HAPPY SAFE HALLOWEEN!

Hold on, man. We don't go anywhere with "scary," "spooky," "haunted," or "forbidden" in the title. ~From Scooby-Doo

Scooby-Doo is right, we really try not to go in anywhere where it is scary, spooky or forbidden, but then why do we always like to bring our matters into court? When asked, the majority of people is terrified of standing in front of the judge - terrified. And even so, we still end our major arguments with the simple phrase of , "I'll sue you!" Why not change that to, "Let's mediate?" I admit, it does not sound as cool or as threatening, but is being threatening to someone really our goal in a dispute. The goal is to settle our differences in a civilized and understanding manor. So if for one night of Halloween the dead and alive alike can roam in harmony, why can't we as humans resolve our everyday conflicts in a non-adversarial manner?

Happy Halloween everyone!

BLAZING FIRES AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES

My heart goes out to everyone who was effected by the recent California fires.

It happened before, the '94 earthquakes, '03 fire, Catrina and other unfortunate disasters, which caused us millions in dollars and moral devastation. There is no question in my mind that after all the fires are put out in Sand Diego, Malibu, Riverside, Antelope Valley and everywhere and anywhere else the scorcher took place, the insurance companies will be very busy.

Let me get one thing out of the way, insurance companies are not evil. However, they are not going to throw their money away either. They will fight for every cent and they will fight hard. Solution? Mediation.

Insurance company mediation is one of the most common mediation around and for a good reason. It works. Give the insurance company a chance to make it right and I promise that with the right neutral [mediator] in the middle you will be pleasantly surprised. Don't be shy to offer mediation to your insurance company, before you hire an attorney.

Next time you deal with an insurance company, remember the mediator.

Gov. Racicot & CA Insurance Commissioner Discuss CA Fires


For more information, check out http://www.rtmediation.com/

THE START OF IT ALL

Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes.
~ Benjamin Franklin

This quote was true then and it is true now; however, I think that it may use, as so many of our things today, an upgrade. In this world nothing is certain but death, taxes and debt. In the Menshealth.com article titled, "Is Your City a Debt Trap?" The writer grades the cities of the USA depending on their indebtedness status, from F to A. This is no surprise, start up credit card consolidation companies and debt management companies are on the rise, ironically so is fraud. Many of these companies do not deliver on their promise, well at least not to the consumer.

The process of debt consolidation and management woks something like this: the consumer contacts the debt management company and explains to them their situation of how much they owe and to whom. The company in turn tells the consumer to stop making minimum payments (if they were making them at all) and to make a one lump sum monthly payment to the debt management company, which will negotiate a resolution for a reduced amount with each of the creditors. Six month later, the consumer is sued by his creditors. The problem is that there is no guarantee that the debt management company will be able to negotiate with the creditor and even though they warn the consumers of the possibility of a lawsuit the consumers are not savvy enough to see that rather than a possibility it is more of a certainty. Meanwhile the debt management company makes its profit and moves on. I do want to say that there are a few consolidation and management companies out there that are very good and legit - do your homework.

By now you must be asking your self for an alternative. Well, there is and was. That alternative is mediation. Mediation is a process in which a neutral third-party is asked to help and negotiate a resolution to a dispute, in this case debt collection. It is proven that by using a non-biased third-party person to manage the negotiation conflict in a confidential and private manner allows both parties to the dispute to find resolution through mutual understanding. To put it simply, the mediator is able to convey each side's point in a more understandable and acceptable way thus resulting in a mutually acceptable agreement.

American Mediation was started in 1993 by Patrick Kienel. Patrick started the company in San Diego, CA, but later moved it to St. Augustine, FL. After I accidentally discovered American Mediation I knew that I had to make it a part of the Right Triangle Mediation arsenal. Ever since the implementation of debt resolution mediation services I have resolved numerous cases and maintained the firms average of 97% success rate. Right Triangle Mediation still performs all other types of mediation services, but the use of the virtual debt mediation and default prevention has given the company what it needed - a true way to help consumers.