Archive for May, 2007

Ahem.
Copyright is broken.
This is getting ridiculous. Hackers are cracking DRM even before it takes effect. Everyone but the media seems to understand this. As Cory Doctorow puts it:
DRM takes years and costs millions to develop. It is generally broken in days, by hobbyists, for free.
Maybe it is time to re-think the current profit model.

Our layover in the Geneva airport on our return from Europe was one of the worst airport experiences of my life. While Reykjavik airport was a showcase for a well-constructed, easy-to-use small airport, the Geneva airport is a shining example of the worst in all facets of airport design. There is only one thing to [...]

We flew Iceland Air to Europe. Because we were flying into Paris and out of Barcelona, we used a hodgepodge of carriers on the way back (more on them later).
Iceland Air is, without a doubt, the best airline to fly to Europe. No, seriously. I would happily pay an extra few hundred dollars per ticket [...]

My wife and I just got back from two weeks in Europe, our belated honeymoon. We visited Paris and Barcelona, each for about six days. On the whole, it was wonderful, relaxing, and great fun. We each have a few extra pounds from the great food, and we saw and did great things.
And, along the [...]

News of the Sayyed v. Wolpoff & Abramson decision is all over the consumer blogosphere today, but it is a pretty important decision, so I will add my $.02.
Wolpoff & Abramson sued Sayyed to collect on a debt. They served interrogatories without any debt collector disclaimer (”this communication is from a debt collector . . [...]

It seems obvious now, but it never would have occurred to me that obituaries provide a ripe source of information for identity thieves. Obituaries contain personal information like maiden names, birth dates, addresses, etc., all information that identity thieves can use to quickly run up a bill on the deceased’s tab. (All you need to [...]

I have had several visits from potential clients whose identities were stolen in one way or another. In one case, the identity thief bought two houses in the victim’s name. The victim’s credit is now in ruins, and she is facing foreclosure on mortgages that were not hers to begin with. Undoing this kind of [...]

I threw the term “pocket service” out there the other day, and then Ben Popken IM’ed me to ask more about it. Pocket service is lawyer slang for the procedural rule in Minnesota that a lawsuit begins with service of the summons and complaint. This is different than the rule in most states and the [...]

Simply put, blacks pay an average of 7% APR for auto loans, while whites pay an average of 5%. That is a pretty big difference.
“It’s hard to believe that any differences in creditworthiness explain all of these rate gaps,” said Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America. “They size you up, the [...]

The Wall Street Journal recently addressed the problems of garnishment in the course of debt collection. I have talked about the problems with the small claims court-debt collector collection, in which small claims courts across the country have turned into a convenient vehicle for debt collectors to get default judgments. The next step is garnishment. [...]

This ridiculousness pretty much speaks for itself:
Everyone today needs employment to purchase a house, car, etc. You also need employment to rent an apartment or house. The problem is that everyone is not employed. We have a solution for you. We have provided assistance for those whom are not employed but need verification of employment [...]

President Bush recently nominated Michael Baroody for chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission. This is a rather odd move, since Baroody has worked hard to oppose the CPSC and pro-consumer measures in the past. Then again, Bush did the same thing with the Environmental Protection Agency, so this shouldn’t be entirely surprising.
Edit: StopBaroody.com [via [...]

Apparently, today is Law Day, a day to “celebrate the rule of law. Law Day underscores how law and the legal process have contributed to the freedoms that all Americans share,” according to the ABA (PDF link).
So happy Law Day! Hug a lawyer today.

If you got here from the Minnesota Lawyer article on page three of the April 30th issue, welcome! (Welcome to all others, as well.) This website, Caveat Emptor, is a blog, or a frequently-updated online journal. I post on average once per day, on legal issues of interest to consumers.
If this is your first time [...]

Human Rights Watch, in a new report, claims that Wal-Mart uses a variety of messages, legal and illegal, to suppress union activity and organizing. (This is in stark contrast to CostCo, where a small but growing number of employees are unionized, and all employees benefit from a contract re-negotiated every three years.)
Wal-Mart, of course claims [...]

I posted about the (possible) decline of stigma associated with bankruptcy early last month. Last week, Katie Porter dug up Capital One’s “10-k Annual Report,” in which Capital One expressed concern that “changing attitudes about incurring debt and the stigma of personal bankruptcy” could change credit card use to Capital One’s detriment.
Last Friday, Elizabeth Warren [...]