Beware This Growing Scam!

Here’s a scary article (free registration required - NY Times). It’s especially scary, because it could happen to anyone who’s ever experienced dire financial straits but still needs a particular product, be it for educational or business purposes. And the most ubiquitous such product? The computer. It seems an entire industry has sprung up dedicated [...]

NY Times Editorial: No Protection for Homeowners in Bankruptcy “Reform” Act

This editorial in the NY Times is required reading - but probably not for the reasons you might think. While I applaud the Times’ willingness to call Congress on the carpet for the most blatantly anti-consumer law on the books today, I’m leery of the overall “no protection” theme. While it’s true the law is [...]

Ban Mandatory Consumer Arbitration

Here’s a note from Ira Rheingold from the National Association of Consumer Advocates (of which I’m a member):
As I hope you know, NACA has been spearheading the “Give Me Back My Rights” campaign which is a coalition of consumer, civil, rights and other advocates fighting to end binding mandatory arbitration. On this past Thursday, [...]

Looking for a Bankruptcy Attorney? Here Are Some Tips

Bankrate has an article by Jenny C. McCune entitled “13 Tips to Avoid Hiring a Bad Bankruptcy Attorney.” Overall, it’s pretty good advice, though some of the tips aren’t so much “avoiding bad attorneys” as they are “avoiding bad results.” Still, it’s worth a look.
To this list, I’d add the following comments:

Don’t discount new [...]

Former Candidate for SC Governor - A Democrat - Takes Payday Lending Lobbyist Position

I’m disappointed. It’s not often I copy and paste wholesale from other articles or posts but this is one time I’m going to do just that. From AP via The Sun News:
A national payday lending group announced Monday it is hiring a former
Democratic gubernatorial candidate to be its executive vice president.
Community
Financial Services Association of [...]

Find Out What Your Health Insurer Is Saying About You

Here’s something I didn’t know. This helpful tip comes from my colleague Terry Berger:
Health insurance companies report information they have on your to a central repository, just like credit companies do. The repository is called the Medical Information Bureau. Wanna see what your health insurance company knows about you?
To obtain a free copy of the [...]