All posts by Alyssa Andrews

Challenge Incorrect Info On Your Credit Report

by Alyssa Andrews

What if a debt collection company incorrectly reports your debt to a credit reporting agency and then goes out of business for one reason or another?

A negative item on your credit report can damage you in a lot of ways. Employers, landlords, those you want to do business with and those you want to borrow money from all look at credit reports.  

So you need to make sure the information on your report accurately reflects your financial life. A problem arose for many when the  Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit charging Crown Funding with deceptive practices. Crown shut down.  

And yet, the so-called debts that Crown and more than two dozen companies that worked under its umbrella reported remained on credit reports. Now the FTC suggests anyone who had dealings with Crown and the other companies should dispute the information with credit reporting agencies.

WHAT DO YOU DO? When consumers dispute information on a credit report, credit reporting agencies have to look into it. If the credit reporting agency can’t confirm the information, they must delete the debt from the consumer’s credit report within 30 days of receiving the dispute.

But you have to make the effort to let the credit reporting agency know you have a problem. Unfortunately, in the past the credit reporting agencies have been very slow to fix things.

But because of intense pressure from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Experian, Equifax and TransUnion have begun to change they way they do business.

HOW TO DISPUTE AN ERROR ON YOUR CREDIT REPORT

Start here with How to Improve Your Credit. ConsumerMojo.com lays everything out for you and provides a sample letter to write to the credit bureaus.

Not sure if a company you dealt with had a Crown Funding affiliation?

Take a look at this list: AFK Solutions, LLC; Alhambra Enterprises; American FP, LLC; American PG, LLC; Asset Portfolio Partners, LLC; Capital FC, LLC; Capital FP, LLC; Capital IG, LLC; First CG, LLC; First FF, LLC; First FG, LLC; First FS, LLC; First Franklin Holdings, Inc.; First Planners United, LLC; First Technology Services; Freeman United Holdings, LLC; Global AG, LLC; Global Holding Services, LLC; Global Pacific Financial Services; Grant Services Management, LLC; Han Dynasty, Inc.; Heinz Capital Financial, LLC; Heinz Capital Funding, LLC; International Capital Holdings; Ish Inc.; Las Vegas Funding & Financial; Leon Solutions Services, LLC; National FC, LLC; National IG, LLC; National Service Partners, LLC; New Capital Holdings, Inc.; Pacific Holding Partners, LLC; Portfolio MG, LLC; Premiere PG, LLC; Revere Recovery Group, LLC; United CC Holdings, LLC; United FP, LLC; United Holding Services, LLC; United Services Partnership, LLC.    

Read: Why Your Credit Report May Not Be Available Online

A Debt Settlement Company Offers to Help

 

by Alyssa Andrews

We all try to avoid debt. But sometimes, some of us can’t help piling it on and then we can easily slip further and further behind. That’s often when bad things happen.  Debt settlement companies somehow manage to find you, or you find them and they make promises they probably can’t keep to help eliminate your debt.

That’s why debt settlement and debt collection turned into big business and complaints about debt collectors tops the June 2015 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau‘s (CFPB) list of complaints.

And that tips you off about the need to take extra care when you step into an arrangement with a company that offers to reduce your debts.

A Texas Company called Nationwide Debt Direct did a mass mailing recently and one of their “credit card settlement” offers landed in a ConsumerMojo reader’s mailbox.

The letter urged: ‘DEBT SETTLEMENT NOTICE: PLEASE READ ENTIRE DOCUMENT CAREFULLY.”

That sounded scary and the man, we’ll call him Alan, wondered if he had a problem.  The letter started off.

“Our records indicate that you have not responded to our previous attempt to notify you of your eligibility.”

Alan said, “I never received anything from this company before and I didn’t know what they were talking about. So I continued to read the letter and realized they were trying to get me to sign up to some kind of program that I don’t need.”

Good for Alan.

M, a research advocate with the Consumer Federation of America, who asked have her name concealed, suggests that a careful reading of the letter sent by this company raises red flags.

