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Posts Tagged “

predatory lending

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smackdowns

Ohio Punches Payday Lending Industry In The Face, Breaks Its Nose, And Laughs


Gov. Ted Strickland, of the great state of Ohio, has signed a bill that punches the rapidly growing payday lending industry in the face. As we've mentioned before, the bill will cap interest rates at 28% and limits consumers to 4 payday loans per year. A typical payday loan charges around $15 per $100 borrowed on a 2 week loan, which works out to an interest rate of 391%. More »

9:56 AM on Tue Jun 3 2008
By Meg Marco
7,689 views, 111 comments

subprime meltdown

Countrywide Still Asking Consumers To Lie About Their Income

Countrywide would like you to believe that it put all that messy "predatory subprime lending" business behind it and is no longer coaching consumers to lie on their loan applications in order to qualify them for loans they can't afford... but are they telling the truth about telling the truth? One woman who recently contacted Countrywide about refinancing her home told NPR that sketchy mortgage lending is alive and well at Countrywide. More »

11:39 AM on Tue May 6 2008
By Meg Marco
6,196 views, 40 comments

usury

Arkansas Attorney General To Payday Lenders: Shut Down Or I'll See You In Court

On March 18, Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel sent letters to 156 payday lenders, ordering them to stop issuing new loans and void any current and past due loans or face legal action. McDaniel charges that the lenders are violating Arkansas's constitutional prohibition against usurious interest rates. More »

6:14 PM on Mon Mar 31 2008
By Alex Chasick
4,909 views, 48 comments

evil

Payday Lenders Convince Elderly To Assign Social Security Checks To Them, Hand Back Allowances

This writer is quickly growing convinced that payday lenders are the modern version of indentured servitude, trapping consumers in cycles of debt that simply cannot be broken in their lifetimes. The Wall Street Journal published a story last week about payday lenders who make loans to the elderly and effectively take over their Social Security or disability payments, handing back whatever remains after they take their cut. Though it sounds like it should be illegal, payday loan companies are partnering with banks to pull this off.
More »

4:29 PM on Fri Feb 22 2008
By Chris Walters
4,351 views, 51 comments

Latest by n/a: @Pylon83: I beg to differ. To me the issue is not that a payday loan is available and taken out by the elderly folks that ended badly, but WHY it ended badly. Where is the Federal Truth-In-Lending Disclosure in these situation? more »

subprime meltdown

Ameriquest Is Dead

Ameriquest, the lender the epitomized everything that was f*cked up about the subprime mortgage meltdown, is dead. More »

7:19 PM on Mon Sep 10 2007
By Meg Marco
29,699 views, 26 comments

Latest by Trackback: Consumerist commemorates the fall of Ameriquest, one of the scummiest subprime lenders with this apropos graphic: Also from the Consumerist article: Ameriquest, the lender the epitomized everything that was f*cked up about the subprime mortgage meltdown, is dead. more »

predatory lending

Utilites And Payday Lending: Why Does AT&T Have 206 Payday Lenders Collecting Bill Payments?

One in four utilities bills is paid in person, and often the transaction takes place within a payday lending establishment, according to a new report by the National Consumer Law Center. The report finds that there are over 650 licensed payday lenders serving as bill paying facilities for 21 public utilities companies, including 206 working for AT&T alone. More »

3:59 PM on Wed Jun 6 2007
By Meg Marco
1,768 views, 17 comments

subprime

Ameriquest Employees Confess: Lying To Customers, Forging Papers

Yesterday's Morning Edition featured confessions from former Ameriquest mortgage employees. The confessions included startling revelations, such as: More »

11:59 AM on Tue May 15 2007
By Meg Marco
1,583 views, 6 comments

lending

BusinessWeek: The Poverty Business

Business Week's top story concerns the "subprime" lending industry in the United States. It's a good read, one of those articles that makes you feel smarter for having read it. It's shocking too, reading about a Navajo woman who makes $15,000 a year being lent $7,922 at 24.9% (to buy a 1999 Saturn with 103,000 miles on it) makes us slap our foreheads in frustration. But that's how it goes when you're poor. Your bank is a car dealer, your tax accountant is Jackson Hewitt and you're screwed. —MEGHANN MARCO More »

5:15 PM on Fri May 11 2007
By Meg Marco
1,344 views, 21 comments

Latest by doug-pirahna: @SkippyKilimanjaro: In addition to what you mentioned about BlueHippo, once you're at the point the computer is due to be shipped, BlueHippo has a reputation for delaying the shipment date past the stated ship date for as long as they more »

subprime lending

Americans For Fairness In Lending Calls On Regulators To Rein In The Subprime Lending Industry

