All posts by Barbara Nevins Taylor

Featured Stories, Insurance News, Latest News, Money News

How People In Red States Lose With Trumpcare

 

So here’s the truth. Republican Congresspeople passed a bill that would hurt a lot of people if it goes into effect. This has nothing to do with whether you vote Republican, hate Obama and on and on. These alleged representatives of the people voted for a bill they call the American Health Care Act that repeals a big portion of the Affordable Care Act and works against millions of Americans who don’t make a lot of money.

Twenty Republicans voted against the bill. No Democrat voted for it. Florida Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen voted against it. Before the vote she said, “The bill’s consequences for South Florida are clear: too many of my constituents will lose insurance and there will be less funds to help the poor and the elderly with their healthcare.”

For this bill to become law, the Senate will have to approve it. And if approved as it stands people will lose insurance. Ultimately that number adds up to 24 million Americans.

The big losers:

People who got insurance because Medicaid was expanded in many states. Poor people without children will lose insurance. The Congressional Budget Office projects that 14 million people will lose insurance in 2018.

People who need what’s called “essential services” under the Affordable Care Act would lose, too. That means the House approved a rollback for maternity and emergency care. 

Older people will lose as well.  People too young for Medicare will have to pay more for their insurance and may face unaffordable deductibles as high as $25,000.

People with pre-existing conditions may find themselves unable to get insurance. The Affordable Care Act prevents insurers from denying you coverage if you have a pre-existing condition like diabetes.

But the Republicans got rid of that idea. Their bill sets up a high risk pool with about $23 billion to help people with pre-existing conditions get insurance. Healthcare analysts at Avalere say it falls short and will cover only 110,000 people in the country with pre-existing conditions. Consider that 2.2 million people covered today have pre-existing conditions.

If you don’t have insurance continuously for at least 63 days, and you have a pre-existing condition, it looks like you will have a tough or an impossible time getting insurance.

Under this new American Health Care Act, states can opt out of certain provisions.  And that, says Avalere’s Caroline Pearson, poses a big problem. “If any large states receive a waiver (to opt out), many chronically ill individuals could be left without access to insurance.

Planned Parenthood, which provides healthcare services to women,  will lose about 30 percent of its funding for one year unless it stops providing abortion services.  After that who knows.

Winners:

Yes, winners. Rich people who earned over $200,00 for an individual and $250,000 as a couple will not have to pay a .09 percent increase on the Medicare payroll tax and a 3.8 percent tax on investments that helped fund the Affordable Care Act.

Young middle-class people without pre-existing conditions will also pay less.

Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders said,  “The bill that Republicans passed today is an absolute disaster. It really has nothing to do with health care. It has everything to do with an enormous shift of wealth from working people to the richest Americans . . .  Our job now is to rally millions of Americans against this cruel bill to make sure that it does not pass the Senate. Instead of throwing tens of millions of people off of health insurance, we must guarantee health care as a right to all.”

Featured Stories, News, Scam News

The Big Lie About Internet Regulation

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) until very recently served and protected consumers. But a bizarre statement, what looks like an outright lie, about the Internet and consumer rights from the Acting Federal Trade Commission Chairman Maureen Ohlhausen turned the notion of protection on its head. 

 

Ohlhausen praised a proposal by Trump’s Federal Communications Chair Ajit Pai to stop treating the Internet as a public utility.  Pai wants to abolish the so-called net neutrality rule. The Obama Administration pushed for net neutrality in 2015 to make sure everyone has equal access to the Internet. The regulation on the books prevents the unfair creation of fast and slow lanes that would allow big companies to favor their streaming services over anyone else’s. 

But Pai, a former Verizon attorney, thinks the government should not treat high-speed Internet like a utility. (The government regulates utilities.) 

Federal Communications Commission Photo, Official Portrait Ajit Pai, Public Domain

While Pai didn’t flesh out his plan for change, in a speech on April 26, 2017, at the Newseum, he made it clear that he opposes regulation. He said, “Without the overhang of heavy-handed regulation, companies will spend more building the next generation networks. As those networks expand, more Americans, especially low-income rural and urban Americans, will get high-speed Internet access for the first time.”

Ohlausen said, “I welcome Chairman Pai’s announcement as an important step toward restoring the FTC’s ability to protect broadband subscribers from unfair and deceptive practices, including violations of their privacy. Those consumer protections were an unfortunate casualty of the FCC’s 2015 decision to subject broadband to utility-style regulation. I look forward to working with Chairman Pai and other stakeholders to return to broadband subscribers the consumer protections they deserve.”

 Pai’s proposed changes and their endorsement by the leader of the FTC stand in stark contrast to the thoughts of those who pushed for an open Internet uncontrolled by big companies like Verizon, AT&T and the rest of corporate America that has a financial interest in corporations controlling the Internet.  

