Young Lawyers Discovering Their Work Has Been Outsourced
Before spending three tough years of study and spending $100,000 or more for a law degree, you might first want to research how much you are likely to earn. A few years ago most good…
Finance
Check Out “Charities” Before Making Donations
Consumers who will be making charitable donations in upcoming weeks and months may want to double check to be sure their donation will be tax deductible, the Department of Consumer Protection advised today. On Wednesday,…
Granny Snatching: Ct Expanding Program Allowing Elderly To Live At Home, Instead Of Nursing Homes
Some state lawmakers finally seem to be grasping the concept that Medicaid is going bankrupt because the program is designed to direct most resources to institutions like nursing homes, and precious little to much less…
Consumer Complaints: Home Warranties Come With Many Caviats
Home warranties – similar to auto warranties you buy on a used car – may not be worth the money you spend on them, according to many consumer complaints Worse, you could end up with…
Kirby Vacuum Agrees To Stop Improper Sales Practices In Connecticut
The Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection entered into Assurances of Voluntary Compliance today with The Kirby Company and its Connecticut distributors to settle charges that the vacuum cleaner company, along with some of its Connecticut…
Shaddy Bank Practices Continue To Hurt Homeowners
A foreclosure sign hangs in front of a home in Richmond, Calif. Many homeowners who have been granted a loan modification to avoid foreclosure find their mortgage company effectively pulls a bait and switch on…
Small Condominium Associations Are Dangerous
Real estate experts warn us to take at least as much care, if not more, checking out a condo than a single family home prior to purchase. That goes double for small associations with less…
Consumer Complaint: A Leaky Toilet Can Be Expensive
While the cost of water in Connecticut is nowhere as expensive as in other parts of the country, a little waste can add up to some large bills. Frances of Manchester – who works two…
Consumer Federation Wants SEC To Toughen Retail Investor Protection
The House Financial Services Committee should allow the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to move forward expeditiously on a rulemaking imposing a fiduciary duty on brokers when they give personalized investment advice, according to a…
Bankers Trying To Further Delay Debit Card Fee Reduction Regulations
by Marian Wang (Spencer Platt/Getty Images) It’s April 21, and another Dodd-Frank deadline has come and gone. Today was the day the Fed’s regulations on debit card transaction fees, also known as interchange fees, were supposed…
5 Ways GE Plays the Tax Game
Jeff Immelt, Chairman and CEO of General Electric (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images) A version of this story was co-publishedwith Fortune. General Electric’s tax department is famous for inventing ways to pay Uncle Sam less. So it should…
Latest Courant Rip-Off Ad: “Rare” Sheets $2 Bills
Just moments before I was set to write about the latest rip-off – full page ad in today’s Hartford Courant about the Rare sheets of $2 bills that have “sold at prestigious action houses for thousands of dollars,” I received an email from a Middletown reader about the ad.
The reader, James McAuliffe, said he called the telephone in the ad quickly confirmed his suspicion that it was a ripoff designed to benefit only the “World Reserve Monetary Exchange,” which has many other inflated priced items, and the newspapers that carry these highly profitable ads.
$2 bills ad from eBay
“My operator, Crystal, started asking me my name state and zip code to ensure that I “qualified” (what a joke!). Then she asked my address. At this time I stopped providing information an asked her how many $2 bill I would get for $48. The answer is 4. So, $48 gets you $8. Pretty good return for this scam,” he wrote me.
Obama Backtracks On Promised Bankruptcy Changes For Struggling Homeowners
by Paul Kiel and Olga Pierce Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Before he took office, President Obama repeatedly promised voters and Democrats in Congress that he’d fight for changes to bankruptcy…
Assurant Health Fined By Connecticut For Unjustified Denials Of Claims
Acting Insurance Commissioner Barbara C. Spear today announced that state regulators have fined two Wisconsin-based companies nearly $400,000 for a series of violations uncovered during follow-up examinations of business practices related to certain individual and…
Bank Of America’s Christmas present: Foreclose Even Though Not A Payment Missed
In one of the more bizarre foreclosure cases, Bank of America is threatening to throw a West Hartford family out of their home even though they couple never missed a mortgage payment.
The largest bank in the United States earlier this month notified Shock Baitch and his wife Lisa Freedman that foreclosure action will start today – Christmas eve – unless the couple agrees to put their home up for a forced sale.
Why?
Because another unit of Bank of America erroneously reported to credit agencies that the family was seeking a loan modification, ruining their credit rating and as the result putting their mortgage into default.
All this is happening even though the bank – after admitting it erred and sent a letter of apology in September – handed this case to a special unit at Bank of America that is charged with dealing with severe customer issues. It promised in writing to notify the credit reporting agencies that the couple were not deadbeats, but were good credit risks “I have never seen a case like this,” said Manchester attorney Wendell Davis, whose office handles many foreclosures.
False Attorney Signatures Cast New Doubts on Foreclosures
by Sasha Chavkin ProPublica A house under foreclosure that is now bank-owned in the Spring Valley area of Las Vegas on Oct. 15, 2010. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images) Many foreclosures have been thrown into question [1]…
Wells Fargo Finally Admits It Has Flaws In Its Foreclosures
After insisting for weeks that there was nothing wrong with its foreclosures, Wells Fargo & Co. said it will refile paperwork in 55,000 foreclosure cases after discovering flaws in documents. Wells Fargo now joins Bank…
Wells Fargo Found By Judge “gouging and profiteering,” Ordered To Repay $200 Million
Wells Fargo & Co., which started a national bank scheme 9 years ago, was told last week to repay its customers more than $200 million in fees it took as part of its “unfair and…
Debt Settlement Firms Prohibited From Up Front Fees
Under new regulations adopted by the Federal Trade Commission, for-profit debt settlement companies will no longer be allowed to collect fees for their services until they have settled some or all of a consumer’s debt….
Confessions From Debt Collectors
Thanks to CNN for its interviews with former and present debt collectors, giving us a clue to what makes these people tick. Check out the story of these people. Like, Mel Harsh, a debt collector for…