Commercial Blog Archive

Six Things Virginians Should Look for In Their Credit Reports

By MichieHamlett on January 21, 2010 4:31 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

All consumers should check their credit report annually for accuracy. When doing so, keep these common problems in mind. If you find a violation and are not satisfied, please contact me. 1. Carefully review all of your personal information. If your name is misspelled, your credit report lists incorrect addresses or a wrong social security number for you, or someone else's name, these are FCRA violations and should should be addressed. 2. Find the full name and contact information of any company listing tradelines on your credit report. If it hasn't given its full company name and...

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A Heartwarming Decision for Consumers in this Holiday Season

By MichieHamlett on December 10, 2009 12:36 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

A Judge Jeffrey Arlen Spinner, of the Supreme Court of New York's Suffolk County gave a Brookhaven, New York consumer whose loan servicer, IndyMac Mortgage Services, had obtained a judgment of foreclosure and sale a holiday reward for trying to work things out with the lender, while giving the lender ashes and switches for its misconduct. The lender had badly delayed participation in a settlement conference required by New York law for sub-prime loans. When a bank officer finally did appear, she was condescending, unwilling to discuss a sale to the borrower's daughter for fair market value, or a...

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Credit Card Companies Experiment with Annual Fees

By MichieHamlett on October 27, 2009 2:25 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

NBC News has reported that credit card companies are experimenting with annual fees for certain card holders to make up for lost revenues. http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/33335064/ns/business-consumer_news/ If your bank indicates an intention to impose a fee for your credit card, raise a fuss, and if you can afford it, consider closing your account to make a point. But not all consumers can or should do that, because as noted in the news story, credit scores can be adversely affected by closing and reopening credit card accounts. Savvy consumers will think twice before closing their accounts, but now is...

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America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (HR 3200): a Boon for Virginia Consumers?

By MichieHamlett on October 12, 2009 11:07 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Introduced July 14, 2009 to the House of Representatives, America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009, otherwise known as HR 3200 (the lengthy text of which can be seen here: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d111:H.R.3200) provides many health care coverage improvements for Americans. Some of the provisions are smart and simple improvements of protections for consumers of health care insurance. One might be tempted to us as an example minimum standards for health insurance programs. However, as with all regulatory action, minimum standards must be regulated, and that reduces flexibility and adds costs which ultimately will be borne by consumers either in...

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Forced Arbitration in Virginia

By MichieHamlett on October 9, 2009 10:17 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Virginia consumers frustrated by arbitration clauses in Federal claims against powerful corporations may get relief soon. Yesterday, the Department of Defense Appropriations bill was amended by a provision to limit forced arbitration in employment contracts with defense contractors. The vote was 68-30, and now moves on to a conference committee for reconciliation with the House version. The Defense Appropriations bill may seem an odd place for consumers to begin getting relief, but that is a function of the fact that claims against defense contractors are more likely to be large, and the injustice arising from forced...

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A New Federal Consumer Financial Protection Agency

By MichieHamlett on October 2, 2009 1:57 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

In a New York Times article last week (seen here: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/09/23/us/politics/politics-us-financial-regulation-cfpa.html?_r=1&scp=7&sq=consumer%20watch%20dog%20agency&st=cse), the recent White House proposal for a consumer financial protection agency is discussed. As with any new agency, it will take some time to become effective. Although it will have a huge influence on the financial sector, and should provide valuable protections, politicians are right in being keen not to reduce the competition, and the ability of consumers to make their own decisions, in the financial sector....

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Types of Foreclosure Scams

By MichieHamlett on September 29, 2009 9:13 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Although the economy is currently showing signs that it is beginning to turn around, there are still many consumers struggling to make ends meet. There is also a lot of tension surrounding an individual or family's ability to continue paying on a mortgage. There are many people on the brink of foreclosure, and many who are in the process of being foreclosed upon. Unfortunately, there are companies and individuals who are scamming these vulnerable persons. There are a number of ways in which this fraud is perpetrated. In one such scam, the rescuer says that if you sign...

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Changing Rates and "Lock In" Play Role In Heads I Win/Tails You Lose Lending Fraud Against Credit Worthy Borrower

By MichieHamlett on July 28, 2009 1:52 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Even in this economy, fraudulent mortgage lending is alive and well in Virginia. But with sub-prime lending the principal cause of our present economic woes, targets and tactics have changed dramatically. Lenders are now only interested in credit-worthy borrowers. But that doesn't mean all lenders are worthy. Consumers with good credit who are trying to refi, need to be on the look out for unscrupulous lenders and tactics. In June and early July, with rates low, consumers with excellent credit had an opportunity to refinance and reduce their interest. Just such a friend told me what happened to him early...