David Segal of DemandProgress.org called Pai’s statement “outrageous.”

Segal said, “The announcement is outrageous because the FCC’s 2015 Open Internet Order, classifying internet provision under Title II, is a commonsense measure to safeguard the open internet that so many depend on and that has been upheld by the courts. Millions of Americans as well as internet companies, startups and innovators have supported the order. The order’s main opponents are large ISPs that have made it clear they want to subvert the public interest by manipulating internet traffic to benefit corporate bottom lines.” 

American Library Association Director Julie Todaro also spoke out against a rollback. She said, “The American Library Association (ALA) and the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) firmly believe that preserving an open Internet is essential to all Americans’ freedom of speech, educational achievement, and economic growth.” 

Getting back to the FTC and its mission. The press release praising the notion of dismantling consumer protections ended with a statement that essentially said black is white: 

“The FTC is the nation’s primary consumer protection agency and the most active consumer privacy and data security enforcer in the world.” 

Featured Stories, Latest News

How The Justice Department Insulted New York

If you live in New York City and ride the subways, walk the streets and look around, you often feel a sense of elation about how, for the most part, this jumble of millions manages to get along. 

I grew up here. I lived and worked here in the bad-old 1980’s, when you felt scared and had reason to worry about someone attacking you on the subway or the street. But that was then. Since 1993 we have seen a steady decline in crime and fear. 

That’s why Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his Justice Department seem incredibly misinformed about the state of crime in the nation’s most exciting and diverse city.  

The out-of-touch Justice Department under Sessions and his boss Donald Trump sent a letter to New York and other jurisdictions considered “sanctuary cities” that threatens to withhold Justice Department funding if they don’t comply with orders to turn over information about undocumented immigrants.

This letter said, in part, “New York City continues to see gang murder after gang murder, the predictable consequence of the city’s ‘soft on crime'” stance.

New York Mayor Bill De Blasio and NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill reacted swiftly and angrily.

The mayor called it an “unacceptable statement that denigrates the people of New York and the men and women of the NYPD.” He called it “. . . an outrageous statement that ignores a quarter-century of progress in this city in bringing down crime.

He went on to say, “We just had the safest three months in the history of New York City – that didn’t happen by being soft on crime.”

NYPD Commissioner O’Neill was even angrier. He said, “. . . when I read that statement by DOJ this afternoon, my blood began to boil.” He pointed out that since 1993 overall crime is down 76 percent. In 2017, murders and shootings are down. 

He said, “This is really insulting. Look at not only the hard work of the NYPD . . . What about the federal agencies? What about the FBI? The ATF? The DEA? The US Marshal Service? — the hard work they do every day.”

 He pointed out that NYPD officers make sacrifices.

The commissioner said, “Cops are hurt every day. Cops are killed in the line of duty. This is insulting to the memory of Sergeant Paul Tuozzolo, Randolph Holder, Brian Moore, Joe Liu, Rafael Ramos. I find this statement to be absolutely outrageous.”

Consumer News, Featured Stories, Money News, News, Scam News

How eBay Scammers Tried To Get Me

by Barbara Nevins Taylor

A few hours after I listed a SONY EX 3 video camera on eBay. I received a surprising text message. Someone wanted to pay the price I asked. 

Sure enough when I checked eBay, Alex Johnson had messaged me there too, and eBay marked my item as sold. I felt triumphant and excited.

 

But I also felt wary. 

I wanted to make the sale, but something seemed strange. Why did he text message me? And how did he get my phone information?

Nevertheless, I responded. I didn’t know the shipping cost because I didn’t know the weight of the camera when I put it in its big Thermadyne case. I explained that in an email. Then he mentioned shipping to Africa.

“Mmm,” I heard myself say. Shipping to Africa. The flash, flash, flash went off in my brain. I remembered all the stories I reported about people who fell for scams to ship something to Africa

And then, I realized Alex didn’t ask whether the camera shot video in the NTSC or PAL mode. Maybe this is too technical, but television stations in the U.S. use video shot in the NTSC format. NTSC has 625 lines of resolution. In Africa, Europe and parts of Asia they use PAL, with 525 lines of resolution. Alex’s failure to ask about this made me more suspicious. And then I asked where his brother lived. 

The next text told the tale.

Nigeria. I hate to feel a prejudice, but my scam detector was signaling Code Red. Nigerian scammers have flooded our in-boxes since the Internet began with unclaimed funds looking for a home or royalty needing our help to reclaim their inheritance of millions. So I wasn’t buying this one, or selling to this guy.

The next morning, I received two very creepy texts.

I told him not to message me anymore.

That afternoon, I reported the mini-drama to eBay and the two staffers I spoke with confirmed it sounded like a scammer. They suggested that I de-list the item and fix mistakes I made when I filled out my seller profile.