Nationwide Debt Direct said they can settle debt and save you money in one to three years.  Maybe, but M says, “One year is rather short to be completing a debt settlement program.”

She also takes issue with the sense of urgency they create by asking you to contact them within 10 days.

She told ConsumerMojo ” . . . that makes it appear they are addressing an urgent issue. A consumer may mistake this for a notice from someone else, such as a creditor or collection agency.”

And then we have the small matter of wondering who this letter came from. A big bank, a well-known company? No.

M says, “The name of the company is hidden at the bottom, which takes time to find. This may make it difficult for a consumer to identify what they’re reading.”

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

The Federal Trade Commission says that it is illegal for companies to misrepresent debt relief services. Some examples of these might be:

  • The amount of money or percentage of the debt someone may save using the service.
  • The amount of time necessary to get results.
  • The effect of the service on someone’s credit.
  • The effect of the service on the collection efforts of any credit/debt collectors.
  • The percentage/number of people who have gotten great results.
  • Whether the business operates for profit.

It is also illegal for companies to contact you via letter, email or robocall about debt settlement services. If a company sends you a letter, email or makes a robocall about debt relief services, you do not have to sign up or contact them.

FIND OUT MORE

To find out more information about how to avoid certain debt settlement companies, there is more information here.

YOU CAN ALSO WATCH THE VIDEO:

 

If Chase Sold Your Credit Card Info

 

 

 

by Alyssa Andrews

As a young adult in the last semester of college, what happens with my financial life matters a lot.  When I open a new checking account or apply for a credit card, I trust the company will do the right thing and treat me with respect. But big banks apparently sometimes cross the line, and that’s what  JPMorgan Chase allegedly did when it sold bad credit card  debt and illegally signed court documents., according to  the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB),

The CFPB, along with the attorneys general in 47 states and the District of Columbia, found that Chase sold “zombie debts” to third-party debt buyers. And that included accounts already settled, people who  didn’t owe money, or where account holders declared bankruptcy.

The CFPB also found that Chase sold debts owed by deceased borrowers and filed over 528,000 misleading debt-collection lawsuits against consumers, using robo-signed and illegally sworn documents to get false judgments for unverified debts.

The order by the CFPB and attorneys general requires Chase to:

  • Stop all attempts to collect, enforce in court, or sell consumers’ accounts
  • Pay at least $50 million in consumer refunds
  • Stop buyers from reselling accounts
  • Confirm debts before selling them to buyers
  • Notify consumers that their debt was sold.
  • Withdraw, dismiss or terminate collections
  • Stop robo-signing affidavits
  • Verify debts when filing a lawsuit
  • Pay $136 million in penalties and payments to the CFPB and states, and a $30 million penalty to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

GOOD NEWS FOR CONSUMERS IF CHASE SOLD YOUR CREDIT CARD INFO

Those affected by the bad practices will get refunds. We don’t know when or how the process will work. But we will continue to follow up.

FIND OUT MORE

A copy of the consent order can be found at: http://content.consumerfinance.gov/f/201507_cfpb_consent-order-chase-bank-usa-na-and-chase-bankcard-services-inc.pdf

Student Loan Debt Relief Scam

 

 

 

by Alyssa Andrews

Many of my friends struggle with student loan debt, and worry about how to pay it down.  Some look to consultants or companies that offer assistance. Turns out one national company allegedly ran a student loan debt relief scam that failed to deliver and took money for services that students could get for free.

In a positive move, New York State shut down a so-called debt relief company called Interactiv Education LLC.  The New York State Department of Financial Services discovered the company participated in misleading and deceptive advertising and more.

In New York alone, Direct Student Aid charged over 400 people upfront fees of $99 to $3,400 according to the Student Protection Unit set up by Governor Andrew Cuomo.  The company claimed to offer credit relief services and violated the law by taking up-front fees.

The company advertised and promised to reduce and lower monthly student loan payments and help increase credit scores. But they failed to provide the needed paperwork to get anything done.  And they also charged money to help consolidate loans through the Department of Education, which you can do for free.

