Notwithstanding recent federal consumer financial protection legislation, consumers are routinely abused by credit card issuers, identity thieves and third party debt collectors and debt buyers. Let’s start with the money guys:

Maybe it’s a deal in the mail for a teaser initial low interest rate for balance transfers in the mail. The flyer says YOU have been selected for a Dogbiscuit Visa Card because YOU are a responsible user of credit (even if you cards Are almost maxed out) and YOU can transfer those balances to a 7% Dogbiscuit card and have additional credit, too. Too good to be true.

Of course, lost in the bolus of terms and conditions in 4 point typeface or font is the part where you agree that the rate jumps to 31% if you are 30 days late with a payment or Dogbiscuit deems itself insecure (your FICO score drops 3 points because of all the new open credit ability in relation to other factors.

There are dozens of ways to get foxed here and the advice in this post is to approach any acquisition of new credit sources with eyes, ears and mind wide open. More on how in a later post.

Guard your ID data as if it were your $1300/oz gold stash because that’s what it is. Never take your eyes off your credit card for even one second if that means following a waiter through the kitchen to see it swiped. Your card date can be relayed electronically in an instant through a simple wireless device on his ankle to the waiter’s girlfriend 100 miles away who can buy a motorcycle before you get to your car after a nice meal. Now you get to enjoy a painful and expensive journey holding my hand through a lot of hopping through hoops with big outfits whose telephone numbers give you a combination of long menus, long waiting times and strange sounding customer service reps who may or may not be able to provide sirection to someone who knows how to do something. In the meantime, your credit is tanking and we’re going to the next group of scammers.

Debt buyers. Dogbiscuit unloads it’s chargeoff to a debt buyer after a short time for maybe 12 cents on the dollar. The debt buyer will aggressively try to collect 100 cents on the dollar plus that 31% interest (if a scrupulous debt buyer). Unsuccessful on most of what it buys but wildly successful enough to make the debt buyer hawg nasty rich, the debt buyer sells it to another debt buyer, typically nastier and more aggressive, for six or seven cents on the dollar with maybe some buyback guarantees for dead people and bankruptcies that slip through. Sooner or later, maybe even after the statute of limitations has run, somebody who picked up the balance, which has tripled with interest, for two cents on the principal dollar, hounds you unmercifully for all the money and maybe even sues you. There is little regard for consumer protection law because violations and occasionally caught are just a relatively cheap cost of doing business.

So, those innocuous little pieces of plastic are really ticking financial neutron bombs disguised as ice cream. YOU must be proactive in managing them or YOU will become one miserable puppy.

These are but few–docs tell a story, it may be a good one for you.

Gimme

SAY NO!! TO FORCED CONSUMER ARBITRATION

That clause in about three-quarters of sales and financing agreements should be a red flag to you. It can be trouble for you and is for almost everyone who comes into this office after a ripoff (That’s when a dude in a suit gets to decide how much a supervisor’s constant hands all over you at work or what the misconduct that cost you your car, trade-in, down payment and credit reputation is worth instead of a jury of your peers).

It is evil and the concept is conceptually and fatally flawed. Arbitration firms are selected by businesses from which you contract to buy or finance goods and services, for which you are employed and others. Arbitrators pay money (like school) to learn how to arbitrate cases so how they can be selected by the firms and paid to arbitrate for the firms the businesses select.  So, if an arbitrator wants to be known as “good”  then what pocketbook issue is always lurking in the background? The National Arbitration Forum, a popular choice, was recently forced out of its lucrative consumer arbitration business in no small part because the government proved that over 85% of the awards were against consumers.

Congress is addressing the issue again this year in HR 1020. The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2009 is still in committee at this writing. It has almost 100 congressional sponsors and will make compulsory arbitration clauses in consumer, employment and nursing home contracts void. The US chamber of Commerce and big business are throwing dollars at defeating the bill. It would be a real pity if all the great support this matter has generated got its votes traded away for other concerns. This is the year to take away the screwdriver.

llegal debt collection-Debt collection defense- Harrassment and abuse-Fair Credit reporting-Equal Credit Opportunity-Identity theft-Truth in lending-Auto dealer sales fraud-Auto dealer finance fraud-Warranty fraud-Predatory lending-Wrongful repossession-Marketing scams-Health clubs-Landlord/tenant-Home construction fraud-Insurance bad faith-Unfair business practices-Sexual Harassment-Gender discrimination-Equal pay-Title IX-Race discrimination-Age discrimination-Wage & Hour/overtime-Unemployment compensation

and the list of needs goes on. In days to come, this feature will give you tips, tricks, sound practical advice and provide you with a little fun as we REBEL together against the tide of terrible troublemakers.

Glad to have ya aboard, Friend.