I had neglected to check the section in the drop down menu that said I would only sell to someone who linked an eBay account to PayPal. And I also allowed buyers to make the “best offer.” Apparently changing these things help block scammers. 

So I re-listed. 

And the next day, it happened again. This time a Caleb Brown texted, 

 And I called eBay again. This time they got to the bad guy first. They had put a note on the listing that said: 

So I de-listed and started over again.  And fixed my third mistake. I added my PayPal email address.

This time, the scammers haven’t texted or called and I don’t yet have an offer. 

Consumer News, News, Student News

Student Loan Borrowers Lose Protection

Student loan borrowers and especially those in default now will have a tougher time, thanks to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. She withdrew protections put in place by the Obama Administration aimed at making loan servicers more accountable and blocking high fees. 

In a memo to the Federal Student Aid Office, which oversees $11 trillion in student debt, DeVos told the staff to forget the Obama policies because they “have a lack of consistent objectives.” While she failed to explain what she meant, she did eliminate the protections that require accountability from loan services. These protections insist that borrowers get accurate information and prevent interest rates as high as 16 percent on loans. 

Advocates angrily denounced the move. The National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance Project Director Persis Yu said, “It’s simply mind-boggling that the Department of Education would take away basic rights for borrowers.”

Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) sued Navient, once part of the government-backed Sallie Mae, for illegally cheating borrowers and failing to provide accurate information that would help them repay their loans. The CFPB charged the company with creating obstacles for repayment and causing borrowers to pay more than they should. 

Persis Yu said, “As the CFPB lawsuit against Navient demonstrates, problems with servicing are widespread and servicers’ practices can create obstacles to repayment resulting in costly problems for borrowers. Today’s action by Secretary DeVos could make it easier for the Department to hire servicers with a track record of harming borrowers.”

Here’s the memo from Education Secretary Besty De Vos announcing the policy change:

April 11, 2017

To: James W. Runcie, Chief Operating Officer Federal Student Aid

From: Betsy DeVos, Secretary, U.S. Department of Education

SUBJECT: Student Loan Servicer Recompete

As the Department strives toward our stated goal of increasing college access, affordability and quality, it is imperative to exercise due diligence in acquiring new federal student loan servicing capabilities. Our mission in the student loan servicing procurement process is to provide high quality customer service to federal loan borrowers in a cost-efficient and effective manner. I write today to reiterate the importance of the task ahead and reaffirm the Department’s commitment to achieving its mission.

Unfortunately, this process has been subjected to a myriad of moving deadlines, changing requirements and a lack of consistent objectives. We now find ourselves in a situation where we must promptly address not only these shortcomings but also any other issues that may impede our ability to ensure borrowers do not experience deficiencies in service. This must be done with precision, timeliness and transparency. As we move forward with this procurement, I am withdrawing (1) the June 30, 2016 memorandum to you from former Secretary John King, (2) the July 20, 2016 memorandum to you from former Under Secretary Ted Mitchell, and (3) the October 17, 2016 addendum to the July 20, 2016 memorandum to you from former Under Secretary Mitchell, to negate any impediment, ambiguity or inconsistency in the approach needed to accomplish this critical mission.

I greatly appreciate the work and effort you and your team have put forward thus far. Our work continues in earnest today. The student loan servicing procurement affords us a significant opportunity to improve outcomes and experiences for federal student loan borrowers, as well as demonstrate sound fiscal stewardship of public dollars. We must create a student loan servicing environment that provides the highest quality customer service and increases accountability and transparency for all borrowers, while also limiting the cost to taxpayers.

We have a duty to do right by both borrowers and taxpayers, and I look forward to working with your team at FSA, as well as others, in order to acquire new federal student loan capabilities that will provide borrowers with the tools necessary to efficiently repay their debt.

Featured Stories, Latest News, Money News, News

What Can You Find In White House Financial Disclosures?

 

This post comes from ProPublic. The news organization wants your help to dig into the financial disclosure forms the Trump White House dumped on Friday March 31. Pro Public put the documents in a Google Drive folder. As you read this post, you’ll see that they ask you to go through the documents and if you spot something that ProPublica, The New York Times and AP missed let ProPublica know.  

The White House Wouldn’t Post Trump Staffers’ Financial Disclosures. So We Did.

by Ariana Tobin and Derek Kravitz ProPublica, April 1, 2017, 11:38 a.m.

In a remarkable Friday night news dump, the Trump administration made dozens of White House staffers’ financial disclosure forms available. But they did it with an extra dose of opacity.

These are important disclosures from the people who have the president’s ear and shape national policy. They lay out all sorts of details, including information on ownership of stocks, real estate and companies, and make possible conflicts of interest public.

