Consumer Law

A consumer?s guide to the internet

Posted on April 21, 2008
The internet holds a wealth of resources for consumers. From bad customer service to your rights under consumer protection laws to how to represent yourself in a lawsuit. It can be difficult to find all of that information, however, so here is a (partial) “beginner’s guide” to consumer information available online...

Congress finally allowed consumers

Posted on April 20, 2008
Congress finally allowed consumers to speak out on credit card industry abuses. Alpha Consumer’s Kimberly Palmer was there, and Consumerist has a good summary of the hearing. Now is a good time to write your senators and representative to ask them to support the bill.

Do not give away your identity for a candy bar

Posted on April 17, 2008
Infosecurity Europe recently offered a chocolate bar to 576 office workers if they would reveal some personal information. Passwords, dates of birth, names and telephone numbers. In short, more than enough to steal an identity. Sadly, 45% of women and 10% of men happily gave away their passwords for a bit of chocolate! Listen, folks, all [...

Monster Cable sues another little guy?but this one will not be pushed around

Posted on April 15, 2008
Monster Cable is?forgive me?a monstrous company. It preys on small companies and any company with the name “monster” in its title, regardless whether a consumer would be likely to confuse Monster Cable’s unnecessarily-expensive cables with, say, a show about cars or vintage clothing...

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Consumerism 2.0 a scam?

Posted on April 14, 2008
I received an unsolicited e-mail today that has all the hallmarks of a scam, but some hallmarks of a non-scam, and so I am confused. The sender, “Lauren Hackett,” claims to be from Consumer Reports. But her reply e-mail address is @consumer...

Consumerism 2.0 conference a scam?

Posted on April 14, 2008
I received an unsolicited e-mail today that has all the hallmarks of a scam, but some hallmarks of a non-scam, and so I am confused. The sender, “Lauren Hackett,” claims to be from Consumer Reports. But her reply e-mail address is @consumer...

Landlord resources

Posted on April 11, 2008
Being a landlord is a job that a lot of people seem to just stumble into. So many people who become landlords don’t really know much about landlording. That is too bad, because when landlords do not follow the law, they can create a nightmare for tenants, which sometimes comes back to bite the landlord, [...

Foreclosure prevention: rescission

Posted on April 11, 2008
Among all the tools one should consider when facing foreclosure is the right of rescission. Rescission is the right to cancel the contract and unwind everything back to start. While a homeowner may have the right to rescind for a variety of reasons, I want to focus on one, the right of rescission under the [...

Securitization (or, why you can?t work out a lower mortgage payment)

Posted on April 10, 2008
“Securitization” is a hot word in money circles, but I don’t think many people outside of Wall Street know what securitization is or what it means. The Wikipedia entry on securitization is very good, but a bit technical. I think I can boil it down a bit more...

The impact of the subprime mortgage squeeze across the U.S.

Posted on April 10, 2008
From the New York Times, a beautiful graph (seriously, look at that!) showing the impact of the subprime mortgage mess across the U.S.: (Click for big.) The Twin Cities is definitely one of the hardest-hit, but just look at Florida! [via City Pages, The Blotter]

Update: U.S. Senator Norm Coleman on the Financial Crimes Task Force

Posted on April 09, 2008
Maybe Senator Coleman reads this blog, maybe not. In either case, I just received a reply to my e-mail. While the Minnesota Financial Crimes Task Force is obviously a state organization, I wanted to alert my federal legislators to the newly-created void in mortgage fraud enforcement in case they wanted to address it at a [...

Update: Minnesota Senator Linda Berglin on the Financial Crimes Task Force

Posted on April 09, 2008
When I write about an issue I tag “consumer activism,” I usually try to start the activism myself. So when I reported that Minnesota’s Financial Crimes Task Force is shutting down its mortgage fraud investigations, I went and fired off an e-mail to my state and federal representatives...

From the comments, it looks like

Posted on April 08, 2008
From the comments, it looks like Citibank’s HELOC freeze is causing more than just a few bounced checks. Reader Barbara Clark says Citibank reported the loan as suspended on her credit report, turning it into a major negative account and trashing her credit.

A look inside the credit score cocktail

Posted on April 08, 2008
The Red Tape Chronicles recently attempted to explain what goes into the secret formula that determines a borrower’s credit score, the secret formula that determines what consumers pay for loans, credit cards, and even car insurance. Credit scores are important to every consumer’s financial well-being...

Citibank freezes home equity lines of credit nationwide

Posted on April 07, 2008
I just spoke with a homeowner who bounced a check to her tree service because Citibank suspended her home equity line of credit before notifying her. When she finally received a notice from Citibank in the mail, it suggests that (PDF link) Citibank is apparently suspending home equity lines of credit nationwide due to [...

