WHY DON'T YOU ADVERTISE "$0 DOWN BANKRUPTCIES" LIKE SOME OTHER ATTORNEYS?

Because those advertisements are misleading and, in our opinion, unethical They lead you to believe you are going to get something that you really are not getting.

If you read the FINE PRINT in the $0 Down advertisements carefully, you will see that they don't do any work until you have paid them money and will not file your case until you have paid them in full, like all other bankruptcy attorneys. All they may do is agree to possibly call some of your creditors. It is only a HIGH PRESSURE SALES TACTIC to get you in their door and get your signature "on the dotted line".

Why? Because if you do not pay the attorney in full before your filing, your debt to the attorney may be DISCHARGED. No attorney could make a living if the attorney's fees kept getting wiped out!

Well, having the attorney talk to your creditors right away will help, won't it? Probably not. First, you have to realize that the ATTORNEY probably will not talk to anyone. Maybe someone on the attorney's staff will call and tell them that yes, you have "hired" them to do a bankruptcy for you. What's wrong with that?

Do you know what the creditor's next question often is? "Have they paid their fees?" Why would they ask this question? The creditor wants to know if you are serious about filing bankruptcy. If you haven't "put your money where your mouth is", they will assume that you are not serious about filing bankruptcy and are just giving them another stalling tactic and they will go back to harassing you.

Many of the creditors we work with frequently do not ask that question anymore, since they know we require a minimum payment to open your file. However, we get this question from other creditors ALL THE TIME. What good does it do you to have the attorney's office say you've hired them if it isn't going to stop the harassment?

Further, it is not always to your advantage to tell the creditors you are about to file bankruptcy. If you are behind on your car payment, the finance company is likely to step up its efforts to repossess the car before you file, so they don't have to get the court's permission to do so. Likewise, a bank you owe money to will freeze your accounts, bouncing all your checks and not let you have the money you put in. Now, if they do this, the Trustee may be able to get the money back from the bank, but he won't be giving it to you. His interest is to spread any money around to all your creditors instead of having just one get a windfall.

At Fraley & Fraley we believe in telling you the whole, unvarnished truth with no high pressure sales tactics. If there is a problem, we will tell you about it. We work hard to let you know exactly what will happen and what you can do about any possible problem BEFORE it happens. Before you see ANY attorney, click on our "client rights" button. It will give you our "Client's Bill of Rights." It is a list of things that you should EXPECT and require from an attorney before you consider hiring that attorney.