But the White House required a separate request for each staffer’s disclosure. And they didn’t give the names of the staffers, leaving us to guess who had filed disclosures, a kind of Transparency Bingo.

Since the White House wasn’t going to post the documents publicly, we did.

We teamed up with The New York Times and The Associated Press, requested docs for every staffer we know and put them in this public Google Drive folder.

We’re continuing to look through them. And we want your help: If you see anything that merits a closer look, comment on the thread below or fill out our Google Form.

Among the things we’ve learned already:

Steve Bannon, President Trump’s hand-picked chief strategist, earned more than $500,000 last year through businesses connected to Republican donors Robert Mercer and his daughter, Rebekah. The companies include the conservative website Breitbart News Network; the data-crunching firm Cambridge Analytica; the conservative nonprofit Government Accountability Institute; and the entertainment production company Glittering Steel. (Per an agreement with White House ethics attorneys, Bannon is selling his stakes in Cambridge Analytica and Glittering Steel. He made somewhere between $1.3 million and $2.3 million last year, according to the filings.)

Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and a White House senior adviser, resigned his positions in 266 different business entities in order to comply with federal ethics rules, White House officials said Friday. He and his wife Ivanka’s financial disclosure shows the scale of their wealth, largely through the family-run Kushner Companies: real estate and investments worth as much as $741 million.

And Kushner is holding onto more than 100 real-estate assets, including a Trump-branded rental building in Jersey City, New Jersey, which was financed with millions from wealthy Chinese investors through a visa program.

As part of Kushner’s financial disclosure, Ivanka Trump, who recently took an official post in the White House, had to disclose her assets. Ivanka Trump’s branded companies, including her clothing and jewelry lines, brought in more than $5 million in 2016 and are valued at more than $50 million. Her stake in the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., which opened in September, brought in income of between $1 million and $5 million. (She is putting her companies in a trust that she won’t manage while her father serves as president.)

There are other tidbits, too. Gary Cohn, the former Goldman Sachs investment banker who now serves as director of the National Economic Council, has assets worth at least $253 million, including million-dollar or more stakes in several private companies. Omarosa Manigault, the reality-TV star who took a job as a White House communications staffer, has a 33 percent stake in a trust worth between $1 million and $5 million established by her late fiancée, the Oscar-nominated actor Michael Clarke Duncan, who died in 2012. Reed Cordish, a Trump family friend and Maryland real-estate developer who now oversees technology initiatives at the White House, reported assets of at least $197 million, including partnerships in Baltimore casinos.

So far, we’ve received less than half of the roughly 180 financial disclosures White House officials said they have processed. But the moment we get them, you will, too.

ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for their newsletter.

Consumer News, Latest News, Money News, News, Scam News, Student News

Trump University Payout For Victims

 

by Barbara Nevins Taylor

Donald Trump didn’t say, “Sorry,” and he didn’t admit guilt. But student victims of the defunct Trump University will get $25 million dollars, as much as 90 percent of their money back, thanks to settlements approved by a San Diego, California judge.

This ends seven years of legal wrangling with about 3,730 former students who claimed that Trump University swindled them out of thousands of dollars with high pressure sales tactics and phony claims about what they would learn. Attorneys filed two class action lawsuits in San Diego, and New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman brought a civil lawsuit against the so-called university in New York. The judge’s ruling settles all of them.

Trump had refused to settle and tweeted about it.

But in November 2016, after he was elected president, he agreed to the $25 million deal.

Sherri Simpson, a former student from Florida, held things up with a challenge. Her attorney argued that the settlement would prevent her and others from suing President Trump individually. Simpson, also an attorney, said she wanted to sue Trump using racketeering charges and she wanted an apology.

Trump lawyers asked the judge to rule on her objection and close the case. In his final ruling, Judge Gonzolo P. Curiel wrote, “The court finds that the amount offered in settlement is fair, adequate and reasonable.”

Lawyers for the former students said they will not accept fees and praised the settlement for the amount of money individuals will receive. One lawyer said that Sonny Low, the named plaintiff in the lawsuit, still had $9,000 in credit card debt because of Trump University and the settlement will help him and others significantly.

Some students paid as much as $35,000 for the program, which some instructors told the court was fraudulent. 

In New York, Attorney General Schneiderman praised the settlement, saying it “will provide relief — and hopefully much-needed closure — to the victims of Donald Trump’s fraudulent university. Trump University’s victims waited years for compensation, while President Trump refused to settle and fought us every step of the way — until his stunning reversal last fall.”

Schneiderman will distribute $4 million of the $25 million settlement.

The case against Trump University also highlights serious problems with for-profit colleges that often take students’ money for worthless degrees and leave them deeply in debt. 

