As one of the first journalists to write about the identity theft phenomenon more than a decade ago, people often ask me if I think LifeLock is worth it. I’ve never been a fan of the company, which began its uneasy existence with a brazen advertising campaign that included plastering the founder’s [Keep reading]
While Comcast moves ahead with its plan to add cell-phone-like data usage fees to home Internet service, consumers like Kimberly Richardson are feeling the pain. And if you are a heavy user and part of Comcast’s new fee trial, expect your bills to go up in January. Richardson, who lives [Keep reading]
Ever since I started writing the Red Tape Chronicles, people (mostly journalists) have complained that I cover two very different topics: tech gone bad and consumer ripoffs. I’ll admit it: I don’t care. Often enough, these subjects overlap. You don’t care if a hacker is stealing your money or a [Keep reading]
If you are looking to start over, Raleigh is a pretty good place to start. This week, Danielle Bingham, 52, moved into a lovely 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom house on a half-acre just outside Raleigh, N.C. — a step she couldn’t have imagined a decade ago. She paid $175,000 for the 2,000-square-foot [Keep reading]
Tis the season of panic shopping. It’s not quite “I’d better just buy an e-gift card” season yet, but almost. It’s the time where people start to resort to online shopping as its easier and faster, shopping online for mums is particularly popular as they always have so many to [Keep reading]
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One out of three U.S. consumers has a debt in collections, but it often seems like three out of three have received a debt collection call recently. That suggests a lot of people are getting calls when they shouldn’t. What can you do if a debt collector is bothering you over a mistake? With 77 [Keep reading]
Some consumers are so annoyed by the new chip-enabled credit cards that they’ve begun avoiding stores that require them, a survey from Mercator Advisory Group, a payment industry research firm, claims. That’s an unwanted headache for small business owners, especially those fighting for shoppers during the busy holiday season. The “avoiders” group is small but [Keep reading]
Not long ago, Cara was sharing a $3,200 rental payment with roommates. Today, she makes a $770 monthly mortgage payment to own a home that’s about the same size. What happened? She moved, of course. From Washington D.C. to Buffalo, N.Y. Recently, Credit.com shared a list of America’s least expensive [Keep reading]
Ryan Will was shopping at a Loews near his Washington State home recently and got one of those calls from his credit card issuer, USAA. The operator was trying to verify if a pending credit card change was legitimate. In this case, it was $800 at a plastic surgeon’s office somewhere in [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan