Tuesday, March 08, 2005
The FTC is seeking comments on credit scoring and insurance credit scores
The FTC is seeking comments on to aid staff in preparing a study on the effects of credit scores and credit-based insurance scores on the price and availability of various financial products and services.
Deadline: April 25, 2005
From https://secure.commentworks.com/FTCCreditScoreStudy/
“How To Comment:
The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 requires the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve Board to conduct a study on the effects of credit scores and credit-based insurance scores on the availability and affordability of financial products. These products include credit cards, mortgages, auto loans, and property and casualty insurance. The Commission invites interested parties to submit information on any aspects of credit scores, credit-based insurance scores, and the effects of scores on the relevant markets that would be useful to the study. The Commission has enumerated a series of questions in the Federal Register Notice announcing this action.”
Continue reading ...
Monday, March 07, 2005
Capital One to purchase Hibernia for $5.35 billion
Scary, very scary ...
Capital One’s Fairbanks Adds Branches With Hibernia Accord
“March 7 (Bloomberg)—Capital One Financial Corp. Chief Executive Officer Richard Fairbank’s agreement to buy Hibernia Corp. for $5.35 billion makes his company Louisiana’s biggest lender and gives him a foothold in Texas.
Yesterday’s decision by Capital One, the nation’s fifth- biggest credit-card issuer, gives the McLean, Virginia-based company 314 branches in Louisiana and Texas. Hibernia will get 45 percent of the $33-a-share offer in cash and 55 percent in Capital One stock.
``This acquisition is a natural extension of the diversification strategy that we have been pursuing for some time,’’ Fairbanks said in a statement. The merger will create one of the 10 largest U.S. consumer lenders and close in the third quarter, the companies said.
Fairbanks, who was 53 as of March 2004, spent the past year buying U.S. and U.K. home-equity lenders and a car-financing business in California. He may struggle to add deposits through Hibernia should energy prices decline, weakening local economies served by Hibernia, now Louisiana’s biggest bank, said Richard Bove, an analyst at Punk Ziegel & Co. in Pinellas Park, Florida.
``Louisiana is a state tied to the oil industry,’’ said Bove, who doesn’t rate Capital One shares. ``If you’re going to buy a bank, I’d buy where you don’t have risks related to the economy.’’
...”
Right now I can’t think of anything to say that shouldn’t be censored.
Oh, there is something to say.
I recently had a reader blame the unscrupulous Capital One business practices on East Indians.
I don’t get it. East Indians make the policy at Capital One, decide not to report to credit limits, to purchase 15+ year old charge-offs and re-report them to the CRAs for 7 years, not to respond to customer mailings, not to refund fraudulent charges, to protect the identity of criminals who stole customers’ identities, to hire debt collectors who couldn’t care less about collection laws?
James McAfee, Senior VP and General Counsel for the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, who has been refusing to enforce the FCRA for several years despite my complaints and law suits, is East Indian?
The reader wanted me to write a letter to Bush because he is such a great president who truly cares about us and who would immediately take action to put Capital One back in its place.
Obviously, if YOU think that’s true, YOU can waste YOUR time to write a letter to Bush.
How many people are so incredibly gullible is even scarier than Capital One buying Hibernia, and the root of the problem.
2004 Suit (credit limits, credit reporting - on appeal) • Capital One - ruthless banksters • (0) Comments • Permalink
Friday, March 04, 2005
NACA Campaign: STOP the Bankruptcy Bill!
NACA started a campaign to stop the Bankruptcy Bill. Please take a moment and tell your Senators to oppose the bill - it’s easy, you can do this online in a couple of minutes.
I can not emphasize enough that I’m all for people paying their bills. However, not only do most people file for bankruptcy due to medical problems, job loss, divorce, etc., but the creditors openly argue in their court filings (Ameriquest and Capital One) that it is OK for them to lie to consumers!
Not every lie and every incorrect credit reporting leads to bankruptcy. It’s a lot like picking up a virus - people with a strong immune system are unlikely to get ill.
The CRAs and creditors deliberately attack our credit rating and continually misrepresent the products and loans they sell - it doesn’t take much of an emergency to end up really broke and with 30% interest rates on the credit card balances, leaving no choice but bankruptcy.
From What’s At Stake
Key Problems with S. 256, the Bankruptcy Bill
S. 256, the bankruptcy bill recently introduced in the U.S. Senate, is nearly identical to the bankruptcy bill passed by the House of Representatives in the last Congress. That bill was opposed by broad coalition of labor, women’s groups, consumer groups, senior organizations, faith communities, civil rights organizations, law scholars, bankruptcy trustees, retired bankruptcy judges, economists and editorial boards of major national newspapers [Wash Post, NY Times, LA Times] and regional papers.
The budgets of American families have been hit hard in recent years by massive layoffs, outsourcing of jobs, corporate scandals and ravaged pension and 401 (k) plans. Passage of the bankruptcy bill would make it harder for families hit by financial misfortune to get back on track. It would benefit the very profitable credit card industry at the expense of the modest-income families who represent the great majority of those who declare bankruptcy.