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23 Quadrillion Dollar Charges on Bank of America Prepaid Visas!

By MichieHamlett on July 21, 2009 5:09 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Virginia consumers beware: read your credit card account statements carefully to make sure you understand all of your charges. A stark example of the kind of error computers can generate is one by Visa that frightened 13,000 Visa prepaid cardholders who on Monday found charges like the $23,148,855,308,184,500 charge below on their statements. Josh Muszynski of Manchester, New Hampshire found the 17-digit debit on his bill, and not surprisingly, he was charged an overdraft fee. His debt exceeded the world GDP and was incurred in one charge at a nearby Mobil gas station. The same thing happend to Jason Bryant...

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National Arbitration Forum Alleged to have Extensive Ties to Collection Industry

By MichieHamlett on July 16, 2009 10:51 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Virginia consumers may not know it, but most of the contracts they sign with credit card companies, banks and retail lenders contain mandatory arbitration provisions that keep any dispute out of the courts. Disputes arising under the contract are resolved by a supposedly neutral arbitrator. One of the largest arbitration agencies, the National Arbitration Forum, goes so far as to hold itself out to the public as operating like an impartial court system. Yesterday, Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson alleged that this is all a lie in a suit filed against NAF contending that it has "extensive ties to the...

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Virginia Rep. Tom Perriello's Amendment and Credit Card Holder Bill of Rights Passes, Goes to President Obama

By MichieHamlett on May 21, 2009 1:32 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Virginia credit card users should be delighted. On May 20, 2009, the House of Representatives passed the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights, sending it to President Obama's desk. The new law will ban most interest rate increases on existing balances and requires better notice of interest rate hikes going forward on new purchases. Of particular note to Virginia consumers, It includes freshman Congressman Tom Perriello's provisions to require credit card companies to have a 6-month minimum on promotional - or "teaser" - rates. Perriello noted that he has "talked to too many 5th District families who have been blindsided by...

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Virginia General Assembly Advances Privacy Legislation in 2009

By MichieHamlett on February 28, 2009 8:27 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

In its 2009 session, the Virginia General Assembly gave consideration to a number of pieces of legislation that extended privacy protections for the Commonwealth's consumers. The majority of that legislation passed. Of particular note are the following examples: 1. Credit reports; consumer reporting agency's duty to place a security freeze thereon within one business day after receiving such a request. Amending § 59.1-444.2. (Patron-Nixon, HB 1884 (P)). See my February 9 post. 2. Freedom of Information Act; disclosure of names of individual teachers is not required thereunder in response to a request for official salary of employees of local school board....

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Third Party and Creditor Debt Collection Tops Virginia Consumer Complaints to CSN

By MichieHamlett on February 27, 2009 5:48 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

My last post (Scams Use Email As First Contact Over Half the Time According to Top Ten Frauds Report) about the FTC Consumer Sentinel Network's (CSN) publication of its 2008 Databook focussed on the catagories of fraud and nationwide prevalence of the categories. In this post, I'm looking at the prevalence in Virginia of scam categories.All told, Virginians reported 16,114 fraud claims to CSN agencies. For the 85% of these reports that included information about the amount of their payments, the grand total was $31,066,922, resulting in an average payment (or loss) based on fraud of $2,276.Topping all reports, whether...

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Scams Use Email As First Contact Over Half the Time According to Top Ten Frauds Report

By MichieHamlett on February 26, 2009 2:14 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

In February, the FTC's Consumer Sentinel Network (CSN) published its annual Data Book for January-December 2008, identifying the top ten fraud complaints, identity theft complaints and other complaints that plagued this nation in 2008. This year for the first time, the report includes "other complaints" in addition to fraud and identity theft. It is based on over 1.2 million complaints collected by the Network during calendar year 2008: 52% fraud complaints; 26% identity theft complaints; and 22% other types of complaints. Of those complaints reporting the initial means of contact, fifty-two percent (52%) said that method was email. The Internet...

