1. Business & Finance
About.com
Credit / Debt Management

Discuss in my forum

To Pay or Not to Pay Book Review

About.com Rating 2 Star Rating
User Rating 2 Star Rating (1 Review) Write a review

By , About.com Guide

See More About:
Debtors haunted by creditors, lenders, debt collectors, doctors, hospitals, and attorneys all wonder whether they should pay these debts or completely ignore them. For these consumers, To Pay or Not to Pay might be the answer.

Book Overview

To Pay or Not To Pay should have been titled To Sue or Not To Sue. The author, Stanley G. Hilton is an attorney who believes in suing creditors before they sue you. His advice doesn't help you decide whether you should pay your debts, but rather steers you toward suing your creditors to reduce or eliminate your debt. However in 214 pages, Hilton doesn't mention how a debt-stricken consumer who can't afford to pay their bills can afford to hire a lawyer to fight their legal battles.

Hilton recommends going up against some formidable opponents, like student loan lenders and the IRS. Some of these recommendations are so far-fetched, at certain points in the book I questioned Adams Media's decision to publish the book.

Hilton Gives the Wrong Facts

Hilton may know loopholes in credit laws, but he isn't so up-to-date on his credit score and report information. For example, he states that FICO scores range from 0 to 1000 when they actually range from 300 to 850. He also incorrectly states that you should write to FICO to demand inaccurate information be removed from your credit report. FICO doesn't maintain credit reports and writing to them to dispute credit report information is useless.

Who Would Benefit From This Book?

People who have been taken advantage of by their creditors and are looking for some information about filing a lawsuit would most benefit from reading To Pay or Not to Pay. I don't recommend this book for anyone who's trying to make a pay or no-pay decision. It doesn't tell you the consequences of not paying nor does it reveal what happens if you lose your legal battle against your creditors.

There are some useful pieces of information in the book. For example, the list of reasons you can sue a creditor can help readers recognize when they're being bullied by creditors. It's also helpful to know that, in general, consumers do have the ability to sue their creditors.

Most Useful Chapters

  • Chapter 2: Fighting Collection Agencies
  • Chapter 3: Watch out for Credit Repair Scams
  • Chapter 8: What to Do About Medical Bills
  • Chapter 11: Saving Your Home From Foreclosure
  • Chapter 13: Tenant's Rights

User Reviews

 2 out of 5
The Debtor's Survival Guide much better, Member mastermoon

I much prefered The Debtor's Survival Guide by Samuel Adams,. It is straight to the point and teaches you in easy to understand language how to use the laws as a weapon against collection agencies- i.e. how to trap them into breaking the law for the purposed of suing them. There are useful sample conversations to use as well as an overview of all state and federal debt laws.

Write a review

3 out of 4 people found this helpful.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes | No

©2012 About.com. All rights reserved.

A part of The New York Times Company.