Washington Post Columnist Michelle Singletary recently posted about and answered questions about IRS scams — like those messages on my home answering machine saying that the IRS is about to initiate a prosecution over fictitious tax debt. Color of Money Live: How to avoid those IRS scams Singletary offers advice and answers questions. (Aug. 25) […]
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In the wake of the flooding in Louisiana, the Federal Trade Commission has developed a series of blog posts with information for people affected by the floods and people who want to help through charitable donations. These three FTC posts offer information and tips for dealing with disasters and flood-damaged vehicles being sold, and for […]
I have to admit that there are a lot of things I love about Amazon.com. That it tries to require its customers to arbitrate their claims and waive the right to participate in class actions is not one of them. In an opinion issued today, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that […]
When I first posted about the bogus court order compelling the removal of Matthew Chan's reviews of Mitul Patel from five web sites, I criticized Kudzu.com for removing the version of the review that was posted there without giving any notice to Chan, and called on that web site to reconsider its decision. I was informed […]
The Federal Trade Commission announced today: A debt collector and his companies will be banned from the debt collection business under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission and the Attorney General of the State of New York, which charged them with seeking money from consumers for debts they did not owe. The action was […]
Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a report on coordinated community-based efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to elder financial exploitation. According to the CFPB's press release, the "report also found that a strong collaboration among community stakeholders – like financial institutions, adult protective services, and law enforcement – can be very effective in […]
A few days ago I wrote here about a lawsuit and consent order that were filed in Baltimore, Maryland, determining that a series of criticisms posted against Georgia dentist Mitul Patel by Matthew Chan, one of his patients in Georgia, were false and defamatory, and commanding their removal from the web and from search engine […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Student Loan Ombudsman released a report last week on consumers complaints of servicing problems that make it difficult to get lower student loan payments tied to their income. Student loan borrowers seeking to take advantage of income-driven repayment plans with their federal student loans complain to the CFPB about prolonged […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau yesterday took action against Wells Fargo Bank for illegal private student loan servicing practices that increased costs and unfairly penalized certain student loan borrowers. The CFPB identified breakdowns throughout Wells Fargo’s servicing process including failing to provide important payment information to consumers, charging consumers illegal fees, and failing to update […]
by Paul Alan Levy At a time when the California Supreme Court is deciding whether to grant discretionary review of the decision of the California Court of Appeal in Hassell v. Bird, which held that Yelp could be required to comply with a default judgment holding that a posted review of a California lawyer was […]