Consumer Law

Pinocchio should have declared bankruptcy

Posted on October 02, 2008
Brad Perri is a Minnesota bankruptcy lawyer who will be guest blogging at Caveat Emptor from September 29th through October 10th. I appear to be on a Walt Disney kick. As with Ursula in The Little Mermaid, Pinocchio presents us with a situation in which a deal is made and then the merchant in the deal decides [...

Store disappears, taking customer?s deposit with it

Posted on October 01, 2008
Despite its bright website, hip Berkeley, CA, furniture store The Magazine seems to have dropped off the face of the earth, taking a customer’s 75% deposit on a chic table with it. According to the would-be customer, Jane: I paid 75% of price of table upfront...

Profiles in bankruptcy: Walt Disney

Posted on October 01, 2008
Brad Perri is a Minnesota bankruptcy lawyer who will be guest blogging at Caveat Emptor from September 29th through October 10th. Today’s profile begins on the south side of Chicago where a young boy is born. This young boy, our hero, soon moves to the hard streets of Kansas City where he and his brother become [...

Senate Passes Bailout Plan; House May Vote by Friday

Posted on October 01, 2008
Senate Passes Bailout Plan; House May Vote by Friday | New York Times

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Foreclosure: preying on the vunerable

Posted on September 30, 2008
The StarTribune did a good piece on two vunerable adults who were preyed upon by unscrupulous mortgage brokers and lenders. While this article is about two people who were legally classified as vunerable adults, the reality is that when it comes to understanding personal finance, especially the more complex issues involved in subprime loans, many [...

Tort reform: the 10-minute video

Posted on September 30, 2008
Kia Franklin over at TortDeform found this great clip of Mark Wahlstrom and Jan Schlichtmann discussing “Tort Reform” and debunking a number of the myths of tort reform. It includes a challenge from Mark Wahlstrom to his fellow conservatives to stop and look at what is really going on in tort reform and what [...

Bankruptcy: what would Jesus do?

Posted on September 30, 2008
Brad Perri is a Minnesota bankruptcy lawyer who will be guest blogging at Caveat Emptor from September 29th through October 10th. Like I said yesterday, bankruptcy is not a moral issue! It is a business issue! Okay, fine; you’re right. It is a moral issue...

When dealing with credit card companies

Posted on September 30, 2008
When dealing with credit card companies - tip the scales in your favor. | getrichslowly.org

Yellow Pages is Paying Bloggers to Say Nice Things About Them

Posted on September 30, 2008
This has “desperation” written all over it. Yellow Pages is Paying Bloggers to Say Nice Things About Them | The Deets

The Yellow Pages loves waste: how they fight the ?opt-out movement?

Posted on September 30, 2008
Following up his excellent mission to return an unrequested phone book to Verizon, Ed Kohler published a Yellow Pages slideshow called “Dealing With the Opt-Out Movement” (PDF). In the slideshow, the Yellow Pages catalogs their “wins” in preventing states from allowing consumers to opt out of receiving the phone book...

What is money?

Posted on September 29, 2008
700 Billion is a lot of money.  How do you as consumers get your head around that figure?  Well a good start might be with a basic definition of money itself.  Here is a good start:

Bailout package: How the Minnesota delegation voted

Posted on September 29, 2008
This may be the first time in history that I agree with Michele Bachmann over Keith Ellison. Bailout package: How the Minnesota delegation voted | City Pages Blotter

Bailout bill fails; Dow plunges

Posted on September 29, 2008
Bailout bill fails; Dow plunges | CNN

Wachovia goes under, bought up by Citigroup

Posted on September 29, 2008
In a deal brokered by the feds, Citigroup has agreed to acquire the majority of Wachovia, the latest bank to fail. From CNN: Citigroup will acquire the banking operations of Wachovia for $2.2 billion in an all-stock deal, following much speculation over the weekend about the fate of the nation’s fourth-largest bank...

The Little Mermaid goes bankrupt!

Posted on September 29, 2008
[Brad Perri is a Minnesota bankruptcy lawyer who will be guest blogging at Caveat Emptor from September 29th through October 10th.] Really? No, not really. But I think it is time for us to change how we think about bankruptcy. After all, what is the normal story you tell yourself when you think about bankruptcy? I imagine if [...

