Consumer Law

Bailed-Out Banks Dole Out Bonuses

Posted on December 20, 2008
Bailed-Out Banks Dole Out Bonuses #124; ABC Newsdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?a=JEqtO"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?i=JEqtO" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds.feedburner...

A Second Mortgage Disaster On The Horizon?

Posted on December 20, 2008
60 Minutes did an excellent expose on part two of the mortgage meltdown a few weeks back. Dig a little deeper and you#8217;ll find that this is just the second of what appears to be many more to come (see malls and hotels). Watch CBS Videos Onlinediv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds...

UAW?s Sacrifices Look to Some Like Surrender

Posted on December 20, 2008
UAW#8217;s Sacrifices Look to Some Like Surrender #124; Washington Postdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?a=CQQPO"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?i=CQQPO" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds...

2008 Bailout Costs As Much As Several Large And Famous Government Projects Combined

Posted on December 19, 2008
2008 Bailout Costs As Much As Several Large And Famous Government Projects Combined #124; Consumeristdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?a=5NPnO"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?i=5NPnO" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds...

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Chris Matthews? new cabinet position?

Posted on December 19, 2008
I don#8217;t think there has been enough politics on the blog lately. I offer this Matthews clip as a discussion point. Is it the job of the media to ensure a successful President?  I say no.     Is this consumer related? Absolutely - we are all consumers of news and information...

RIAA to stop lawsuits? Maybe.

Posted on December 19, 2008
The Wall Street Journal reports that the RIAA is going to stop suing individuals for illegally downloading music.  It appears that they will now attempt to coerce the individual#8217;s ISP to help in their efforts. This is good news for the consumer if only for a short period of time...

RIAA finds its soul, will stop suing individuals downloading music

Posted on December 19, 2008
RIAA finds its soul, will stop suing individuals downloading music #124; Engadgetdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?a=MzTgO"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?i=MzTgO" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds...

FEDS: BANKS MUST STOP MISBEHAVING ? IN 2010

Posted on December 18, 2008
FEDS: BANKS MUST STOP MISBEHAVING #8230; IN 2010 #124; MSNBCdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?a=DFfKO"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?i=DFfKO" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds...

Regulators adopt new credit card rules

Posted on December 18, 2008
Regulators adopt new credit card rules #124; AP (via Yahoo! News)div class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?a=2e1AO"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?i=2e1AO" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds...

New form: credit report dispute letter

Posted on December 18, 2008
In order to remove inaccurate information from your credit report, you must report that information to the credit reporting agencies (CRAs) Experian, TransUnion, Equifax, and CSC Credit Services. Once you dispute the inaccurate information, the CRAs must investigate the matter and remove any inaccurate information or edit the entry to reflect your dispute...

Credit card holders livid about ?rate-jacking?

Posted on December 17, 2008
#8220;Citi is repricing a group of customers.#8221; Credit card holders livid about #8216;rate-jacking#8217; #124; CNNdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?a=qBZuO"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?i=qBZuO" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds...

How Much Does the Stock Market Actually Return?

Posted on December 17, 2008
How Much Does the Stock Market Actually Return? #124; Get Rich Slowlydiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?a=55WpO"img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?i=55WpO" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds...

Credit reports apparently generated by Flintstones technology

Posted on December 17, 2008
According to Gary Nitzkin, #8220;[t]he credit reporting industry is operating in the stone age.#8221; By which he means the credit reporting agencies seem incapable of dealing with credit information that comes from identity theft. Gary filed two lawsuits because even though the identity thief confessed, he could not get his clients#8217; credit reports fixed...

Toyota seems confused about its vehicles? fuel economy

Posted on December 16, 2008
Toyota’s website (which has no sensible link to vehicles from the front page, for some reason) has some interestingly misleading numbers. In big print on the page for each vehicle, it lists the fuel economy numbers prominently in big lettering. For the RAV4, for example, it shows the fuel economy as 22/28...

