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]
Looking for relief
Former ITT Tech Students Sue To Be Included In Bankruptcy Proceedings
By 1.3.17
When a retailer goes bankrupt, little thought is given to the store’s customers, but what happens when a for-profit educator goes bust? Do its customers — the former students — have any right to be involved in the bankruptcy proceedings? [More]
Former ITT Employees Sue Over Sudden Closures
By 9.7.16
While it was no doubt a shock for 40,000 ITT Technical Institute students to learn they no longer had a place to pursue their education, 8,000 employees of the company also lost their jobs. Now some of those laid-off workers have sued for-profit operator ITT Educational Services for failing to give them adequate notice their jobs would be eliminated. [More]
Student Loan Borrowers Face Needless Hurdles When Trying To Reduce Payments
By 8.18.16
It’s a fact of life: if you take out thousands of dollars in federal student loans to attend college, you have to pay them back. While the government offers borrowers some relief through free income-based relief, a new report shows that getting that assistance is often a test of patience for consumers, with servicers providing incorrect information or creating difficult hurdles. [More]
Snake Oil Was A Real Thing & 3 Other Things You Should Know About Sham Medicines
By 7.28.16
Everyone knows the image of the snake oil salesman, pitching worthless — often dangerous — tonics, tinctures, and potions to treat any ailment under the sun. What you may not know is that “snake oil” wasn’t just a phrase, or how it and other sham cure-alls ultimately led to the creation of the FDA. [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]
5 Things We Learned About The $300 Billion Painkiller Industry
By 4.28.16
Relieving pain isn’t a simple issue of taking a pill and feeling better. It’s a complicated cornucopia of treatments ranging from over-the-counter remedies to holistic healing to prescription medications, with some $300 billion a year spent each year on painkillers in the U.S. alone. [More]
Students Affected By Corinthian Colleges Closures Have Some Relief Options
By 4.27.15
Although many of us saw the final collapse of Corinthian Colleges Inc. on the horizon since last summer, for the nearly 16,000 students who were currently enrolled at the company’s 28 remaining Everest University, Heald College and WyoTech campuses news that they no longer have a school to attend was no doubt jarring, opening a door to questions about their future education and the debt burden they now carry. [More]