 

Consumer News, Featured Stories, Money News, News, Scam News

Hassle To Get Your Free Credit Report

by Barbara Nevins Taylor

updated September 16, 2017

The hassle to get your free credit report from annualcreditreport.com increased substantially during the first week of September 2017. You may find it more difficult, than ever, to get your free credit report online because the Equifax Security lapse allowed hackers to get hold of personal information, including Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers, bank, credit card and other information you don’t want thieves to have.

Federal law says that every year you can get a free credit report from each of the three major credit reporting companies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion. You do that through the annualcreditreport.com link. 

But the system doesn’t always work smoothly. We explained in a previous post, Why Your Credit Report May Not Be Available Online, that any kind of alert will put a red flag on your account. The credit bureaus told ConsumerMojo they want to make sure they release information only to you. That seems ironic now. The Equifax hack serves as a giant red flag.

The credit bureaus also have a history of slowing down the online experience. They bombarded us with ads before we could get to the free credit report application.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which Republicans in Congress want to dismantle, fined Experian, in March, for piling on and making you visit a site filled with ads before you could get your report.

The CFPB fined Experian $3 million for that and also for selling credit scores, which it claimed lenders used to make decisions about whether you would qualify. The CRPB said, “In fact lenders did not use Experian’s scores to make those decisions.”

Companies compile credit scores based on your financial activity and create a number using from the lowest of 300 to the highest of 850. The CFPB points out that not all lenders use single scores.  As a way to sell scores to unsuspecting people, some companies create “education credit scores,” theoretically to inform consumers. But lenders rarely use them.

But most lenders do use the FICO Score, created by the Fair Isaac company. You can get that score for free through the Open Access program available with some credit card companies, lenders and non-profit credit counseling services.

Courtesy Wikimedia

Experian developed something it called the “Plus Score” and marketed that to consumers from at least 2010 to 2014, claiming lenders used it.  Again, lenders didn’t and in some cases, the scores from Experian varied significantly from those that lenders used, according to the CFPB.

CFPB Director Richard Cordray said, “Consumers deserve and should expect honest and accurate information about their credit scores, which are central to their financial lives.

Complaints about getting credit reports top the monthly complaints to the CFPB, as well as to ConsumerMojo.com and other consumer activists.

The National Consumer Law Center applauded the move by the CFPB.  Its attorney Chi Chi Wu said, “American consumers are so much better off for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s efforts to clean up the credit reporting industry.”

The CFPB took similar actions against Equifax and TransUnion. If you have a complaint about a credit reporting company let the CFPB know: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/

In the meantime, if you think you got caught in the Equifax hack we explain what you can do here. 

Featured Stories, Latest News, Money News

Will You Lose Your Health Insurance?

The Congressional Budget Office (C.B.O.) gave Congress, and the rest of us, the low-down on what the Trumpcare plan will cost regular people. 14 million will lose their insurance as early as 2018. That number would rise to 21 million by 2020 and 24 million in 2026.

People in 31 states and Washington, D.C., that have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, will lose out under the proposed American Health Care Act developed by Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan.

The Association of American Medical Colleges issued a statement condemning the plan. Its C.E.O. Darrell G. Kirch, M.D. said, “These are people, not numbers — people who all too often will be left without access to regular care, putting their health at risk. Many of them will come to our nation’s teaching hospitals, but they may wait until they are in crisis and the costs and complexity of treatment have increased.”

 The C.B.O. numbers seem startling. 48 million people under 65 will go uninsured in 2020 if this legislation passes. 

Average premiums for people who buy health insurance on their own would go up 15 to 20 percent, according to the C.B.O.

Younger people would do better under the Trumpcare plan because the insurance would rate payments by your age. By 2026 premiums would cost 20 to 25 percent less for a 21-year-old, eight to ten percent lower for a forty-year old, but 20-25 percent higher for a 64-year-old.

A 21-year-old who earns $26,000 a year and has an insurance policy that costs $5,100 a year now pays $1700 because of tax credits. Under the proposed plan the cost would drop to $1,450.

But a 64-year-old who earns $26,000 and now pays $1700 with tax credits would pay $14,600.

Even before the C.B.O. analysis laid out the numbers, the A.A.R.P. reacted angrily to the proposal. Executive Vice President Nancy LeaMond said, “Before people even reach retirement age, big insurance companies could be allowed to charge them an age tax that adds up to thousands of dollars more per year. Older Americans need affordable health care services and prescriptions. This plan goes in the opposite direction increasing insurance premiums for older Americans and not doing anything to lower drug costs.”

 

You can find the full C.B.O. report CBO Healthcare Report. 

 

Consumer News, Featured Stories, Latest News, Money News, News, Scam News

Did You Fall For One Of The Top Scams Of 2016?

