September 24, 2014 California has passed legislation to: prohibit a contract or proposed contract for the sale or lease of consumer goods or services from including a provision waiving the consumer’s right to make any statement regarding the seller or lessor or its employees or agents, or concerning the goods or services. Read more
September 23, 2014 The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has proposed new rules to regulate non-bank auto finance lenders, including the lending divisions of large car manufacturers. The proposed rules are here. CFPB estimates that the new rule would cover 38 auto finance companies, which make 90% of all consumer auto loans in the country. These… Read more
September 22, 2014 The FTC has shutdown a Missouri-based scam operation, which claimed to be a payday lending business. The scam operated by depositing $200-300 into consumers’ bank accounts without their permission, then repeatedly withdrawing money from the same account as “finance charges”, using fake documents presented to consumers’ banks. The FTC press release is… Read more
September 21, 2014 A major security failure at Home Depot has led to millions of credit card details falling into the hands of hackers. Home Depot says that hackers used custom written malware to attack the store’s registers. However, former Home Depot employees report that, for several years, the company ignored warnings about the potential… Read more
How to check medical bills for errors, here. List of 13 states that may not balance bill, with explanations, here. If you are in New York, there is actually a website called Stop Surprise Medical Bills, here. 2014 study by the CFPB finding that medical debt overly penalizes consumer credit scores, here. Senator Elizabeth Warren’s… Read more
Report to the Senate from August, 2012, here. Read more
Grayson Bell has written “True Confessions of a Former Debt Collector,” in which he confirms many facts which consumers complain about, but which industries deny, including the following: Read more
Many people do not even know that there are guidelines on consumer protection from the United Nations, here. Read more
This entire 16-minute segment is definitely worth watching, here. With 1.8 million views on YouTube already, this insightful and often serious clip has the potential to impact policy and regulation. Pass it on. Read more
Bad Paper: Chasing Debt From Wall Street to the Underworld by Jake Halpern The New York Times Magazine has just published a cover story adapted from Jake Halpern’s phenomenal upcoming book, Bad Paper. You can read the entire article here. Because I can’t possibly capture Halpern’s outstanding writing style or story telling abilities, I offer… Read more