While expensive medical emergencies can hit anyone, anywhere in the U.S., a new report finds that one region of the country has a higher level of medical debt than the rest of the states. [More]
debt
Millennials Aren’t Moving Anywhere, Despite Fewer Obstacles
By 2.13.17
For many younger consumers, each new year used to bring a new address, whether that meant switching from an apartment to a house, or following their dreams across the country. But the latest generation of millennials apparently aren’t on board with that. [More]
Report: Payless Looking To Reduce Its Footprint, Close 1,000 Stores
By 2.10.17
Payless, the ubiquitous discount shoe retailer with more than 4,400 stores in 30 countries, is reportedly looking to cut back on its ubiquity. Just like just about every other retailer in your local mall, especially the ones that sell clothing, the company has too many stores and too much debt. [More]
Illegal Debt Collectors Prey On Victims’ Doubts To Collect Money They Don’t Owe
By 2.10.17
For years, Consumerist has written about unscrupulous debt collectors that have attempted — sometimes successfully — to collect thousands of dollars from consumers who don’t actually owe a debt. This type of scheme is apparently alive and well in Illinois, where investigators say the ploy is one of the most popular for alleged con artists preying on residents, prompting the state’s Attorney General to file suit against at least one such operation. [More]
BCBG Max Azria Closing 120 Stores, Reportedly Looking At Bankruptcy Options
By 2.8.17
Following a trend set by Macy’s, Wet Seal, The Limited, and others, mall mainstay BCBG Max Azria plans to close 120 stores at shopping centers around the country, and may file for bankruptcy protection. [More]
Feds Sue Debt Relief Law Firm For Charging Customers Illegal Fees
By 1.30.17
Nearly four years ago, federal regulators shut down a debt relief company — Morgan Drexen — accused of deceiving customers with promises of reducing their debt and charging illegal upfront fees to do so. While that company eventually paid $170 million to resolve the allegations, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Monday sued a related company using the same playbook. [More]
Student Loan Servicing Issues Contribute To Older Borrowers’ Defaults
By 1.5.17
In 2015, nearly 40% of all federal student loan borrowers over the age of 65 were in default, thanks in part to issues they faced when it came to the servicing of their debts, including problems enrolling in income-driven repayment plans and accessing protections as co-signers. [More]
Lawsuit: Government Illegally Garnishes Disability Benefits To Repay Student Loans
By 12.30.16
Earlier this month, a Government Accountability Office report found that $171 million was garnished from older Americans’ Social Security benefits in order to repay federal student loan debts. Now, one of those borrowers is suing several government agencies accusing them of taking money from his monthly disability checks despite the fact he was eligible for a student loan discharge. [More]
Report: $171M Garnished From Older Americans’ Social Security To Repay Student Debt In 2015
By 12.20.16 — Updated: 12.21.16
It can take years, even decades, for student loan borrowers to repay their debts. To that end, a new report has found that tens of thousands of older adults – including senior citizens – continue to be saddled with mountains of student debt later in life, often having their government benefits cut to repay the costs. [More]
Debt Relief Scammer Will Spend Two Years In Prison, Pay $1.2M In Refunds
By 11.21.16
Four years after federal regulators shut down a debt relief operation that promised to help customers pay down credit card debt, but in reality only relieved customers of their cash, a man who worked for the scheme has been ordered to spend two years in prison and to refund $1.2 million to his victims. [More]
Student Loan Debt For Recent College Graduates Increases Again, Now At $30K
By 10.18.16
With college tuition continuing to increase, it probably won’t surprise many people to learn that college graduates are leaving school burdened with more loan debt. According to a new report, the average amount of student loan debt for new graduates has passed $30,000 for the first time. [More]
Nearly 200 Former ITT Students Refusing To Pay Student Loans, But Is That A Good Idea?
By 9.14.16
The abrupt closure of ITT Educational Services’ 130 ITT Tech campuses left tens of thousand of current students sitting in limbo with regard to both their education and all the student loan debt they had amassed. Likewise, a number of recent ITT grads are holding degrees they believe are now worthless. A group of nearly 200 stranded ITT students and graduates are the latest to join the ongoing “debt strike” started after the collapse of Corinthian Colleges.
[More]
NJ Student Loan Agency Tells Staff To Only Offer Help When Explicitly Asked
By 7.28.16
You probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn that your cable company has perks or discounts it will only reveal when asked, but you’d hope a government agency wouldn’t deliberately hide a program intended to help families struggling to pay off student loan debts of a deceased loved one. [More]
New Rules Would Require Debt Collectors Have Proof You Actually Owe Money
By 7.28.16
One of the most common complaints about debt collectors is that they harass people over debts that are either no longer owed, or weren’t owed in the first place. Federal regulators are now proposing rules that — among other protections — would cut down on these annoying, bogus collections actions by requiring that debt collectors have some sort of evidence that the person they are calling actually owes money. [More]
Former Corinthian College Students Sue To Have Private Loans Discharged
By 7.14.16
As the Department of Education is working to wipe away millions of dollars in federal loans owed by former students of now-defunct Corinthian College Inc. schools, some former students continue to receive monthly bills for private loans they took out in order to attend the for-profit colleges. Now one former Corinthian student has filed a federal class action against the financial firms that currently hold the private student loans. [More]
Know Before You Owe Mountains Of Student Loan Debt
By 6.29.16
Each year millions of students take out thousands upon thousands of dollars in student loans and other financial aid to help pay for a college education. But as we found out yesterday, many of these prospective students are woefully unprepared for the reality of student loan debt. From reading through piles of paperwork to making payments each month and keeping track of loan servicers, financing your education can be overwhelming, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn as much as possible before you end up under a mountain of loan debt. [More]
What Is Zombie Debt, And Why Won’t It Just Stay Dead?
By 6.7.16
John Oliver made a huge splash this week when, to prove a point on his show, he purchased $15 million worth of medical debt for $60,000… and then promptly forgave it all. A lot of that debt was “zombie debt,” which, like its namesake, keeps coming back from the dead to bother people who would much rather be left alone and unbitten. [More]
John Oliver Buys $15M In Medical Debt, Then Forgives It
By 6.6.16
We can tell you about the growing problem of medical debt and how hospitals are suing thousands of patients for having the gall to be both sick and poor, or how debt collectors screw-up and use illegal tactics to get paid for debts they often can’t even prove that anyone owes. But that’s nothing compared to the sight of a goofy English guy forgiving $15 million in medical debt he bought for pennies on the dollar. [More]