 

by Barbara Nevins Taylor

Good news on the scam front, sort of.  Reports of identity theft dropped slightly in 2016, according to the Federal Trade Commission‘s (FTC) annual roundup. Debt collection and imposter scams that use the telephone to invade your life like, “I’m calling from the IRS and I’m going to arrest you if you don’t pay immediately,” topped the list of ripoffs. 

Grandparent Scam

These imposters scams also include “The Grandparent Scam,” where someone calls and tells you that your grandchild needs money immediately. They direct you to go out and get a pre-paid card and send them money, or wire transfer money that you will never see again 

Computer Tech Scam

In another variation, a scammer calls and poses as a computer technician and scares you about some fake problem. They ask you to give them access to your computer so they can fix things, then they install malware or make changes that allow them to steal personal and financial information.

Sometimes these tech scammers ask for credit card information to bill your phony services, or they ask you to visit websites that ask for your credit card number and other personal information.

Warning

The FTC’S Acting Director of Consumer Protection, Thomas Pahl, says, “Our latest data shows that imposter scams are a growing and serious problem.”

58 percent of those who reported losing money in one of these scams say they sent money through a wire transfer.  77 percent say the scammer made the first contact through a telephone call to their home.  We also know now that scammers target mobile phones, too. So that’s something else to worry about.

The FTC urges everyone to view skeptically any caller who asks for money via wire transfer. The government will never ask you to send money that way and it is illegal for telemarketers to ask for a wire transfer. 

The agency based the Top 10 List on more than 3.1 million consumer complaints. The most complaints came from Florida, Georgia and Michigan.

Top 2016 Scams 

Debt Collection

Imposter Scams

Identity Theft

Telephone and Mobile Services 

Banks and Lenders

Prizes, Sweepstakes and Lotteries

Shop-At-Home and Catalog Sales

Auto Related Complaints

Credit Bureaus

Television and Electronic Media

Listen to an IRS call

If one of these scammers contacts you, report it to the Federal Trade Commission, FTC.gov/complaint.

Featured Stories, Immigrant News, News

Phony ICE Agents And Rumors Terrify Immigrants

 

Facebook and Twitter helped fuel rumors of immigrant roundups and created panic in immigrant communities. It turns out many rumors are just rumors.

In Brooklyn, City Council member Jumaane  Williams and his staff checked out rumors that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents made stops at Bobby’s department stores on Utica Avenue and Church Avenue, Kings County Hospital, and stopped commuter vans and cabs. 

All untrue, according to Williams, who found none of it happened. He said, “My staff and I have followed up on as many of the rumors as we can. We have spoken to owners of the commuter van lines, as well as the management at Bobby’s department store, and have confirmed that at this time there have not been general indiscriminate stops made by ICE agents over the past few days.

However, they did discover reports of scammers posing as immigration agents demanding money from immigrants. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman issued an emergency alert to warn against people posing as immigration agents.  

Schneiderman described a case in Queens where an immigrant was approached by four men wearing clothes that seemed like ICE uniforms. They threatened the man and told him they would detain him unless he gave them all his money.

The attorney general urged anyone approached by one of these scammers to call a special immigration fraud hotline run by his office: 866-390-2992 or email Civil.Rights@ag.ny.gov.

Council member Williams asks people to report actual ICE activity in Brooklyn to his office. Email: vandre@council.nyc.gov.

 Williams said, “Concerns about immigration checkpoints and raids, whether rumors or not, is evidence of the mass hysteria that has taken hold of communities across the country because of Trump. This administration from day one has done everything in its power to marginalize people, create a culture of fear, and divide Americans. The President’s erratic behavior only makes it more difficult for our communities, as evidenced by his recent announcement about the possibility of deploying 100,000 National Guard troops for immigrant roundups.”

Also know that the NYPD does not ask people about their immigration status and is not working with ICE.

 

Featured Stories

Who Do You Love?

Cartoonist Mort Gerberg captured true love in his Valentine’s Day cartoon, but most of us can see past our reflection in the mirror. We love other people as much as we love ourselves. Love fuels the dreams and nightmares of literature and so we offer a few poems of love.

My Love,

by Langston Hughes

I love to see the big white moon,

A-shining in the sky;

I love to see the little stars,

When the shadow clouds go by.

I love the raindrops falling

On my roof-top in the night;

I love the soft wind’s sighing,

Before the dawn’s gray light.

I love the deepness of the blue,

In my Lord’s heaven above;

But better than all these things I think

I love my lady love.

 

My Heart, When The First Black-Bird Sings

by Robert Louis Stevenson

My heart, when the first blackbird sings,

My heart drinks in the song:

Cool pleasure fills my bosom through

And spreads each nerve along.

My bosom eddies quietly,

My heart is stirred and cool

As when wind-moved briar sweeps 

A stone into a pool

But unto thee, when thee I meet,

My pulse thickens fast,

As when the maddened lake grows black

And ruffles in the blast. 

