Complaints rise over shady practices by debt collectors

By ISAAC WOLF Scripps Howard News Service

More Americans are complaining of debt collectors using possibly illegal practices to hound them, a Scripps Howard investigation has found.

Complaints this year to federal authorities about unscrupulous debt collectors are 6 percent higher than two years ago. According to a Scripps Howard analysis of Federal Trade Commission data, Americans levied nearly 228,000 objections about debt collectors from 2007 through this May, the last full month for which Scripps Howard received records. Driving the increase are more aggressive collection tactics, a jump in the number of people falling behind on bills, lax requirements for collectors to prove money is actually owed and booming growth in the debt-resale market, say consumer advocates, federal officials and industry experts.

“They’re bullies and thugs,” Jane Santoni said about the industry. Collection tactics have gotten more aggressive during the recession, said Santoni, a Towson, Md., attorney who has represented 50 people in disputes against collectors over the last seven years.

Using records obtained under the federal Freedom of Information Act and from extensive interviews, a three-month Scripps Howard study found: read the rest here Complaints rise over shady practices by debt collectors | SeacoastOnline.com.

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The Credit Guy: What steps are needed to eliminate debt in 2010?

By Todd Ossenfort

Q: I am determined to eliminate debt in 2010, including resolving all negative items reported on my credit reports. Can you send me a list or direct me to a Web site that lists local nonprofit credit counselors or services that can assist me?

A: Congratulations on your resolution to pay off debt in 2010. Because you are among many, many others with the same resolution, I am glad you wrote in to give me the opportunity to weigh in on this topic. Losing weight, eating healthier and paying down debt are at the top of many people’s New Year’s resolutions.

Before you begin, you need to know exactly how much you owe. The best place to start is to pull free copies of your credit reports from each of the three major credit bureaus at annualcreditreport.com.

Review your reports for any errors and dispute them with the credit bureau that reported it. You can do this online with each of the bureaus.

Next… read the rest here The Credit Guy: What steps are needed to eliminate debt in 2010?.

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So do we have to watch what we say now? Meaning do our “thoughts” help determine our credit score?

Read into the article and it points out that “It’s a marketing trend as opposed to a credit score trend”

Social Networking: Your Key to Easy Credit?

By: Erica Sandberg, CreditCards.com

You probably don’t analyze the chatter or quality of your social media connections, but creditors may be doing just that.

Networking

In their quest to identify creditworthy customers, some are tapping into the information you and your friends reveal in the virtual stratosphere. Before calling the privacy police, though, understand how it’s really being used.

Data rich discussions

According to Nielsen Online, 67 percent of the global online population uses Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin or a similar social media network to stay in touch with friends, grow their business or just have fun. If you’re among them and your settings are turned to “public,” who you’re talking to and what you’re discussing is available to those wanting to sell their wares — and that includes banks and other credit issuers.

Marketing effort

“It’s a marketing trend as opposed to a credit score trend,” says Joel Jewitt, vice president of business development of Rapleaf, a San Francisco, Calif., company specializing in social media monitoring. Rapleaf hunts and gathers social networking transmissions, turning the conversations you have in your network into consumer profiles called social graphs. These graphs provide companies with insight into behavior patterns: what you like and dislike, want and don’t want, do well and do poorly. read more… Social Networking: Your Key to Easy Credit? – CNBC.

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Credit is getting tougher to get and companies are quick to increase rates. Now that the Federal Reserve has stepped in we will see a few more changes.

On top of credit score, retail credit lines now ask for income, asset data

By Ylan Q. Mui Washington Post Staff Writer

Consumers will have to divulge more personal information to apply for store credit cards — possibly putting the brakes on so-called instant credit — under sweeping industry reforms finalized by the Federal Reserve on Tuesday.

The measure, which takes effect on Feb. 22, requires all credit card issuers to consider shoppers’ income and ability to pay before granting approval for a card. The rule aims to tighten the lax lending standards that helped fuel the financial crisis. Retailers say the new measure could disrupt popular promotions that incentivize shoppers, such as discounts for opening a credit card.  read more On top of credit score, retail credit lines now ask for income, asset data – washingtonpost.com.

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Fed Issues Rule on Card Rates, Over-Limit Fees

BUSINESSWEEK By Alexis Leondis

Jan. 12 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Federal Reserve approved a rule that will protect credit-card holders from abrupt interest rate increases and require consent before charging fees for transactions that exceed credit limits.

The Fed’s rule also will limit fees for subprime credit- cards, or those issued to consumers with lower credit scores. It will add restrictions on giving credit cards to consumers under the age of 21, according to a statement from the Fed today. read more… Fed Issues Rule on Card Rates, Over-Limit Fees (Update1) – BusinessWeek.

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Just reported drop in 30yr rates…

30-year home loan rates drop to 5.09 percent
Associated Press

Rates for 30-year home loans inched downward last week, the first decline in a month, but remained above last month’s record lows.
Real Estate

The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage was 5.09 percent last week, down from 5.14 percent a week earlier, mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday. Read more: 30-year home loan rates drop to 5.09 percent.

But… Some forecasts call for increases…

Forecast calls for higher mortgage rates
BY SUSAN TOMPOR freep.com

Most economists expect the Federal Reserve to keep short-term rates low through much of the year. But mortgage rates, which began an uptick late in 2009, are likely to be a different matter.

“The risks are clearly tilted toward an environment of higher rates,” said Greg McBride, senior financial analyst for Bankrate.com.

For some consumers, such forecasts mean that it’s more essential to try to refinance an adjustable-rate mortgage into a fixed rate sooner rather than later in 2010. read more Forecast calls for higher mortgage rates | freep.com | Detroit Free Press.

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