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Virginia legislature narrows faster credit report security freeze

By MichieHamlett on February 9, 2009 1:08 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

The right to a credit report security freeze was created in Virginia in 2008 to prevent credit, loans, and services from being approved in consumers' names without their consent. A "security freeze" means a notice placed in a consumer's credit report, at the request of the consumer that subject to certain exceptions, prohibits the consumer reporting agency from releasing the consumer's credit report or score relating to the extension of credit. The new law passed last year provided that security freezes must be requested in writing by certified mail. Section 59.1-444.2 of the Code of Virginia gave credit reporting agencies three...

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Virginia's Consumer Real Estate Settlement Protections Act, Provisions Strengthened

By MichieHamlett on February 4, 2009 9:17 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

This 2009 session, Virginia's General Assembly is poised to expand the Consumer Real Estate Settlement Protection Act. Presently the Act requires that consumers be given a statement explaining the role of a settlement agent, and indicating that they have the right to select their own settlement agents. This is true, of course, and being given notice is all good and well, but notice alone lacks the teeth to really protect consumers. This is because some lenders who want to avoid the effect of the law do so by including contractual language in their loan documents whereby consumers voluntarily give up or "waive" the right make their own selection of...

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Virginia's Consumer Real Estate Settlement Protections Act, Provisions Strengthened

By MichieHamlett on February 4, 2009 1:04 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

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New Virginia Legislation Expands Consumer Protection Act Coverage of Foreclosure Avoidance Programs

By MichieHamlett on January 21, 2009 12:37 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

To its great credit the Virginia General Assembly this 2009 session passed HB 2261, a bill designed to expand the Consumer Protection Act's coverage of mortgage foreclosure prevention scams. Unscrupulous foreclosure avoidance companies often require desperate consumers to pay in advance for their services and then do little or nothing to really help. When the General Assembly first recognized this and other dangers in foreclosure prevention programs, which are often nothing more than schemes to milk consumers' last dollars before they take their homes, it treated them as illegal only if a fee was taken prior to a settlement on...

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New Virginia Legislation Expands Consumer Protection Act Coverage of Foreclosure Avoidance Programs

By MichieHamlett on January 14, 2009 11:36 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

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Arbitration Clauses, Foreclosure Prevention, Legislation

By MichieHamlett on January 9, 2009 11:12 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

In an economy built on credit, Virginians with bad credit are exceptionally vulnerable to credit repair scams. Even unsophisticated consumers know that bad credit increases the cost of borrowing, or makes it impossible for them to obtain goods and services. Bad credit also leads to secondary problems when it squeezes a household budget, reduces the consumer's purchasing power, and jeopardizes the budget. This can happen when the interest rate on an existing debt is modified as a consequence of an adverse change in credit. And so, every year millions of consumers seek assistance from thousands of businesses that promise to...

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Virginia Consumers: Are You In a Credit Repair Scam?

By MichieHamlett on January 9, 2009 9:21 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

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Main Index | Archives | Personal Injury »

Commercial Blog Archive

Six Things Virginians Should Look for In Their Credit Reports

A Heartwarming Decision for Consumers in this Holiday Season

Credit Card Companies Experiment with Annual Fees

America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009 (HR 3200): a Boon for Virginia Consumers?

Forced Arbitration in Virginia

A New Federal Consumer Financial Protection Agency

Types of Foreclosure Scams

Changing Rates and "Lock In" Play Role In Heads I Win/Tails You Lose Lending Fraud Against Credit Worthy Borrower

23 Quadrillion Dollar Charges on Bank of America Prepaid Visas!

National Arbitration Forum Alleged to have Extensive Ties to Collection Industry

Virginia Rep. Tom Perriello's Amendment and Credit Card Holder Bill of Rights Passes, Goes to President Obama

Virginia General Assembly Advances Privacy Legislation in 2009

Third Party and Creditor Debt Collection Tops Virginia Consumer Complaints to CSN

Scams Use Email As First Contact Over Half the Time According to Top Ten Frauds Report

Virginia legislature narrows faster credit report security freeze

Virginia's Consumer Real Estate Settlement Protections Act, Provisions Strengthened

Virginia's Consumer Real Estate Settlement Protections Act, Provisions Strengthened

New Virginia Legislation Expands Consumer Protection Act Coverage of Foreclosure Avoidance Programs

New Virginia Legislation Expands Consumer Protection Act Coverage of Foreclosure Avoidance Programs

Arbitration Clauses, Foreclosure Prevention, Legislation

Virginia Consumers: Are You In a Credit Repair Scam?

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