 

[i carry your heart with me(i carry it in]

 by E. E. Cummings

i carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart) i am never without it (anywhere i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done

by only me is your doing, my darling)

                                                      i fear

no fate (for you are my fate,my sweet)i want

no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)

and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant

and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows

(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud

and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows

higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)

and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart 

i carry your heart (i carry it in my heart)

 

Sonnets from the Portuguese: 43 How do I love thee? Let me count the ways

by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day’s

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for right;

I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use

In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,

Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,

I shall but love thee better after death.

Consumer News, Featured Stories, News, Scam News

Thinking About A Settlement Advance

 

 

by Barbara Nevins Taylor

 

A settlement advance for an accident or lawsuit may sound like a good idea. But you might want to think twice. Deals to get money upfront may seem attractive, but high fees can take a big chunk out of your payout and leave you with far less money than you deserve.

The latest cautionary tale about a settlement advance involves 9/11 first responders and former NFL football players. A lawsuit claims they were scammed while they waited to get settlement money for serious illnesses. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the New York State Attorney General say RD Legal Funding, and owner Roni Derscovitz, preyed on these people and “. . . swooped in with a “deal,” offering the victims an upfront payment” for some of the money they had not yet received.”

CFPB Director Richard Cordray said, “We allege that this company and its owner lined their pockets with funds intended to cover medical care and other critical expenses for people who are sick and sidelined.” 

Many of the first responders, police officers, firefighters, emergency medical technicians and others suffer from cancer, memory loss, post traumatic stress disorder and other debilitating illnesses. The former NFL players struggle with Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimers. They all need the money they were awarded and expected to receive under the settlement advance concept.

But the New Jersey-based RD Funding’s confusing contracts allegedly masked the amounts of money they would have to repay on the advances. The victims often had to pay back twice what the company advanced within a matter of months, according to the lawsuit.  It claims the scheme cost people with long-term serious illnesses millions of dollars.

They offer the example of a 9/11 first responder awarded $65,000 from the Zadroga Fund. That’s the pool of money Congress allocated for first responders injured during the aftermath of the World Trade Center attack. RD advanced her $18,000 while she waited for payment from the fund. But six months later, she had to repay $33,000 to RD Legal. That means she paid $15,000 to RD beyond the money the company advanced to her. 

The CFPB and the Attorney General allege RD Funding:

  • Lied about the terms of deals.
  • Lied about speeding up victims’ claims for faster payouts.
  • Deceived victims about when they would get the money.
  • Illegally collected money from victims. 

The CFPB and the New York Attorney General aim to get money back for victims. New York A.G. Eric Schneiderman called the practices “shameful.” He said, “My office will do everything it can to end the fraudulent practices employed by RD Legal, and recoup the illegal amounts charged by this company.”

The lawsuit asks the court to shut down RD Funding and return money to the victims.

We’ll stay on top of this to find out how it plays out.

Dodd-Frank 

In the meantime, you should know that the lawsuit was brought under Dodd-Frank laws and regulations put into effect to curb the worst Wall Street practices including predatory lending.

Republicans in Congress and President Trump want to dismantle Dodd-Frank and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.  If you want to maintain consumer protections, call your representative and senators in Washington. 

Here’s where to find your representative: http://www.house.gov/htbin/findrep

Here’s where to find your senators: https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Banking News, Consumer News, Featured Stories, Latest News, Money News, News

Who Gets A Refund From RushCard?

Thanks to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), thousands of RushCard holders who couldn’t access their money in 2015 will split $10 million in restitution. UniRush and Mastercard, which processed money for the pre-paid RushCard will also pay a $3 million dollar civil fine.

Creative Commons License via Flickr

Here’s who gets a refund from RushCard, founded by hiphop mogul Russell Simmons,  and how the division of that $10 million shakes out.

  • $25 for a cardholder denied a transaction on October 12, 2015.
  • $150 to anyone who had their card put in possible fraud status.
  • $100 to anyone who received notification falsely that no money was in their account.
  • $100 to anyone whose payments didn’t get processed for the week under review.
  • $250 to anyone whose direct deposit was improperly returned to the funding source, or improperly recorded.
  • $150 to anyone who had trouble with their bank because of delayed processing.
  • $150 to anyone who couldn’t access their money.
  • $150 to anyone who did not have their lost or stolen card immediately replaced.
  • $50 to anyone whose card-to-card transfers did not get processed immediately.

Obviously some people will get multiple refunds because they had multiple problems.

How RushCard holders get their money

UniRush and Mastercard have 60 days to submit a plan to the CFPB for refunding money. Once that’s approved, they must notify you by mail and then send you a refund in the form of a certified bank check.

