A couple of years ago, I started hearing from consumers who said their cars were wrongly repossessed by a bank named Santander. I knew Banco Santander from spending time in Spain, but as I researched these claims, I was surprised to learn of Santander’s rapid expansion in the U.S., driven [Keep reading]
PUBLISHED DEC. 9, 2011 — The accusations are as outrageous as they were plentiful: Hundreds of “robocalls” — in one case, 800 to a single person — to collect auto loan debts; illegal repossession of cars from active duty military deployed overseas; late fees assessed three years after the fact [Keep reading]
The voicemail would be enough to give anyone chills. “Hello, this is Detective Jeff Ramsey. I am attempting to touch bases with (you)… I will be back out to your place of residence … between the hours of 4 and 6 p.m. You are to have two forms of identification, no [Keep reading]
Why is it so hard to teach kids about money? Perhaps because we keep treating them like children. What if we made 10 year olds buy all their own clothes and let 15 year olds see the family portfolio — all of it? That’s the “radical transparency” recommended by New [Keep reading]
Surprise! Consumers are still confused about what goes into a credit report and a credit score. Given how opaque these things were for such a long time, it’s entirely predictable that confusion reigns. It’ll be that way for a while. Credit bureau Trans Union released a survey on Thursday with [Keep reading]
The Federal Trade Commission sued DirecTV on Wednesday, alleging the firm engaged in “misrepresentations or deceptive omissions of material fact” when advertising low-cost subscription to new customers. The firm put new consumers in a bind, the FTC said, after luring them with low-cost monthly subscriptions that required 24-month commitments. Consumers [Keep reading]
Do you lie to people all day to make a living? OK, perhaps you don’t “lie” to the extent that this credit card telemarketer did when he confessed to me a few years ago, or as bad as this time share salesman. But perhaps you sell things you know are [Keep reading]
ARCHIVE — Originally Posted: Tuesday, November 17 2009 What if there were a way to have your credit card debt erased if you lost your job or became disabled? That’s the pitch behind debt cancellation, a service offered by many credit card issuers and retailers. Debt cancellation doesn’t come cheap: [Keep reading]
The nation’s three credit bureaus will improve their process for fixing errors and responding to consumer complaints under an agreement announced Monday by the New York state attorney general’s office. The seven-point agreement addresses some of the more vexing problems consumers have reported when dealing with the bureaus. Some quick [Keep reading]
A mobile phone virus that spreads by texting contacts in the victim’s phone book is hitting U.S. Android users, security firm AdaptiveMobile says. Dubbed Gazon, the worm tricks recipients into downloading an app by promising $200 in Amazon gift cards. Some 4,000 users have been infected — most in the U.S. [Keep reading]
Bob Sullivan