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Is Mann Bracken Out of Business?

December 22, 2009

I got the word a few days ago that gigantic debt collection law firm Mann Bracken was going under. Atlanta consumer lawyer Tim Cook says Mann Bracken’s lawyers are out of work and the phones are instructing callers to contact their creditors. Could it be?
It could. Mann Bracken has been under fire in Georgia, and [...]

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Practical Effects of NAF’s Exit From Arbitration

September 9, 2009

National Arbitration Forum’s recent withdrawal from consumer arbitrations has cast a dark shadow on the use of arbitration as an alternative dispute resolution process and created ripples throughout the system.
For example, Bank of America has dropped its arbitration requirement for all consumer transactions. Undoubtedly, this was a reactionary move to NAF’s withdrawal—Bank of America realized [...]

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Federal Trade Commission Accepting Public Comments on Debt Collection Litigation

August 27, 2009

On Tuesday, the FTC will hold a free roundtable in San Francisco, open to the public, on debt collection litigation and arbitration. The FTC is seeking public comments in advance of the event, and some of the existing public comments are, well, interesting.
Debt buyers Midland Credit Management, Asset Acceptance, and Portfolio Recovery Associates whine that [...]

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Bank of America Drops Mandatory Arbitration Clause

August 13, 2009

Bank of America just announced that it will no longer require consumers to arbitrate disputes concerning credit cards and other consumer accounts. Great news! The collapse of pre-dispute, mandatory binding arbitration continues. Hopefully other credit grantors will follow suit.
Bank of America ends arbitration of card disputes | Reuters

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Kucinich right on arbitration, wrong on courts

July 30, 2009

Dennis Kucinich and his House Domestic Policy Subcommittee just released a report on arbitration abuse in the National Arbitration Forum (PDF). In the report, the subcommittee stated that “[c]onsumer arbitration lacks the safeguards that have been designed into our judicial system by our Constitution, by state and federal statutes, and by centuries of judicial decisions” [...]

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AAA drops consumer debt arbitrations, too!

July 22, 2009

(Or has it?)
Following on the heels of National Arbitration Forum’s agreement to stop handling consumer debt arbitrations, AAA said they will also bow out “until new guidelines are established” (possibly an allusion to the industry’s call for minimum standards in lieu of banning mandatory, pre-dispute, binding arbitration). Now that the two biggest players in consumer [...]

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National Arbitration Forum awards may be unenforceable

July 21, 2009

The Minnesota Attorney General’s lawsuit against National Arbitration forum alleges that NAF is “in cahoots” with one of the largest debt collection law firms in the United States, Mann Bracken. Mann Bracken, un-coincidentally, is also one of NAF’s best clients.
Arbitration awards are routinely confirmed by state district courts, as they must be under the Federal [...]

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Nat’l Arbitration Forum sued, agrees to stop handling consumer debt cases

July 20, 2009

The Minnesota Attorney General sued National Arbitration Forum (PDF) last week, accusing NAF of colluding with creditors and debt collectors to screw consumers. At a press conference, AG Lori Swanson said “[t]his is a classic case of the little guy getting stepped on by fine-print contracts.”
Four days later, seeing the writing on the wall, NAF [...]

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Link roundup, week of July 5

July 6, 2009

When I get busy, quality links tend to pile up in my Google Reader queue. Here are some great news items I have not gotten around to blogging about:

Researchers can guess your social-security number from public information like your birthdate and birth location | Red Tape Chronicles
Young adults dispute Suze Orman’s claim that young people today “have [...]

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Consumer Financial Protection Agency must have teeth and be flexible

June 18, 2009

Earlier this week, President Obama announced his plan to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency as part of his financial reform package. It is a great idea, and I hope it will succeed.
Why we need it
If you buy a sports car, you are not likely to accept a station wagon when you go to pick [...]

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Arbitration reform cannot come soon enough

June 16, 2009

In case you missed it, NPR has a really great story on why we need arbitration reform.
The piece starts out with the story of Jamie Leigh Jones a 20-year-old Halliburton/KBR employee in 2005, who was in Iraq for only four days before she was brutally gang raped by fellow employees. No criminal action was ever [...]

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Credit CARD Act goes far beyond the Fed’s credit card regs

May 28, 2009

According to an editorial in last Friday’s Washington Post, the credit card bill that the President signed into law that afternoon “isn’t really needed” because it is “awfully similar” to the regulations on credit cards that were issued by the Federal Reserve last December.
Wrong!
In fact, the new law is remarkably broader and stronger than the [...]

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Forced Arbitration: You Can’t Sue Us For Discrimination

April 30, 2009

Why you should support the Arbitration Fairness Act. Forced Arbitration: You Can’t Sue Us For Discrimination | Consumerist

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Today Is Arbitration Fairness Day!

April 29, 2009

Call your representatives and tell them mandatory binding arbitration sucks! Today Is Arbitration Fairness Day! | Consumer Law & Policy Blog

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Another five mistakes homeowners make when facing foreclosure (Foreclosure Week)

March 20, 2009

Another five common mistakes for homeowners in foreclosure.

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Mandatory Binding Arbitration: The Worst Choose Your Own Adventure Ever

February 10, 2009

This is one of the best-executed blog posts, ever, about arbitration or anything else. Mandatory Binding Arbitration: The Worst Choose Your Own Adventure Ever | Consumerist

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Moving forward: making financial regulation make sense (AFFIL week)

February 9, 2009

It is 2009 and the economy has tanked. Subprime mortgage lending was the domino that started the whole mess a-falling. Worst of all, there is no end in sight to the recession we’ve slid into.
The good news is that, in the midst of the mess, there is a rare opportunity to take a look at [...]

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NJ car dealership pays for ripping off Kenneth Hammel

January 21, 2009

Back in 2006, 80-year old Kenneth Hammel brought his 2000 Chrysler Town & Country minivan to the Cherry Hill Triplex dealership. The dealership kept Hammel at the dealership for 12 hours while they used high-pressure sales tactics to get him to buy a 2005 Kia Sedona.
When it turned out that the Sedona’s wheelchair lift did [...]

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Minnesota courts to stop handling debt collection lawsuits?

January 15, 2009

Possibly, along with other “low-importance” cases like shoplifting, traffic violations, trespassing, and small claims, if the legislature delivers the 10% cut to court funding that it has suggested it will. Minnesota courts have been short-staffed and under-funded for years, and further cuts could mean that the judicial system starts to shut down some services.
While I [...]

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Credit card tricks and traps to avoid

July 14, 2008

Some of the “tricks and traps” in AFFIL’s Common Credit Cards Tricks and Traps (PDF link) are impossible to avoid. Or nearly so at least. I can’t think of a credit card agreement that does not include a mandatory binding arbitration clause, for example.
But some cards are better than others. When you are looking for [...]

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