Consumer Law

Why DRM sucks

Posted on October 13, 2008
Steal This Comic | XKCD

Bankruptcy: A bankrupt system?

Posted on October 11, 2008
Bankruptcy: A bankrupt system? | startribune.com

Wall Street panhandlers

Posted on October 10, 2008
Don?t Talk to Him, Honey, He?s a CEO! | Neatorama (via Consumerist)

Chicago sheriff goes rogue, refuses to carry out foreclosure evictions

Posted on October 10, 2008
Over-leveraged landlords are losing their rental properties in droves, and banks have no interest in being landlords. As a result, renters are often innocent victims of the foreclosure epidemic. Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has decided to take measures into his own hands...

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Parting thoughts

Posted on October 10, 2008
Brad Perri is a Minnesota bankruptcy lawyer who will be guest blogging at Caveat Emptor from September 29th through October 10th. Well, my friends, this is it. My last day at Caveat Emptor. I would like to thank Sam for the opportunity to share this space and communicate with all of you...

The bankruptcy discharge

Posted on October 09, 2008
Brad Perri is a Minnesota bankruptcy lawyer who will be guest blogging at Caveat Emptor from September 29th through October 10th. Yesterday, I talked about the part of the bankruptcy process you encounter through filing the actual petition for bankruptcy...

Telemarketing counterscript

Posted on October 09, 2008
Are you still getting annoying phone calls from telemarketers? Rather than slam the phone down (how rude!), consider asking them a bunch of inane questions. Print out the PDF counterscript and keep it nearby your home (or office) phone. When a telemarketer calls, give them a taste of their own medicine! anti-telemarketing EGBG counterscript | EGBG

Never tell me the odds!

Posted on October 08, 2008
I could not figure out who is responsible for this graphic, but this Telegraph article is frequently referenced with it, even though it does not contain the graphic.

Crisis rooted in bankruptcy law

Posted on October 08, 2008
“Agreeing with House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank that the current financial turmoil “was brought on by mortgage foreclosures,” Kentucky’s senior federal bankruptcy judge, Joe Lee of Lexington, also blames a greedy credit industry for selling Congress “a bill of goods” three years ago...

The bankruptcy process

Posted on October 08, 2008
Brad Perri is a Minnesota bankruptcy lawyer who will be guest blogging at Caveat Emptor from September 29th through October 10th. This week, I have been talking about the bankruptcy process. I have discussed the very earliest parts of the process: actually researching bankruptcy and determining for yourself if it is something you are really [...

After The Bailout AIG Bought Themselves A $440,000 ?Retreat? At A California Resort

Posted on October 07, 2008
After The Bailout AIG Bought Themselves A $440,000 “Retreat” At A California Resort | Consumerist

Full disclosure

Posted on October 07, 2008
Brad Perri is a Minnesota bankruptcy lawyer who will be guest blogging at Caveat Emptor from September 29th through October 10th. So you’ve done some research: you have read about bankruptcy at your local library and you have talked to a few bankruptcy attorneys...

Confessions of a Debt Collector

Posted on October 07, 2008
Reporter goes undercover as a debt collector. Confessions of a Debt Collector | Kiplinger (via N2Credit)

In a nutshell:

Posted on October 06, 2008

New ?Dangers of Debt? cartoon contest

Posted on October 06, 2008
Sarah Byrnes of Americans for Fairness in Lending is an occasional guest contributor to Caveat Emptor. Consumers Union recently announced a new ?Dangers of Debt? cartoon contest for young people ages 18 ? 25. The winning cartoonist will receive $1,000 in cash! Not artistically inclined? Check the CU website after November 6th to vote on the winning [...

How to find a bankruptcy attorney

Posted on October 06, 2008
Brad Perri is a Minnesota bankruptcy lawyer who will be guest blogging at Caveat Emptor from September 29th through October 10th. Last week, I focused on talking about the attitudes taken towards bankruptcy. I emphasized that the American form of bankruptcy is fundamentally different from what bankruptcy was prior to the writing of the Constitution...

Debt Collector Uses Consumer?s Debit Card Information for Spending Spree

Posted on October 06, 2008
Debt Collector Uses Consumer’s Debit Card Information for Spending Spree | Consumer Law & Policy

U.S. bank failures almost certain to rise in next year

Posted on October 05, 2008
U.S. bank failures almost certain to rise in next year | CNN

This American Life explains the financial crisis & the bailout

Posted on October 04, 2008
This American Life has done two excellent shows to help ordinary folks like you and me understand the morass that is the U.S. economy. A few months ago, in The Giant Pool of Money, Ira Glass and his crew explained the link between the housing crisis, the turmoil on Wall Street, subprime lending, and more...

Stocks slump despite bank rescue

Posted on October 03, 2008
“Dow suffers worst weekly performance since the week after 9/11 attacks, as investors remain fearful about the economy.” Stocks slump despite bank rescue | CNN Money

Struggling couple live in tent with girl, 3

Posted on October 03, 2008
Struggling couple live in tent with girl, 3 | CNN

Mortgage forgiven for woman who shot self

Posted on October 03, 2008
Too little, too late. Mortgage forgiven for woman who shot self | CNN

Woman, 90, shoots self inside foreclosed home

Posted on October 03, 2008
Dennis Kucinich, before voting against the bailout: “This bill does nothing for the Addie Polks of the world.” Woman, 90, shoots self inside foreclosed home | CNN (via Credit Slips)

Five car ailments you shouldn?t ignore

Posted on October 03, 2008
Five car ailments you shouldn’t ignore | CNN

Wells Fargo delays overdraft notification emails to maximize overdraft fees

Posted on October 03, 2008
For customers who use Wells Fargo’s online account tools, the bank offers email notification when you overdraw your account. Don’t count on it, though. Wells Fargo waits about 48 hours before sending the email, so you will probably rack up extra fees in the meantime.

House passes bailout

Posted on October 03, 2008
It’s official. Both houses of Congress have now passed what must surely be one of the most pork-laden bills in U.S. history: the Wall Street welfare bill of 2008. Or the bailout, whichever you like. House passes bailout | CNN

Profiles in bankruptcy: Abraham Lincoln

Posted on October 03, 2008
Brad Perri is a Minnesota bankruptcy lawyer who will be guest blogging at Caveat Emptor from September 29th through October 10th. Welcome to another installment in Profiles in Bankruptcy! Today’s vignette finds us in a grocery store on the prairie where a young man has invested himself in becoming a grocer...

Supreme Court cases I disagree with, part 1

Posted on October 02, 2008
With all the stuff about Palin’s inability to come up with any Supreme Court cases that she disagrees with other than Roe v. Wade (though she agreed with its central premise that a right to privacy exists in the Constitution), I started thinking about a few that I don’t agree with or am at least [...

How a bill becomes a law

Posted on October 02, 2008
I received an email yesterday from someone asking me about the law making process. Rather than a long, drawn-out explanation with citations to the US Constitution, congressional rules and parliamentary procedure, I hearkened back to the most basic of lessons...

America needs smart, limited, enforceable regulations

Posted on October 02, 2008
With all the campaign rhetoric flying around as Congress scrambles to rescue its biggest campaign contributors, it is easy to lose focus on the underlying problem: how did we reach a point where Wall Street fat cats determine the stability of our country and the economic prosperity of regular Americans? When the stability of Wall Street [...

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