All posts by Barbara Nevins Taylor

Featured Stories, Helpful Tips: Consumer, Helpful Tips: Credit, Helpful Tips:Money, Videos, Vids: Banking, Credit, Debt, Money Management, Vids: Other

Avoid Debt Settlement and Credit Repair Companies


The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) just shut down another debt settlement company.

Jeremy R. Nelson and four companies he controlled agreed to a plan that bans him and them from selling debt relief services, telemarketing, and making robocalls.

The FTC alleged  that they called phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, called consumers who had told them not to call, delivered pre-recorded messages without prior written consent, repeatedly called consumers to annoy them, and delivered pre-recorded messages that failed to identify the seller, the call’s purpose, and the product or service.

Lawyer Susan Shin explains why you should avoid debt settlement and debt repair companies. Susan works with the New Economy Project formerly NEDAP or the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project. She’s an expert on scams involving so-called debt solutions and works with consumers to help them protect themselves.

CONSUMERMOJO TIPS FOR DEALING WITH DEBT COLLECTORS

1. Avoid debt collectors and debt settlement companies.
2. Find out how much you owe.
3. Contact your creditors and tell them that you are having trouble making payments. Work out a modified payment plan with them. Most companies want the money and will work with you.
4. Visit a not-for-profit counseling agency in  your area if you need help. The U.S.Department of Justice offers a state by state list of approved counseling agencies.

watchmoreDebt Collectors-What are my Rights?

If you think you are being treated unfairly or if you think a debt collector is violating the law, contact your state attorney general and also file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission

Helpful Tips:Immigrants, Videos, Vids: Immigration

No-Interest Loan For Deferred Action


It sounds like a dream come true.  And in a way it is. Thanks to an anonymous donor the NYC DREAMer Loan Fund can help you pay the $465 fee for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals Program (DACA).

The fund is administered through the New Economy Project, formerly the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP), which is working with community groups.

The community groups will provide free screening assistance and help you fill out the application. Once that’s done, they’ll send you to  NEDAP, which will connect you with either the Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union (BrooklynCoop), or the Lower East Side People’s Federal Credit Union. The credit union will actually make the loan and you’ll have to repay it on a monthly basis for a year.

Watch the video to get all of the details.

Banking News, Money News, News

High Overdraft Fees Criticized

Overdraft fees may sound like a good idea, at first. But a new report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) found consumers who use the overdraft fee system end up with higher account fees and banks shut down their accounts more often than they close accounts of customers who don’t take the protection.

CFPB Chief Richard Cordray says, “Consumers need to be able to anticipate and avoid unnecessary fees on their checking accounts. But we are concerned that some overdraft practices may increase consumer costs beyond reasonable expectations. What is marketed as overdraft protection can, in some instances, create greater risk of consumer harm.”

 Confusing Fee Structure

The report found a confusing fee structure and overdraft rules that many may not understand. The average consumer who overdrew an account paid $225 in insufficient fund charges during the course of a year.

It’s not clear how the report will influence what banks do in the future.

WATCH A VIDEO

Watch ConsumerMojo.com’s video Overdraft Fees-No So Great

 

Consumer News, News, Travel News

Timeshare Temptation Can Lead To Trouble

1 Comment

by Barbara Nevins Taylor

Vacation temptation time is here. You take a trip to Florida, Mexico, California, Arizona. Wherever. You love the sun, the beach, the sea, the golf course and start to dream about what it would be like to visit often. If you’re in a place with a lot of tourists, you’re likely to run into a timeshare sales person. We suggest you take a very deep breath before you do anything.

Timeshares may be a good idea for you, and they may not. The reality is that timeshares are often very difficult to resell and there’s an industry of shady characters charging hefty fees to help timeshare owners unload their investments.

First come the high pressure sales tactics to buy.

In Cancun, not long ago, we met a woman at the car rental office who didn’t seem like a sales person. She stepped out from behind a counter that made it seems as though she worked at the office. She came to chat me up on the sidewalk while I was waiting for my husband to get the car.  She was charming and gave great directions to Playa del Carmen. But she also suggested we stop at a timeshare resort and have lunch for free. I said, “We’re not interested. But thanks for all of your help.” She persisted. “Why not? What do you have to lose? It’s a free lunch,” she said.

There is no such thing as a free lunch.

The time share might have been okay, but my husband and I really weren’t interested and I’d heard enough horror stories to keep me driving right past the resort.

Federal crackdown.

The Federal Trade Commission and Florida consumer protection agencies are cracking down on companies that take advantage of timeshare owners who are desperate to sell.

The FTC says Resolution Trust, Resort Property, and Vacation Communication took more than $18 million from consumers throughout the country who tried to sell their timeshares. The FTC and Florida officials went to federal court to stop the companies’ alleged illegal practices.

Charles A. Harwood, Acting Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said, “Con artists take advantage of timeshare owners who have been in tough financial straits and are desperate to sell their timeshares. They persuade owners to pay fat up-front fees by saying they have someone ready to buy the property, but that’s a lie”

Beware of these sales tactics:

  • Scammers say they have interested buyers.
  • They ask for upfront fees-$300-$3,000.
  • They offer deceptive travel prizes that don’t exist.
  • They advertise via email, telemarketing, radio, TV and online.
  • The FTC has more information at: ftc.gov/travel including a  travel fraud game.

FOR MORE TRAVEL 

watchmore

RENTING A CAR IN MEXICO

 

 

readmoreHAWAII FOR A MULTI-GENERATIONAL VACATION

Latest News, Money News, News, Scam News

Debt Relief Crackdown

One debt relief company may be out of  business thanks to a crackdown by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).  American Debt Settlement Solutions, Inc. (ADSS) and its owner Michael DiPanni, headquartered in Florida, allegedly charged consumers illegal upfront fees for debt relief services. The CFPB says hundreds of consumers in a number of states were charged $500,000 in fees and in most cases received no help.

The CFPB filed a complaint in federal district court against ADSS and plans to ask the court to put the company out of business and impose a $15,000 civil penalty fine. The company apparently can’t repay the $500,000.

“Today we are taking action to halt a debt relief company we believe has been preying on financially vulnerable consumers,” said CFPB Director Richard Cordray. “Consumers struggling to pay off a debt are among the most at risk and deserve better. We will continue to crack down on this type of harmful behavior.”

Here’s what ADSS is allegedly did:

  • Misled consumers by falsely promising them it would begin to settle their debts within three to six months when, in reality, services rarely materialized.
  • Enrolled consumers despite knowing that their income level made it highly unlikely that they could complete the debt relief programs.
  • Collected upfront “enrollment” fees from consumers who ADSS knew could not afford the monthly payments required by these debt relief programs, causing the consumers to spend their last savings on fees for services from which they ultimately would not benefit.
  • Failed to settle these consumers’ debts within the promised time, forcing many consumers to drop out of the program and forfeit their “enrollment” fees without having received any debt relief services.

There are many more companies like this one out there.

Watch ConsumerMojo.com’s video Avoid Debt Settlement and Credit Repair Companies