Newly-formed Americans for Fairness In Lending (AFFIL) has called on regulators to use the crisis within the subprime lending industry as an opportunity to "reign in rogue practices." [sic] I think everyone recognizes that the subprime lending crisis is caused by a number of factors, from uninformed and unwise borrowers to greedy mortgage lenders to banks that have turned a blind eye for too long. Maybe aggressive regulation—for at least a time—is the right way to ensure that everyone involved is forced to be responsible. More »

4:29 PM on Mon Mar 26 2007
By consumerintern
1,511 views, 25 comments

Latest by mac-phisto: @Mary Marsala with Fries: you know, the real problem with shedding light on dark places is that you have to actually watch the bugs scurry around instead of just pretending they're not there. & then you have to kill them, more »

foreclosure

Yet Another Should-Have-Been-Obvious Effect Of The Subprime Lending Fiasco

Credit counselors are bracing for the continuing fallout from the expected 1-3 million foreclosures during 2007. More »
mortgages

NewsFlash: Middle-Class Borrowers Also Get Screwed

You could be forgiven for thinking that predatory lenders really only go after poverty-stricken borrowers. However, a recent study by the San Diego Business Journal found that 73% of predatory loans were made to middle and upper-class borrowers. More »

4:05 PM on Thu Mar 22 2007
By consumerintern
733 views, 10 comments

credit cards

Student PIRGs Aims To Eliminate Irresponsible Credit Card Marketing on College Campuses

If you haven't seen Maxed Out yet, put it on your to-do list. And after you've watched it and are all fired up about the credit industry, here's something you can do about it. Student PIRGs has set up a website to collect stories about irresponsible credit card marketing practices on college campuses. Stop in and drop off your own experiences. More »

3:23 PM on Thu Mar 22 2007
By consumerintern
1,004 views, 19 comments

law

Senior Democrats Propose New Predatory Lending Legislation

Following on the heels of a media blitzkrieg on the credit industry, including payday lending, credit card companies, and the subprime mortgage industry, Democratic legislators in both houses of Congress are moving forward with legislation to curtail predatory lending practices. From the NY Times article: More »

10:11 AM on Tue Mar 20 2007
By consumerintern
822 views, 16 comments

debt

What To Look For In A Credit Counseling Service

Credit counseling is not for everyone, but may be for you if you are struggling with debt. Credit counselors work by negotiating a reduced payment plan with creditors. In exchange for receiving timely payments, creditors may return a small portion of the amount received to the counseling service. Only consider a counselor if you can reign in your spending and pay off your debt in less than five years. More »

10:00 AM on Sat Feb 24 2007
By Carey
726 views, 9 comments

payday

Avoiding Payday Loans

CreditPro is a new blog written by a non-profit credit counselor, and he has some harsh words about Payday loans and why they are never a good idea:
Another common problem that I encounter on a daily basis has to do with payday loans. While these may appear to be a quick and easy way to get money for rent, bills, credit cards, etc., the first loan is simply the start of a cycle where you are continually further and further behind on your payments and in need of even more money. Before you know what has happened, you are left in a downward spiral of overwhelming debt.

More »

11:47 AM on Tue Feb 13 2007
By Meg Marco
339 views, 8 comments

Latest by TBanker: Payday lending has been a lightening rod for criticism from all directions, including the mainstream media, the military, Congress, federal and state regulators, community groups, and the plaintiffs bar - to name a few. Yet, few deny the demand more »

senate

Watch Sexy Webcam of Senate Predatory Lending Hearings

The Senate Banking Committee held a hearing Wednesday on predatory lending practices titled: "Preserving the American Dream: Predatory Lending Practices and Home Foreclosures." More »

12:33 PM on Fri Feb 9 2007
By Meg Marco
282 views, 1 comment

lending

Payday Lenders Come Under Fire

From the Seattle Post Intelligencer:
"States should do more to restrict payday lenders, who pocketed $4.2 billion in fees from borrowers last year, according to a report released Thursday by the Center for Responsible Lending." More »

11:29 AM on Fri Dec 1 2006
By Meg Marco
258 views, 8 comments

lending

Volkswagen: "Why Not Skip A Payment?"

Ramit over at I Will Teach You To Be Rich sent us this heads up about some predatory lending behavior from Volkswagen Credit. Ramit's friend received a friendly-looking mailing suggesting, "Why Not Skip a Payment This Holiday Season?" The text of the letter reads: More »

10:25 AM on Wed Nov 29 2006
By Meg Marco
1,813 views, 23 comments