If you don’t hear from them or have a problem contact the CFPB 

Or call 855-411-2372.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau does great work, yet the Republicans in Congress and the Trump administration want to roll back the rules it made to protect you. 

Call your U.S. senator and representative to tell them you need regulations to protect you.

Here’s where to find your representative: http://www.house.gov/htbin/findrep

Here’s where to find your senator:

https://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/

Here’s how to contact the White House: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact#page 

 

 

 

 

Consumer News, Featured Stories, Latest News, Money News, News

Put Politics Aside, Save What Helps Real People

 

by Nick Taylor

The axe can fall anytime now on a government office that looks out for real people. That’s something that should concern all of us, regardless of our politics. Scams, rip-offs and bad practices can hurt Republicans and Democrats alike. 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau  (CFPB) has gone after financial predators of all kinds since the Obama administration and Congress created it in 2010.

Who uncovered the scam that Wells Fargo employees created fake accounts that cost consumers money? The CFPB. Who fined JP Morgan Chase for predatory mortgage lending practices? The CFPB. Who went after other big banks, smaller predatory lenders and stays on top of the credit reporting companies, debt collectors, for-profit schools and other companies and institutions that rip consumers off? The CFPB.

Just this week, the CFPB moved against what it called “a ring of law firms and attorneys who collaborated to charge illegal fees to consumers seeking debt relief.” They “exploited consumers who were already suffering financial difficulties by tricking them into paying steep, illegal fees,” according to CFPB Director Richard Cordray. It’s the second time the bureau has taken aim at the debt reduction scammers.

The new defendants in the CFPB’s federal court complaint are Howard Law, P.C., the Williamson Law Firm, LLC, and Williamson & Howard, LLP, and attorneys Vincent Howard and Lawrence Williamson.

 A previous operation run by the two lawyers, Morgan Drexen, Inc., closed in 2015 after being sued by the bureau. The latest complaint says the defendants violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule.

Consumers who wanted help received two contracts from the attorneys. One promised debt settlement services, but the other was for bankruptcy-related services the bureau says the debtors hadn’t asked for. The bankruptcy contract let the lawyers collect illegal upfront fees amounting to tens of millions of dollars, according to the bureau, and often failed to settle any debts.

Mastercard and UniRush to $10 million to Consumers

Later in the week, the bureau ordered Mastercard and UniRush to pay RushCard users $10 million for foul-ups that kept cardholders from using their own money when a Mastercard unit started processing payments to RushCard holders in October 2015.  

RushCard is a reloadable prepaid debit card. If payments don’t go into it, many users lack the funds to pay for necessities including food and rent. CFPB director Cordray said the two companies’ preventable failures “cut off tens of thousands of vulnerable consumers from their own money, and threw some into a personal financial crisis.” 

In addition to the $10 million in restitutions, the CFPB ordered the companies to pay $3 million into its Civil Penalty Fund.  We’ll tell you at the end of this post who gets a RushCard refund.

 

In the meantime, these continued examples show the valuable work the CFPB does fighting for consumers against predatory and just plain sloppy business models, and why the bureau should keep up its good work. But as we reported on ConsumerMojo last November, Republicans are gunning for Cordray, and would like to gut the agency entirely. That’s because they favor business interests over individuals, and those interests give to their campaigns.

Payday and other short-term lenders are particularly troubling. These companies make loans to people in distress. Military families and others who need money to get them over a hump offer up auto titles and other slim collateral in exchange for cash at high interest rates. Often the borrowers can’t pay on time, and the lenders are only too happy to extend their deadlines, adding fees and interest in the process.

Helping families in distress is a good thing. Taking advantage of them with fees and rates that amount to usury, and making loan after loan to take them deeper into debt they can’t afford is a bad thing.

Predatory lending by big banks had a lot to do with the financial crisis that started in 2008 and almost brought down the U.S. economy. Convincing people to take mortgages they couldn’t afford cost millions their savings, home equity, and even their homes. The big banking institutions that helped cause the crisis by bundling bad mortgages and selling them to gullible investors got bailed out.

The CFPB was one answer to the crisis.  It was created as a watchdog against schemes, scams and just plain sloppiness that victimize consumers of financial products. It’s done a fine job. The bureau has levied fines on big banks as well as unscrupulous debt collectors and credit repair companies, and returned some $12 billion to consumers.

Cordray is a presidential appointee whose term runs until the middle of next year. He originally could be fired only for cause, but a recent court ruling changed that to say he could be fired at will.

That’s what Republicans in Congress would like President Trump to do. How he responds will say a lot about the promises he made to working class Americans during his campaign.

Will he keep those promises, or will he side with Congressional Republicans whose definition of freedom includes the freedom of businesses to fleece consumers?

Who gets a RushCard refund? We’ll tell you here.