Bankruptcies are driven by economic difficulties. The timing of this bill couldn’t be worse. Ninety percent of all bankruptcies are triggered by the loss of a job, high medical bills or divorce. The economic recession has taken its toll on many families. Long-term unemployment continues to be a problem and the number of Americans without health insurance is at its highest level ever and growing. Seniors can’t afford their prescriptions and more and more people are losing their pensions as companies continue to struggle to be profitable. The business bankruptcy provisions in the bill would also hurt business reorganization, causing further job loss.
Key problems with the bill include:
Imposes a rigid means test. The bill sets up an inflexible formula to determine if an individual debtor will be presumed ineligible for chapter 7 relief. A debtor whose Chapter 7 case is challenged due to these assumptions will have to litigate the issue-- an expense many debtors cannot afford. The court is not allowed to waive the means test even if the debtor is seeking bankruptcy relief because of some terrible circumstance beyond his or her control.
Endangers child support. Despite extravagant claims to the contrary, the bill still threatens the welfare of children. If the parent who owes child support is the debtor, the bill will divert more money to other creditors (such as auto lenders) and allow more non-child support debts to survive bankruptcy. Thus after the bankruptcy is over the custodial parent will have to fight with creditors for the debtor’s limited income.
Allows millionaires to continue to shelter their assets in bankruptcy. The bill will still allow some rich debtors (those who have not been found to have committed certain types of wrongdoing, or those who have owned their home in the state longer than 40 months) to protect an unlimited amount of value in their residences.
Expands opportunities for creditor motions. Creditors will be able to threaten debtors with new costly litigation and make it more likely that debtors who cannot afford to defend themselves in court will be coerced into giving up their legal rights.
Makes chapter 13 plans to save homes and cars far more difficult. Contrary to the supposed aim of encouraging more chapter 13 payment plans, numerous provisions in the bill will make chapter 13 much harder and less attractive. For many debtors, the bill will require five year plans (up from three years), assuring that the failure rate will be even higher than the current two thirds who can’t complete plans because of unexpected income or job loss.
Makes debtors more vulnerable to eviction. The bill makes it easier for residential landlords to evict a tenant who is in bankruptcy. Provides misleading information to debtors in the name of “credit disclosure.” Instead of providing a borrower with the information he or she needs to borrow responsibly and avoid getting into financial difficulty, this bill allows creditors to provide misleading information that may give a borrower a false sense of financial security.
Limits the ability for businesses to reorganize. The bill contains many restrictions on the ability of businesses to reorganize under chapter 11 and protect jobs. For this reason, labor and business bankruptcy lawyers have opposed these provisions.
Court - rulings - procedures • (4) Comments • Permalink
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
The Colorado Credit Report Freeze Act - PIN and private right of action, but too SLOW
I just had a very quick look at the Colorado bill:
Colorado Credit Report Freeze Act
It seems like there are good intentions, but the legislators are just not with it.
* 5 * days for a CRA to put a freeze on the report?
How about 5 minutes instead?
The CRAs provide the reports to businesses in literally just a few seconds.
Why should they wait 5 days when you call them because your wallet was stolen?
Maybe the legislators are 120 years old or reside on Mars and they don’t know that when you call a CRA, they look up your file and they SHOULD be freezing it WHILE on the phone and provide you with a confirmation number?
Another problem is that they are allowing *prospective* assignees to obtain the credit.
Literally THOUSANDS of companies could be obtaining your credit reports.
Let’s say a creditor wants to sell some accounts. They send out an offer to 3,000 collectors and EACH one of those collectors could run your credit.
That is absurd.
Of course the PROPER way is for the debt buyer to obtain the credit report from the owner of the account.
The good news is that this bill does provide a PIN as well as a private right of action:
(II) A CIVIL PENALTY IN AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR EACH VIOLATION PLUS ANY DAMAGES AVAILABLE UNDER OTHER CIVIL LAWS AND REASONABLE EXPENSES, COURT COSTS, INVESTIGATIVE COSTS, AND ATTORNEY FEES.
This is not a bad bill, the legislators just need to get a reality check. It’s 2005. Accounts are opened INSTANTLY - credit reports need to be frozen INSTANTLY.
ID Theft - demand your PIN! • (0) Comments • Permalink
Consumers Union on ChoicePoint and credit report freeze new legislation
Sign a petition - freeze your credit report?
“"Identity theft is the fastest growing crime in the U.S., ruining the credit of millions of Americans each year. Using just a few pieces of personal information, a thief can steal your identity and open new credit accounts in your name.
But in some states, legislators are fighting identity theft by proposing laws that give consumers the right to lock up their credit files with a security freeze. A security freeze lets you decide who gets to see your credit record, which prevents thieves from obtaining credit using your identity. ...”
I don’t WANT my credit FROZEN and I most certainly don’t want to PAY for it!
I just want a user changeable PIN that I give to merchants, employers or anyone else as needed.
This isn’t rocket science and the mechanism is ALREADY in place for the CRAs’ web access.
NEW legislation introduced in various states
ID Theft - demand your PIN! • (0) Comments • Permalink