Follow Caveat Emptor on Twitter

Posted on December 15, 2008
If you use Twitter, make sure to follow @caveat_emptor and get new posts delivered to your Twitter feed. If you do not use Twitter, remember, you can subscribe to Caveat Emptor via RSS or get posts delivered to your email inbox. (Twitter updates provided by the TwitMe WordPress plugin...

Profiles in bankruptcy: Johnny Unitas

Posted on December 15, 2008
Brad Perri is a Minnesota bankruptcy attorney and occasional guest poster for Caveat Emptor. We all have gifts in life. Some of us are good at football. Some of us are good at money. Others of us are good at neither. Johnny Unitas of the Baltimore Colts was arguably the greatest player who ever played in the [...

Pity the poor debt collector?

Posted on December 14, 2008
Pity the poor debt collector? | Consumer Law & Policy

Subscribe to Caveat Emptor via RSS or email

Posted on December 14, 2008
If you like reading Caveat Emptor, why not subscribe? You can have Caveat Emptor content delivered to you in one of two ways: RSS RSS, or Really Simple Syndication, is an easy way to have content from blogs and websites delivered to you. All you need is an RSS reader, and then look out for the big, [...

Collectors hurt by recession as consumers walk away from unpaid bills

Posted on December 12, 2008
?This situation lets people in on a dirty little secret for a lot of firms, especially on the service side. Their collections efforts are really a bluff. They really aren?t going to pursue their borrowers very hard,? [David] Vang said. ?When people see that, their morals adjust...

Your home equity line of credit is not an ATM

Posted on December 11, 2008
Last August, I wrote about the “Speed Equity System,” a dumb idea centered around using a home equity line of credit as if it were a bank account. The basic idea is to deposit all your income into your HELOC, preventing as much interest from accumulating as possible...

Gift card dangers

Posted on December 10, 2008
With the holidays coming up, I am sure many will be buying a gift card or two, or at least thinking about it. But, just a reminder about the hazards and pit falls of gift cards. The FTC has some great tips on gift cards, which you can find after the jump...

Bankruptcy in the Bible

Posted on December 09, 2008
Brad Perri, a Minnesota bankruptcy attorney, is an occasional guest contributor to Caveat Emptor. Christ was not shy about discussing the morality of debtors and creditors. The only instance of Christ resorting to violence is recorded in the Bible in the story of Christ driving the money lenders from the temple...

In the spirit of the season and

Posted on December 07, 2008
In the spirit of the season and our current recession: Why Charitable Giving is Even More Important During an Economic Downturn | Get Rich Slowly

The only reason to answer the phone when a customer calls . . .

Posted on December 06, 2008
. . . is to make the customer happy. - Seth Godin More words companies should live by: If you’re not doing this or you are unable to do this, do not answer the phone. There is no middle ground on this discussion. There are no half measures. Saving 50 cents a call with a complicated phone [...

Broke

Posted on December 06, 2008

Dave Ramsey hates credit cards, and won?t let you pay him with them

Posted on December 03, 2008
Dave Ramsey preaches about the evils of credit cards. The climax of his presentations is a big pair of scissors and a lot of credit cards, sometimes contributed from the audience. But Dave doesn’t stop there. What Dave preaches, Dave does. He will not sell you things on credit...

Wal-Mart: taxpayer-subsidized low prices

Posted on December 01, 2008
While the economy tries to pull out of its downward spiral, consumers are flocking to discount department stores like Wal-Mart, looking for the cheapest products they can find. But Wal-Mart’s prices are low for a reason: its business model includes relying on public benefits and services for everything from store security to employee healthcare...

It s official: The economy is in a recession

Posted on December 01, 2008
Duh. It’s official: The economy is in a recession | CNN<div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?a=sGJ2O"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~f/caveatemptorblog/rss?i=sGJ2O" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds...

How to keep your car trouble-free

Posted on November 28, 2008
How to keep your car trouble-free | AOL autos (via CNN)

5 Things to Never Say to a Debt Collector

Posted on November 26, 2008
5 Things to Never Say to a Debt Collector | Brunette on a Budget

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