Overdraft Protection is a scam you should avoid
If you have a debit card you may get a letter in the mail telling you that you are no longer protected from overdrafts unless you tell the bank that you want to sign up …
Debt and credit related complaints dominate FTC’s top ten
In 2009, “Identity Theft” accounted for 21% of all complaints filed with the Federal Trade Commission. Number two was “Third Party and Creditor Debt Collection” which totaled 9% of all complaints (119,549). “Credit card” complaints …
New credit card rules offer some protection
However, they do not limit interest or charges.
New rules took effect February 22nd, and more are coming in August. They limit the ability of credit card issuers to raise interest rates on existing balances and …
New credit card rules offer good news and bad news.
Rules take effect on Feb 22nd, 2010. Read your mail!
The single biggest benefit of the much-touted new rules for credit cards — prohibiting credit card companies from raising interest rates on existing balances — has …
Avoid foreclosure prevention scams
The Better Business Bureau reports that foreclosure prevention is another of the top ten scams of 2009
There are many companies making many claims about helping you prevent foreclosure on your home. No matter how good …
Phony Debt Assistance one of top ten scams in 2009
The Better Business Bureau makes this case and reports on the scams.
The scammers are especially clever at preying on people in trouble and they have come up with many ways to convince you they can …
“Short sale” versus short walk
By one expert’s estimate 5.3 million US homes have a mortgage that is more than 20% higher than their home’s value and 2.2 million of those are “under water” by more than 50%. It is …
Foreclosure problem turned into lose/lose by lenders
The headline in the Wall Street Journal said “flippers make a comeback.” The story told of people going to foreclosure auctions to buy and quickly resell houses at a profit. They can do this because …
Student loan modifications very hard to do. Supreme Court to rule.
To protect the more than $600 billion in student loans insured by the federal government, Congress has made it very difficult to modify these loans. Bankruptcy courts are not allowed to reduce the principle except …
Credit card regulation only partially effective thanks to loopholes and lag time
Congress recently passed what one expert called a “Set of discrete new laws” to regulate the credit card industry (see our blog entry on Credit Card Rates Going Up for details, but as the …