FunniBank was Citibank and ADS was the National Arbitration Council.

The US District Court for the Middle District of Florida issued a decision in Citibank v. National Arbitration Council finding that the NAC had tortuously interfered and violated unfair trade practice act.

Florida Federal Court Finds National Arbitration Council is a "Mailbox Arbitration" Sham - A Florida federal court has joined a number of other courts around the U.S. which have ruled that the National Arbitration Council (NAC) operates a rogue arbitration "service" for credit cardholders to try and extinguish debt through an unauthorized arbitration process. Case No.3:04-cv-1076-J-32MCR CitiBank (South Dakota) and Chase vs National Arbitration Council Inc. They seemed to have ceased business in 2006.

2) The author Heidi Guedel has a supposed post on Sui bragging how she has hidden herself from being served from 5 more creditors in quite a scheme where she has no traceable address, utilities in someone else's name etc. If legitimate seems she isn't willing to take up the fight again but instead hide from it.

3) There is a public record from Marion County FL that on 2/4/2008 there was a default judgment entered against a Garofalo Heidi Guedel with a DOB of 1948 by Capital One Bank. Case Number: 42-2006-CC-000311-AXXX-XX

4) The motions etc have good support but of course they are all FL cases. If not in FL have to search for days to find cases to cite in our State. I realize no real solution to this, not the fault of the author since they had to use FL cases in FL. But lots of the legal jargon was not lay friendly (not suppose to be in a brief or motion). It may leave some readers perhaps a bit overwhelmed and may feel more in need of a lawyer to figure out how would argue in another state. And of course without their arbitration award by it seems a mail order award company.

Assuming this is the same person (reportedly also using other names and also now licensed in real estate in FL, one wonders why she now hides and gets default judgments against her if her methods are so useful for others that buy her book.

She has been attacked for the her vapor money defense which while humorous is a bit far out. That was not used in the successful defense by the couple in the book. BUT, the arbitration award defense was primary but of little practical use today without the sham mail order get your award type arbitration being available.