Health care billing issues, IRS impostor scams and student loan consolidators were among the biggest consumer headaches last year, joining more familiar complaints about identity theft, home repair and debt collection. The definitive survey of consumer gripes, which includes data from 37 agencies in 21 states, was released Wednesday by [Keep reading]
Want a fancy new Macbook but don’t have the cash for it right now? Don’t worry, Apple offers two ways to finance the purchase — PayPal Credit or Barclaycard Visa (with points!). As you might imagine, I don’t think buying a computer on new credit isn’t the greatest idea. If [Keep reading]
JUNE 8, 2007 — Your credit score might be costing you hundreds of dollars each year on your auto insurance, but you’ll never know. It’s a secret. And it looks like it’s going to stay that way. Consumers took a shot to the gut this week when the U.S. Supreme [Keep reading]
However you feel about Tom Brady, the Patriots, and football air pressure, today is a learning moment about cell phones and evidence. If you think the NFL had no business demanding the quarterback’s personal cell phone — and by extension, that your company has no business demanding to see your [Keep reading]
In all the anecdotes I’ve run across while working on The Restless Project, this simple scene might be the most powerful. And depressing. It appears in a story I wrote for CNBC.com recently about a gruesome new trend which I’ll call “work-family multitasking.” “I spoke recently with a gentleman who works [Keep reading]
Their marriage had a less-than-ideal start. She had $20,000 in debt. He was about to lose his home, and the bank wouldn’t negotiate. He also had a student loan, a car loan and some credit card debt. When she moved to Cleveland to be with him, she’d be unemployed. He’d [Keep reading]
It’s been a ritual as old as the personal computer itself. Microsoft releases a new operating system, and PC sales skyrocket as users buy new hardware to take advantage of the new software. Sure, a hardy few buy the new Windows and try to install it on their old machines, [Keep reading]
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Hidden fees, penalties, surcharges and other “gotchas” drive consumers bonkers, but some companies love them. In the years leading up to the financial crisis, many credit card issuers and other lenders had created a labyrinth of complex fee charts that confused borrowers and made for easier profits. In the aftermath [Keep reading]
Getting sick has led to millions of Americans paying more for car loans, mortgages and credit card debt – thanks to a medical debt domino effect. But slowly, that’s changing. Many people are worried that if they go to hospital then they won’t be able to pay for the bills [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan