To Pay Or Not To Pay: Insider Secrets to Beating Credit Card Debt and Creditors (Paperback)

by Stanley G. Hilton (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Adams Media (December 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 158062944X
• ISBN-13: 978-1580629447
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #486,750 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 56 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Do NOT buy this book! It is full of lies and outdated information!, March 14, 2006

By	Will "Will" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

I have over 5 years of professional credit repair experience and I know just about everything there is to know about credit repair. I have read many books on the subject, but this is the worst one I have ever come across! The author states that FICO scores are issued by TRW, yet TRW has not existed for over 10 years! He further states that the credit bureaus have 60 days to complete an investigation request by any consumer, yet the Fair Credit Reporting Act, cleary states that they have 30 days to conclude any investigation! The author goes on to say that writing letters will not work, which is precisely the way that I have helped hundreds of people, including myself. The author states that the only way to remove negative or inaccurate items is to sue the credit bureaus! Well, this is easily said than done and he knows it! This is yet another lie! For all I know, the author probably works for the credit bureaus and banks by feeding the reader false, inaccurate, outdated information and drilling to sue the bureaus and creditors, because he knows it is easier said than done! I do not like this book, I do not recommend at all and the writing style is just plain dumb as it has absolutely no logic and too much beating around the bush for nothing in order to make the book thicker. I can't understand how it got published!

26 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars No Secrets - Very Few Facts - Poor Writing Style, January 28, 2005

By	Always a Critic "apa" (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews

I started to skim this book to see what it was made of and to lock onto any interesting facts. What it is made of is a series of bland adjectives, witty phrases (at least the author seems to think so) that add nothing but filler, and broad and wasted analogies to great historical people and entities that the author seems impressed to have learned about. The whole thing reads like a Mitchner book, full of superlatives, with little fact or meaning. I.e. one section heading: "The Expert Witness: The Secret Weapon of the Countersuit." I have watched "Law and Order" on few occasions and they often have an expert witness - THIS IS NOT A SECRET. At another point the author states, "At Harvard Business School, MBA students are taught that the only thing that counts in life is the 'bottom line.'" I went to a Penn State masters program in business and learned the same thing. I was also required to take a business ethics course which supported this notion but also insisted that the best way to achieve it was through customer satisfaction, among other things. This customer is not satisfied with the book. I would sell it on AMZ as a used book, but would feel that I was ripping people off - even if I sold it for a cent. There are better books out there.

19 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Learn how to sue creditors, January 7, 2004

By	Gene Ballard "wolfix" (Destin, FL) - See all my reviews

This book is about how to sue creditors, banks and anyone else you owe money to so you can get your debt reduced or canceled. It's a good read, informative and kind of exciting depending on your situation.

The author is passionate about the topic and delivers a well rounded view with views from "The Holy Bible" to "The Art of War" which is part of the reason why it's a good read.

However, the author seems to be a very aggressive lawyer who has his own views on the legal system and reasons for ethically making decisions to fight back.

Anyway, the same day a read the book, my bank called and harassed me about my late payment and ironically they said things that were mentioned in the book that gave me a case against them. Well I called my dad who is a seasoned and successful business man, Retired Major General, to get his opinion. Considering his history with lawyers coming after his money and real estate over the years he was very calm and wise when he said, "I understand your situation and I understand that you can sue but the fact is you owe the money and you're going to pay it. You signed a contract and spent the money and that was the deal. It doesn't matter if your combined interest payments have payed the debt or more than the debt... you owe the money. Now lets come up with a plan on how to make some money and pay your debts."

So what's the verdict in what I think about the book? This book will fire you up to sue and will give you reason to sway your ethics. But if you've been abused by a creditor then maybe you do need to sue to at least reduce the debt or come up with a payment plan.

So if you've been abused and need some direction, get the book. If your debt is light and you don't have problems with creditors, get a book on how to manage your money (check out Dave Ramsey) and another on how to make money.

I give 4 stars because the book delivers. Less one star because it is strong in its ability to sway your ethics... but hey, the author is passionate and very focused.