Filed under: Debt, Consumer Ally
States across the country are pushing for tougher consumer protection rules to address debt-collectors’ use of cell phones and text messages, as well as better govern what happens when debts are sold on from creditors to collectors.
The same rules that guide the way debt collectors are supposed to communicate with consumers in print should also apply to text messages, cell phones and recorded messages, regulators say. In addition, people in debt can be left less protected after their accounts are sold by the original creditor to subsequent collectors (or, “passive debt buyers”).
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: Retirement, Saving Money, Investing, Retirement – 401(k)
Top your spring to-do list with an IRA tuneup — before you sharpen the lawnmower blades and scrub up the the barbecue grill.
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Filed under: Banking, Tax
With tax season coming to an end in the next few weeks, taxpayers and the Treasury Department alike will be waiting to see the results of a pilot program for issuing refunds on prepaid debit cards. The program was rolled out to a limited pool of taxpayers this January.
The program, which was introduced to 600,000 households, was intended to offer taxpayers an alternative to the controversial “refund anticipation loans.” Since many low-income taxpayers don’t have access to banks to cash tax-refund checks, a number of retail tax preparers issued prepaid debit cards to their customers loaded with the refund amount, minus fees and interest. And there’s the problem. The IRS has been looking at ways to effectively put an end to the loans, but has also recognized that there are few other options for many taxpayers. (Continue the story…)
Filed under: Retirement, Saving Money, Investing, Retirement – 401(k)
Top your spring to-do list with an IRA tuneup — before you sharpen the lawnmower blades and scrub up the the barbecue grill.
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: Retirement, Retirement Advice
As my colleague Aaron Crowe pointed out in December, financial sites looking for some press coverage often generate lists; in this case, the best and worst states for retirement.
At that time, he reported on a study on this topic by MoneyRates.com. Recently another site, TopRetirements.com did a similar list, results below.
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Filed under: Banking
The nation’s banks are behaving like the airlines these days: As soon as one implements a new policy or program, others pile on. In this case, a mere week after Chase took the ax to its debit rewards program, news comes that Wells Fargo (along with Wachovia, which it acquired a few years ago) is doing the same.
Starting yesterday, new Wells Fargo and Wachovia customers can no longer enroll in the bank’s debit rewards program. Existing customers get to keep earning rewards for now, although that could change if Wells follows in Chase’s footsteps.
(Continue the story…)
Filed under: Debt, Consumer Ally
The Federal Trade Commission squeezed another $2.1 million out of the ringleader behind a record-breaking credit counseling and debt management scam that defrauded more than 250,000 consumers out of millions of dollars.
The $2.1 million was used to compensate victims of an operation run by Andris Pukke and his companies, AmeriDebt, Inc. and DebtWorks, Inc., first charged by the FTC in 2003 for tricking consumers into paying at least $170 million in hidden fees.
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Filed under: Banking, Technology, Credit Cards
Interest is growing around the idea of using your mobile phone to pay for goods and services. Visa recently announced its intention to let people transfer cash to one another using their cell phones, and software developers are working on programs that would turn your phone into a kind of virtual wallet you could use to pay for just about anything.
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Filed under: Banking
In case you hadn’t noticed yet, you will sooner or later: Bank fees are changing.
In fact, in just the past week alone, JPMorgan Chase has received a lot of ink from personal finance writers. They’re experimenting with $5 ATM fees for non-customers and considering limiting the amount people can charge on a debit card. (Continue the story…)
Filed under: Banking
Well, that didn’t take long. A little more than a month after we told you how Chase had suspended new customer enrollment into its debit rewards program, the mega bank has announced that it’s eliminating reward-earning entirely. According to this article, Chase mailed letters saying it would discontinue rewards in July, blaming the Federal Reserve’s limitations on interchange fees.
The New York Times quotes this segment of the letter sent to Chase customers: “Congress recently enacted a new law known as the Durbin Amendment that significantly impacts debit cards…As a result of this law, we will be changing our debit rewards program.”
(Continue the story…)