Job opening: associate editor

Posted on April 06, 2008
We are looking for an associate editor. Since all three of the current writers are also full-time attorneys, we could use a bit of help keeping the news and commentary flowing. This is a paid position. You won’t get rich, but you will gain valuable experience and have the chance to hobnob with the authors, who [...

U.S. Chamber of Commerce fudges the issue on arbitration

Posted on April 06, 2008
We have not mentioned the Arbitration Fairness Act in some time, but the AFA is still pending before Congress, and Big Business is still trying to stop it. What is the issue? Mandatory binding arbitration. Nobody thinks arbitration is a problem when two parties agree to it...

New consumer blog: We Are the 90 Percent

Posted on April 04, 2008
Sarah Byrnes at Americans for Fairness in Lending just e-mailed me a link to We Are the 90 Percent, “a punk rock academic pursuit.” Usually I wait for newer blogs to show some maturity, but a consumer blog that mentions punk rock and contains a poem for everyone’s favorite bankruptcy law professor, Elizabeth Warren is [...

April foo? darn, missed it

Posted on April 02, 2008
There were a lot of good April Fools Day pranks yesterday. My favorite prank was NPR’s Marketplace’s “IRS making sure your rebate gets spent” by sending things it thinks you need. Like an air conditioner or a mountain bike. April 1st comes around like clockwork every year, and every year the internet is gullible as hell...

Bank of America to pay two Countrywide execs $19 million for running company, economy into the ground

Posted on March 30, 2008
In an odd sort of thank-you note, Bank of American will give two top Countrywide executives, CEO Angelo Mozilo (pictured) and President David Sambol, $19 million in stocks. Bank of America took over Countrywide, the company made famous by writing loans all but guaranteed to fail...

What would you do if you lost your job?

Posted on March 27, 2008
What is your contingency plan if the worst were to happen? In the present economy, everyone needs a backup plan. CNN has a story on Patricia Guerrero, a single mother of two living in Altadena, California. Until Februry, when she was laid off, Guerrero made $70,000 per year...

Minnesota gives mortgage fraudsters a free pass

Posted on March 26, 2008
In case you have been living in a box for the last 12 months, mortgage fraud is a big problem. It is very hard, sometimes impossible to help the defrauded consumers, since fraudsters tend to refuse to cooperate in civil lawsuits, and judges are reluctant to compel them to do so...

Like the blog, but keep forgetting

Posted on March 26, 2008
Like the blog, but keep forgetting to come back? No problem. Our RSS feed is just a click away. What is RSS? Really Simple Syndication, a way to gather the blogs you want to read in one place, instead of visiting each blog separately. Just clicking on the feed link will give you the option [...

Airplane passengers not entitled to food, water, clean toilets, and fresh air

Posted on March 25, 2008
Last year, New York passed its New York State Passenger Bill of Rights which, among other things, requires an airline to provide food, water, clean toilets, and fresh air to passengers trapped in a plane delayed on the ground. The Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals put the kibosh on the brand-new Passenger Bill of [...

The remaining presidential candidates on consumer issues

Posted on March 25, 2008
We saw that the 2008 presidential candidates seemed generally uninterested in consumer issues when we examined their voting records. However, the three remaining front-runners have been devoting some rhetoric to issues like credit cards and the subprime mortgage mess...

Surprise Surprise . . . mortgage

Posted on March 24, 2008
Surprise Surprise . . . mortgage rescue scams on the rise!!! Beware of anyone offering to rescue your home from foreclosure. If you are tempted, find a consumer lawyer to review the deal prior to closing.

Representing yourself in court: staying on point

Posted on March 23, 2008
Representing yourself in court–appearing pro se–is one of the more difficult things to do, although many people do not seem to realize it. Judges and attorneys dread the pro se party, however. As I have said before, the court system is a bit like visiting a foreign country...

Debt collection complaints going up; what to do if you get a call

Posted on March 22, 2008
According to the FTC, consumer complaints about debt collection abuse were up significantly in 2007 (PDF link). This is hardly surprising, as debt has been plentiful and cheap lately. Complaints will almost certainly go up in 2008, since credit card borrowing is way up along with credit charge-offs.

The U.S. Supreme Court likes business.

Posted on March 21, 2008
The U.S. Supreme Court likes business. So much so that it decided 22 of 30 business cases last term unanimously in favor of business, and “Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and David Souter each went out of his or her way to question the use of lawsuits to challenge corporate wrongdoing ...

Congress doesn?t care about consumers

Posted on March 17, 2008
Or if it does, it is doing a pretty good job of hiding it. Last Thursday the House Financial Services subcommittee was ready to hear testimony of, among notable others, actual consumers concerning the Credit Card Bill of Rights proposed by Representative Carolyn Maloney...

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