The New York  Department of Financial Services penalized the company $10,000 and got it to agree to stop doing business nationwide.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

New York reminds student loan borrowers that you, “… do not need to pay to enroll in the many borrower assistance programs that the federal government provides for free.”

You can get loan consolidations, work out income-based repayment plans, and loan forgiveness directly.  If you already defaulted, the government provides options like loan rehabilitation.

College Students Walking

 

FIND OUT MORE

You can contact your federal student loan servicer or visit DFS’s online Student Lending Resource Center, the Federal Department of Education or the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s interactive student loan repayment guide.

New York State’s complaint names Interactiv Education, LLC, Direct Student Aid, INC., Thomas Panik and David Stein.

Risk Free Cosmetic Offer Scam

 

 

 

 

by Alyssa Andrews

We see them everywhere.  Ads float across our TV screens,  on the web and  in newspapers promoting skin care products that will work wonders and maybe even change our lives. Some companies use the lure of free products to get us to try something new. It often seems irresistible. But what if you respond and  find yourself caught in a scam?

The  Federal Trade Commission (FTC) put the brakes on a “risk-free” cosmetic offer scam and charged 15 interlinked California  companies and the people who run them with making phony offers for so-called free products since 2010.

The FTC says the companies used  banners and pop-up ads on Amazon.com, Huffington Post, Lowes.com  and other websites  for Auravie, Dellure, LéOR Skincare and Miracle Face Kit.  The pop-ups used the hard-sell to get you to sign up and buy before you left the site.

To get the  free products, they asked you to provide credit or debit card information and then, the FTC says, they  piled on the charges.

While the ads claimed you’d only pay $4.95 for shipping and handling, people discovered that their credit card statements showed charges of $97.88 and sometimes more.

Some found themselves unknowingly enrolled in programs for automatic product shipments that added recurring charges and fees. And then, it became difficult if not impossible to cancel shipments and stop additional charges or receive refunds.

In its FTC complaint, the FTC charged he defendants with violating the Federal Trade Commission Act, the Restore Online Shoppers Confidence Act (ROSCA) and the Electronic Transfer Funds Act (EFTA). It hopes to recover refunds for all the consumers who took the bait.

 

Young People Speak Out About the Garner Verdict 3

by Alyssa Andrews

I’m angry. I’m hurt. I’m confused. Eric Garner didn’t deserve to die. He wasn’t hurting anyone. He didn’t kill anyone. He didn’t assault an officer. He didn’t have a weapon. He was not a threat.

He was selling loose cigarettes, and an officer killed him. I don’t understand why a man who was doing something that wasn’t dangerous or life-threatening had to die. I don’t understand why a man who was only asking about the arrest and not resisting it had to die.

If you’re a United States citizen, you’re entitled to human rights, yes? But recent events have proven to me that this doesn’t matter anymore. Eric Garner had rights. It doesn’t matter what his ethnicity was. It doesn’t matter what he did for a living. It doesn’t matter what neighborhood he was from. He had rights. His life mattered! So why was he treated as if he was less than nothing? Why was his life not valued?

I’ve watched police officers in Jamaica, my neighborhood in Queens, abuse their power because they wear a badge. There is a heavy police presence on our streets in Jamaica. You see two cops on every corner. The increase in police activity should help the city, but does it really?

Was putting a man in a chokehold the way to crack down on crime on Staten Island?

Someone recorded the police confrontation with Garner on a cellphone and you saw and heard Eric Garner say, “I can’t breathe.”

He couldn’t breathe. But apparently, it was still a good idea to continue to use a chokehold as a restraint mechanism. And he died. There was clear-cut evidence that excessive force was used and was the cause of his death. So, why wasn’t officer Pantaleo indicted? Why shouldn’t he pay for what he did?

Although Attorney General Eric Holder Jr.  launched a federal investigation to look into the case, I still worry about the future of this country. More videos have surfaced that show officers of the law disrespecting people they’re hired to protect. It appalls me.

I question my freedom as an African-American woman and the freedom of others like me. We fear for our safety. And we wonder about the role of the police in our communities.  Do we still call them if they are now a threat to society?