At the same time as the Federal Trade Commission settled a major suit with one of the nation's largest purchasers of consumer credit card debt, it also unveiled a document that will help clarify consumers' rights when they are being pursued by collectors. The document, entitled " Time-Barred Debts: Understanding Your Rights When It Comes […]
Consumer debt has fallen considerably over the last year, as have late payments across a number of loan types, but at the same time, consumers are once again starting to open new credit cards. Consumers were far more conscientious in their attempts to reduce debt in 2011 than they had been in the past, as […]
While many consumers are trying to reduce debt and get a better hold of their finances, some of the nation's top credit card lenders may soon be able to help with that debt relief thanks to new documents that make borrowing agreements easier to understand. Major banks are now starting to issue simplified documents for […]
Many consumers are now taking advantage of social couponing services like Groupon and LivingSocial to find savings on items they may want to purchase. Now the nation's largest credit card lender is working on a similar program for its debit and credit card holders. BankAmeriDeals, a kind of social couponing service that offers consumers daily […]
ORANGE COUNTY (OCWEEKLY) — In the 1990s, you could not serpentine around a champagne server at a high society soiree in Orange County without bumping into Richard and Jolene Engel. They were everywhere, even landing aboard the P’zazz yacht when the Nordstrom family hosted a private Newport Harbor supper-cruise for New York designer Donna […]
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Internal Revenue Service can’t keep up with surging tax cheating and isn’t sufficiently collecting revenue or helping confused taxpayers because Congress isn’t giving it enough money to do its job, a government watchdog said Wednesday. To cope with its growing and increasingly complex tasks, the agency is relying more on computer […]
The state of the economy has stretched so many Americans beyond their means that the demand for emergency credit and debt relief is skyrocketing. Payday lending has become a $7 billion-a-year industry. And even though some states limit the interest rate lenders can charge and a few states have banned payday loans all together, there […]
There’s a new sheriff in town. It’s the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). And it was created about a year ago to ensure that financial products such as credit cards and loans work better for consumers who need debt relief. According to the 2012 report “Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 101: Why We Need a Consumer […]
Americans have slowly started using their credit cards more often again, but many are still relying on cash to make the smaller purchases – such as those for coffee or at the drug store – they need in their everyday lives. A recent Javelin Strategy and Research study found that 79 percent of respondents had […]
A court case between millions of businesses and the country's largest financial institutions could end up leading to lower prices and therefore potentially less credit card debt for consumers. The lawsuit, a private antitrust case between about 5 million merchants large and small against financial giants like Visa, MasterCard and 13 of the biggest banks […]