All Articles Tagged "consumer protection"
Better Business Bureau Admits Charging for Ratings
(Daily Finance) — The Better Business Bureau’s slogan is “Start with Trust” — but not so fast. It seems they have inherent conflicts of interest, at least for an organization that has always positioned itself as a go-to source for consumers looking for unbiased ratings. The BBB is not a government agency and their vetting or verification process is largely unknown. On the flip side, its membership sales process has been known to be aggressive. And that’s where allegedly blurred lines are raising questions about what it takes to “earn” an A from the BBB, and whether you can — or worse yet,have to– pay to improve your rating. We asked the Better Business Bureau for an on-the-record comment. “There have been mistakes made,” said spokesperson Shelia Adkins.
How to Avoid Moving Company Scams
(Black Enterprise) — Summer is just around the corner, and moving season will soon be in full swing. Unfortunately, scams are also in full swing, too. Last year, the Better Business Bureau received more than 8,900 complaints against dishonest movers. Most complaints are about items that have been destroyed or damaged, and final prices that are significantly higher than the original quote. But you can protect yourself and prevent an already stressful time from become worse. The Better Business Bureau and the American Moving & Storage Association offer these tips on avoiding a moving scam:
Credit Card Issuers Play by New Rules
(Wall Street Journal) — The nation’s new consumer watchdog agency, the subject of much banking-industry angst, plans to release a report Tuesday with some favorable news about giant credit-card issuers: Banks have eased up on credit-card rate increases and turned more consumer-friendly over the past year.
“Leaders in the industry deserve credit for moving in the right direction,” Elizabeth Warren, a White House adviser in charge of setting up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, plans to say in remarks prepared for a Tuesday credit-card conference. Ms. Warren said that “much of the industry has gone further than the law requires in curbing repricing and overlimit fees.” The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report represents the agency’s first research on the credit-card market.
After Cracking Down on Debt Collectors, New York State Is Now Set to Hire Them
(New York Times) — In these hard times, New York’s future governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, has made a point of standing alongside consumers who are down on their luck. As attorney general, he conducted a statewide crackdown on debt collectors who ran afoul of consumer protection laws, and his office encouraged consumers with their own tales of woe to contact it. “Too often consumers find themselves in over their heads,” reads one section of the attorney general’s Web site. “If you are one of those consumers, you may be feeling overwhelmed trying to make ends meet while paying off your bills. You may be experiencing calls from people demanding that you pay a certain debt.”
A Consumer Financial Protection Agency: What Should It Protect?
(Time) — Most mortgage brokers sell themselves with a simple pitch: they shop around and get borrowers the best rate on the best loan. Given how many home buyers have ended up in foreclosure, it has gotten a lot harder to believe that brokers are solely looking out for buyers’ best interests. But back in 2006, when Juan and Josefina Rodriguez got a $620,000 mortgage through Schaefer Financial Services with a 10% interest rate, they believed they got a good deal.
