Filed under: Insurance, Insurance-car
Have you ever wondered what happens to your car after you turn the keys over to a valet? If you’ve ever found damage to your car after letting a valet park it, you know that it can be hours of phone calls before you get even the basic information you need to file a claim. Also you may find it difficult to prove that it was the valet who did the damage.
Well folks who parked at the Hyatt Hotel in downtown St. Louis may have a very strong case to prove damage when someone calling himself “valet underground” posted dozens of videos on YouTube showing a valet doing donuts, peeling out, burning out, revving engines and spinning tires in expensive cars, in the parking garage about six months to a year ago. (Continue the story…)
Filed under: College, Tax
As part of its bid to become the Least Cool City in America, Pittsburgh’s City Council is preparing to vote on a plan to add a 1% tax to tuition bills for the 100,000 college students who call Pittsburgh home.
The mayor announced a one-week delay on the vote this morning, and colleges and students in the area are lobbying aggressively to get the mayor to back off the plan — which, it should be noted, is one of the dumbest ideas in history.
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: Entrepreneurship, Insurance, Insurance-health
As we watch the healthcare debate rage on in Congress, it’s helpful noting that wholesale change of a flawed-but longstanding system has happened in the past, despite the odds against it. A good example from the history books: Boss Tweed.
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: College, Saving Money, Bankruptcy
The Dow may be over 10,000, but unease about the economy persists as unemployment hovers over 10%. To help ease some of your concerns, WalletPop is ready to answer your personal finance questions. Here’s this month’s sample:
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: Banks
The banks may be paying back their bailout funds, but there’s still trouble ahead for some banks. That became clear this week when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation agreed to almost double the amount of money in its 2010 budget that is there to deal with bank failures. What’s more, the FDIC plans to add more than 1,600 staffers.
Of course, with any luck, we won’t need those 1,600 additional workers, only 84 of them who will be permanent staff members, incidentally. But this year, we’ve had 133 banks fail, and there’s no evidence to suggest that we won’t have a 134th soon. And now, with the added funds and additional staff, it’s clear that the FDIC expects the possibility of quite a few more bank failures next year among the nation’s 8,300 banks. (Continue the story…)
Filed under: Banks, Borrowing, Credit cards
It’s not law yet, but it’s come a long way. On Friday, Dec. 11, the House of Representatives passed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009, which includes a provision for creating a new agency aimed at protecting ordinary Americans from predatory lending practices. The new Consumer Financial Protection Agency would regulate credit cards, payday lenders, and home, auto and student loans and their underwriters. The Senate will create its own version of this bill, and a final draft would probably be signed into law by next year.
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: College
Earlier this month, I warned readers not to enroll — or encourage their children to enroll — in for-profit colleges.
New student loan default rates from the U.S. Department Education highlights in more detail why these institutions are such a bad idea. According to a Wall Street Journal analysis of the data (subscription required), 21% of students who use federal loans to attend for-profit college go into default within three years. That compares to 7% at public four-year colleges and 16% at public two-year colleges. (Continue the story…)
Filed under: Banks, Credit cards
Pssst! … Want to know a secret? Banks actually have two customer-service departments. The one all of you are probably familiar with is regular customer service. But financial institutions also have what’s called “executive customer service” – and these guys (and gals) can perform magic.
The blog Consumerist dedicated this post to a reader’s experience with Chase’s executive customer service. The short version: After being turned down by ordinary customer service when he asked for a lower rate, Chase’s executive customer service department dropped the cardholder’s APR from 26% to 9% for a year. He also got three months’ worth of finance charges refunded.
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: Debt, Personal loans
If you’re a parent and have grown kids, have you ever paid off a debt of theirs?
That’s a question that GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media recently posed to 1,004 adults in a survey for CreditCards.com. Two out of five adults, or 42%, said that they had paid off a debt for a grown child at some point.
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: Insurance
Now that the party season is at hand, and you may be planning to host a big shindig, think about protecting yourself or your company from a huge liability bill by getting event liability insurance.
Accidents can happen at parties, especially if booze is being served, and you could get stuck with the bill if one of your guests causes damage.
(Continue the story…)
