RSS Articles

  • 20 sneaky credit card tricks October 3, 2011
    By Amy c. Fleitas * Bankrate.com Credit card companies can be as slippery as a handful of greased Jell-O. They have all kinds of tricks to gouge your wallet and drive up your bill. While arguably unfair, all these tricks are legal, leaving you no alternative but to stay as informed as possible to protect ... […]
  • 41 credit advisors October 2, 2011
    By Monica Hatcher KNIGHT RIDDER TRIBUNE NEWS Six months after the federal government began requiring consumers to get credit counseling before filing for bankruptcy, IRS audits revealed that the $1 billion nonprofit credit counseling industry is riddled with companies profiteering on those who can least afford it. In a sweeping program to weed out organizati […]
  • When a Stranger Calls October 1, 2011
    The New York Times July 9, 2006 – Editorial As consumer debt in America balloons to previously unimaginable levels, currently $2.2 trillion and growing, the dark underside of abusive debt collection is growing along with it. Legislators and regulators should take further steps to curb the lies, harassment and intimidation coming from out-of-control collector […]
  • MBNA Turns Up the Heat September 30, 2011
    Credit Card Giant Raises Rates, Plays Hardball with Clients By Martin H. Bosworth ConsumerAffairs.Com April 26, 2005 MBNA’s (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/../../credit_cards/mbna_america.htm) Surging profits may make it popular with investors but its propensity for self-surging interest rates isn’t going over so well with its cardholders. Consumers writing […]
  • Comments from Bankruptcy Judge A. Jay Cristol (Bankr. S.D. Fla.) regarding the new bankruptcy laws September 29, 2011
    By Consumer Bankruptcy News With Congress and the Supreme Court having approved what I would call criminal loan sharking, filings will start growing, and maybe not in a year, but in a couple of years, we might see filings as high or higher that they were before, notwithstanding the new bankruptcy law’s goal. Then take ... […]
  • Debtors’ Hell – Part I – The Boston Globe September 28, 2011
    No mercy for consumers Firms’ tactics are one mark of system that penalizes those who owe By The Boston Globe Spotlight Team – July 28, 2006 This stay was reported by Spotlight team members Michael Rezendes, Beth Healy, Francie Latour, Heather Allen, and editor Walter V. Robinson. It was written by Rezendes and Latour It ... […]
  • As we bloat with debt, enablers egg us on September 27, 2011
    By LOREN STEFFY Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle I’m worried my paper shredder isn’t big enough. No, I don’t have any important records to dispose of; and I never worked for Arthur Andersen. My problem is I have a mailbox. Every day, at least two offers for low-interest credit cards arrive. Banks beg me to go ... […]