Debt collector gets fined for bad behavior

My advice on debt collectors is not to do business with them.  They are not to be trusted.  Send them a “cease and desist” letter  and report them to the The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) if [...]; . . . → Click Here to Read the Full Article

Prepaid debit cards not a good deal, but some are worse than others

Suze Orman claims that 70 million people are unbanked or “underbanked,” and they need access to the convenience of a prepaid debit card to make purchases.  So she has come up with a new prepaid debit [...]; . . . → Click Here to Read the Full Article

Debt Collectors find yet another way to collect on debt you don’t owe

Recently we wrote about how debt collectors convince people to pay the debts of dead relatives — debts for which they have no responsibility: Debt collector scams: new lows to take your money.  Now, according to [...]; . . . → Click Here to Read the Full Article

Debt collector abuse continues and FTC has heard about it

The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has received a record number of complaints about debt collection so far this year, 164,361.  A large number of these are caused by bad behavior by debt collectors.  Companies (or lawyers) [...]; . . . → Click Here to Read the Full Article

New consumer protection bureau may help resolve your complaints

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is now helping consumers resolve complaints. They are now handling mortgage and credit card complaints but they have plans to handle other types of complaint as well.

In its first three [...]; . . . → Click Here to Read the Full Article

Subprime servicer uses psychologists to get borrowers to pay

The Wall Street Journal reports that Ocwen financial, the largest subprime loan servicing organization (servicing about one-fifth of all subprime loans in the U.S.) has hired a team of “social psychologists” to help its collectors figure [...]; . . . → Click Here to Read the Full Article

Debt collector scams: new lows to take your money

The Wall Street Journal reports on a new movement in collection agencies to get people to pay for debts they do not owe!  This is not a case of the collection agency having bad data, a [...]; . . . → Click Here to Read the Full Article

Foreclosure victims help: 4 million may be entitled to damages

If your primary residence was foreclosed by any of 24 loan servicing companies sometime between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010, you should watch your mail.  You should be getting a letter telling you that [...]; . . . → Click Here to Read the Full Article

New student loan laws make them easier to pay back

If you have student loans, there is good news from the Obama administration.

– Effective this January, if you’re someone who has different kinds of loans — guaranteed and direct — you’ll be able to roll them [...]; . . . → Click Here to Read the Full Article

Underwater Mortgage Refinance: New Rules

The President’s revisions to the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP) will allow people whose mortgages exceed the value of their homes to refinance their mortgages at a lower rate.  With interest rates at record lows, you [...]; . . . → Click Here to Read the Full Article