LOLCATS: We?re In Ur Bank, Bailing It Out

Posted on September 28, 2008

Why Choose a Credit Union Over a Bank

Posted on September 28, 2008
Why Choose a Credit Union Over a Bank | Lifehacker

Don?t blame the community reinvestment act (Redux)

Posted on September 26, 2008
A companion pice to Nick’s post of earlier today.  Earlier this summer the Boston Globe printed a response to an editorial which laid the blame of the current mortgage crisis at the feet of the CRA.  Perhaps the best part of the response is the comment that no statistics were provided...

CRA not the cause of the foreclosure mess

Posted on September 26, 2008
One of the great shibboleths of the Republicans is that the Community Reinvestment Act, which requires banks that receive FDIC guarentees must actually address the credit needs of the commmunities they are chartered to serve, is the cause of our great foreclosure mess...

Credit reporting and you.

Posted on September 26, 2008
The following is a great discussion which took place on Thursday 9/25.  For a great instruction on credit reporting and consumers listen here.  The interview begins at 59:43 of the 1:19 broadcast segment.   If you are concerned about your credit rating and/or report this is a must listen.

Next week: Bankruptcy Week!

Posted on September 26, 2008
Brad Perri, a bankruptcy attorney in Minnesota, will be joining us as a guest editor for the next two weeks Bankruptcy is kind of the granddaddy of all consumer protection laws, but we don’t talk about it enough here, since none of the regular editors are bankruptcy lawyers...

Millionaire Claims Ghosts Caused Him to Flee His Mortgage, I Mean Mansion

Posted on September 26, 2008
Millionaire Claims Ghosts Caused Him to Flee His Mortgage, I Mean Mansion | Lowering the Bar

Goodbye WaMu, Hello JP Morgan Chase

Posted on September 26, 2008
If you were a Washington Mutual customer yesterday, you are a Chase customer today. JP Morgan Chase bought up most of WaMu’s accounts in the biggest bank failure in history. Expect the stock market to limbo to new, lower heights today. What will happen if you are a WaMu customer? Here is what Chase has to [...

Community Reinvestment Act not the cause of the foreclosure mess

Posted on September 26, 2008
One of the great shibboleths of the Republicans is that the Community Reinvestment Act, which requires banks that receive FDIC guarantees must actually address the credit needs of the communities they are chartered to serve, is the cause of our great foreclosure mess...

RIAA loses big: Judge Davis overturns $222,000 verdict, calls on Congress to act

Posted on September 25, 2008
Judge Michael Davis overturned the obscene $222,000 jury verdict in the Capitol v. Thomas trial with what may become a landmark decision. He ruled the RIAA’s “making available” theory was bogus, and called on Congress to fix the law that made the Thomas verdict possible: The Court would be remiss if it did not take this [...

Washington Mutual death knell

Posted on September 25, 2008
Washington Mutual is selling many assets to JP Morgan and opening its doors to the Feds, who will take over what is left of the formerly-huge bank. WaMu’s collapse is the biggest bank failure in history.

A companion piece to the post by Sarah

Posted on September 25, 2008
A companion piece to the post by Sarah Byrnes from earlier this week.  Ex-bankers on pushing customers to rack up debt | cnn.com

Velshi: Please, keep paying your mortgage

Posted on September 25, 2008
Mortgages are moving around, not disappearing. Velshi: Please, keep paying your mortgage | CNN Money

Bailout?s dry run for troubled borrowers?

Posted on September 25, 2008
“The FDIC centers its approach on reducing monthly payments (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) to 38 percent of household income. It works with the first mortgage and with people who are delinquent or approaching a higher interest rate. It’s not charging fees or late charges...

The doctor?s bill

Posted on September 25, 2008
In depth analysis of the bailout plan: “The chairman of the Federal Reserve and the treasury secretary give Congress a gloomy prognosis for the economy, and propose a drastic remedy.” The doctor’s bill | The Economist (Thanks, Greg!)

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