Two new companies in the financial space, LendingClub and SoFi had very different days recently. It just goes to show you how quickly this new financial niche is moving. LendingClub Had a Bad Day LendingClub stormed onto the playing field as a peer-to-peer lender. In the early days, I was even one of the many … Read more
It was announced today that many, but not all states that participated in a lawsuit against Navient in 2017. At the time Navient called the suit, “completely unfounded” but the announcements today reflect the opposite. Details of Settlement We have both a lot of information and a lot of unanswered questions about how all of … Read more
A wonderful reader has sent in a mailer from Happy Money. I’ve written about their mailers before and I think the points I raised previously are still valid. As mailers go, this one seems better than others that appear to bait consumers with a loan and switch them into some debt relief program. Read this … Read more
During my years at the University of Houston, I parked my modest Honda in the faculty parking lot next to other modest cars driven by UH professors–mostly Hondas, Toyotas, Nissans, and Fords. Then I would walk through the parking lot reserved for administrators, and all the vehicles were luxury cars: Audis, Lexuses, BMWs, and expensive … Read more
Consumer Statement: We went to a presentation by Mr. Richard Chrysler who informed us of this Placencia Health Care System. He wanted us to invest and would payback in 5 years the investment with 12% compounded interest or we could keep shares in the company. It’s now 7 years and all the money is gone … Read more
A wonderful reader sent in this mailer from Xact which is a great example of the type of advertising that always makes me want to know more. I admit the mailer is a bit blurry but the mailer alone was enough to start me digging. There were a few key phrases that made me want … Read more
The highly respected and well-regarded financial expert Ray Dalio had published a video back in 2018 about his Principals for Success. What utterly amazed me was how much he says also applies to people trying to get out of debt or dealing with bad debt. I’ve embedded the video above, but here are the key … Read more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today sued United Debt Holding (UDH), JTM Capital Management (JTM), United Holding Group (UHG), and their owners, Craig Manseth, Jacob Adamo, and Darren Turco, for illegal debt-collection practices. The Bureau alleges that the defendants placed consumer debt with, or sold consumer debt to, collection companies that used unlawful and … Read more
Consumer Statement: We were introduced to former Congressman Richard Chrysler and his friend Forrest Bledsoe. Chrysler is also a neighbor and had this great opportunity, to invest in the Placencia International Airport here in Belize ( See Marco Caruso) he reassured us that the airport was a great investment and that he had invested with … Read more
Recently I started to get into seriously investigating investing in cryptocurrencies. But, like many others, I steered clear from crypto while I figured it out. There is no doubt that digital currency not backed by any particular government is hard to wrap your head around. So, what value can it have? It is the same … Read more
A lead generation company that collected sensitive information from millions of consumers under the guise of connecting them with lenders will pay $1.5 million in civil penalties and face restrictions on their operations as a result of a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit. The FTC’s complaint alleges that since at least 2012, ITMedia Solutions LLC, a … Read more
Recently I wrote about a few lawsuits going on that involved Dave Ramsey or his company The Lampo Group. In one of those suits, an unwed mother was fired from The Lampo Group a/k/a Ramsey Solutions. A new court document has been that case that seems to extend the outrage Dave Ramsey and his company … Read more
Two of the defendants behind an alleged small business financing scheme, RAM Capital Funding, LLC and its owner Tzvi Reich, will be permanently banned from the merchant cash advance and debt collection industries, and required to pay $675,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they used deceptive and illegal means to seize assets from … Read more
If you’re planning to lease a vehicle, you must get a comprehensive car insurance policy. Some people think that they don’t have to get insurance for a leased car because they don’t own it in the first place. But you need to be insured when you’re driving a vehicle, whether you own it or not. … Read more
Question: Dear Steve, The recent announcement by the AFCC regarding third-party ancillary products has caused a huge divide within the AFCC, with most believing the AFCC has been hijacked and moving over to CDRI (Consumer Debt Relief Initiative). It seems the good old boys are trying to gobble up market share by either putting the … Read more