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According to Felix Salmon, Mint.com, the popular personal finance website, may be benefiting from playing outside the regulatory rules that govern banks. At a Banking 2.0 panel at SXSW, Mint’s Aaron Patzer explained why:
For instance, he said, he can see pretty much in real time how much money his huge database of customers is, in aggregate, spending at Blockbuster vs Netflix vs Redbox, or any other set of retailers — and that kind of information would surely be extremely valuable to hedge funds. It was clearly something he’s talked a lot about, and he never said that he wasn’t already selling that data to the highest bidder.
If I am to do my banking online, I need to be confident that my financial information is being kept secure. This is not like Google, where I can stomach giving up a bit of anonymized usage data in exchange for great software. No, when it comes to my financial information, I do not want my data sold to the highest bidder.
After reading Salmon’s column, I deleted my Mint account.
Pocket service is lawyer slang for the procedural rule in Minnesota that a lawsuit commences on service of the summons and complaint. This is different from the rule in almost all other states and the federal courts, where a lawsuit begins with filing of the summons and complaint.
When coupled with Minnesota’s rules on pre-judgment garnishment, this can cause serious problems. A defendant who was never properly served, for example, can end up getting money taken from their bank account without any notice or any chance to respond to the lawsuit.
The moral: if you discover or are even suspicious you may be named in a lawsuit, look into it. And call a lawyer.
Minnesota, like most states, has hundreds of divorce lawyers. Picking the best divorce lawyer for you can be intimidating and frustrating. You can increase your chances of finding a good match with a little preparation and a few good questions.
Why the need for the rule? Debt buyers and collectors file tens of thousands of lawsuits against Minnesota consumers every year, and probably serve at least as many that never get filed. But debt buyers should lose most of their lawsuits, if challenged.
Getting called or served with a lawsuit by a collector is a pain, at best. You can help yourself deal with debt collection with free information and tools online, but not everything you find will actually help. Here is a selection of resources that will:
Finally, you can get debt collection help from a lawyer. Most consumer rights lawyers will give you a free case evaluation, and may be able to represent you on contingency, so that you pay nothing unless the collector pays you.
According to the FDIC, over 700 banks are currently at risk of going under, a huge jump over the last three years, and a bit of a shocker given the size of the federal stimulus. The FDIC has already shuttered 20 banks this year, and there is no sign that things will improve in the coming months.
Minnesota Attorney General (AG) Lori Swanson has sued 6 debt settlement companies on the grounds they were not licensed to do business in Minnesota and overcharged consumers by hundreds of thousands of dollars. She commented:
“People who are swimming in debt are often desperate for a life preserver, but they should know that debt settlement companies usually just anchor them down with even more financial problems . . .”
While it is unclear how the debt settlement companies in the suit operate, many debt settlement companies require monthly payments from consumers. Part of that monthly payment, however, goes towards paying the debt settlement company, and not paying off the actual debt. In addition, many debt settlement companies only make the minimum payments on accounts, and ultimately leave consumers in worse shape at the end of their contract.
When an out-of-town family member dies, you only have a few days to hop on a plane for the funeral. Thus, the idea of a bereavement fare, which—in theory—enables grieving family members to pay their last respect without paying airlines’ extremely high last-minute fares.
A bereavement fare is usually a discount off the “full fare,” but as Consumerist’s Chris Morran explains, nobody ever pays full fare these days, so bereavement fares are rarely a good deal:
The lesson here is: Don’t always assume a bereavement fare is going to be the least expensive way to reach a family member’s funeral or in the case of a medical emergency. So be sure when booking the flight to make sure you’re purchasing the ticket that best suits your needs.
If you’re looking for a job, you may see ads for firms that promise results. Many of these firms may be legitimate and helpful, but others may misrepresent their services, promote out-dated or fictitious job offerings, or charge high fees in advance for services that may not lead to a job.
Wells Fargo has bowed to angry internet users and has agreed to refund and waive 3% transaction fees charged on certain donations to Haiti.
College student Heather Lynn was angered by Wells Fargo’s insistence on charging a 3% foreign transaction fee on certain types of donations to Haiti. Lynn created a Facebook page called Wachovia=Fail, which [...]
According to a study by Trusteer, a security firm, 73% of internet users use the same password for online banking and other sites. This is not a good idea.
If you use the same password to access multiple accounts, so can an identity thief. I recommend generating long, complex random passwords for your bank accounts, and [...]
Mann Bracken, the enormous debt-collection law firm, recently closed its doors, leaving hundreds of thousands of consumers unable to resolve their debts. Since Mann Bracken sues on many of its debts, the sudden closure also left courts in confusion.
One Maryland judge decided to take drastic measures. According to The Baltimore Sun, he dismissed “tens of [...]
Credit card security codes (CVV2 codes) are not stored on your card’s magnetic strip, and merchants may not keep them. Providing it ensures that you have the actual card in your possession. Maryland consumer rights lawyer Sonya-Smith Valentine explains:
The Federal Trade Commission has posted a video on their website and YouTube outlining consumers’ rights when contacted by debt collectors.
If you have been contacted by a debt collector, watching the video is a good place to start learning about your rights.
(photo: bisgovuk)
Corporations may be imaginary people, but last week, the U.S. Supreme Court held that imaginary people are entitled to free speech. Along with trolls and gnomes, presumably.
President Obama’s nails the problem in his weekly address:
Weekly Address: President Obama Addresses This Week’s Supreme Court Decision | WhiteHouse.gov
California attorney Ben Pavone refuses to pay his credit card debt until Bank of America lowers his interest rate. Pavone has also threatened to sue Bank of America if they try and ruin his credit because of his non-payment.
Pavone asked BOA for an increased credit limit a few months ago, when he needed the extra [...]
When T-Mobile threw a $9.99 charge on my bill, I was ready to ditch T-Mobile and never look back. But in the comments to that post, as well as the comments to a similar post on Consumerist, I learned there was nowhere to go. All the major cell phone carriers engage in preacquired account marketing—or [...]
Note to banks accused of misleading investors: hypocritical defenses will not fly.
Bank of America told its investors that it would not pay bonuses to Merrill Lynch executives as part of the merger. At the same time, BOA authorized Merrill Lynch to pay up to $5.8 billion in discretionary year-end bonuses; $3.6 billion in bonuses were [...]
Whether or not you have been burned by your cell-phone provider’s shady business relationships, a little preventative maintenance of your account is in order. What I call a scam, they call “third-party billing.”
But you can stop it.
One Consumerist commenter was successful in asking T-Mobile to block third-party billing. Two minutes later, so was I, and [...]
According to Felix Salmon, Mint.com, the popular personal finance website, may be benefiting from playing outside the regulatory rules that govern banks. At a Banking 2.0 panel at SXSW, Mint’s Aaron Patzer explained why:
Pocket service is lawyer slang for the procedural rule in Minnesota that a lawsuit commences on service of the summons and complaint. This is different from the rule in almost all other states and the federal courts, where a lawsuit begins with filing of the summons and complaint.
Minnesota, like most states, has hundreds of divorce lawyers. Picking the best divorce lawyer for you can be intimidating and frustrating. You can increase your chances of finding a good match with a little preparation and a few good questions.
Minnesota Representative Joe Mullery and Senator Ron Latz recently introduced a bill that would 
Minnesota Attorney General (AG) Lori Swanson has sued 6 debt settlement companies on the grounds they were not licensed to do business in Minnesota and overcharged consumers by hundreds of thousands of dollars. She commented:
