Continuing its excellent “Hounded” series, the Star Tribune ran another story last weekend about the gaps in judicial oversight for the bank and wage garnishment process in Minnesota. The story points out that Minnesota law authorizes garnishments before the debt collector’s lawsuit has even been filed with a court. And even when the debt collector does file the lawsuit with the court before garnishment (and most do), the garnishment process happens largely without any judicial supervision. Only when the debt claims an exemption and requests a court hearing, does the court get...
Oh, the irony. A Minnesota debt collector, Accounts Receivable Control Inc., had its debt collection license revoked after a state audit found that it owed nearly $200,000 to its clients, even after it had collected that money from Minnesota consumers. The debt collection agency has been sold to another owner who agreed to pay its clients and take steps to see that this doesn’t happen again. Debt collector loses license over his debts | Star Tribune | August 24, 2010
According to the Wall Street Journal, Americans owe approximately $826.5 million in revolving credit debt, which is mostly made up of credit card debt. But the outstanding student loans–both public and private–total approximately $829.785 billion. According to experts quoted in the story, there is $605.6 billion in outstanding federal student loans and $167.8 billion in outstanding private student loans. It’s estimated that $300 billion in federal student loan debts have been incurred in the last four years. The story attributes this shift to Americans paying down their credit...
“Banks are consumers, they consume our life savings.” The Colbert Report Mon – Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
If you’re like me, you don’t have the time or desire to read the entire 2,300 pages of the recently passed financial reform bill. Never fear, the Huffington Post has you covered with an informative summary (with pictures!). Here’s the link: The Highlights of the Financial Reform Bill (Photos) | Huffington Post | July 16, 2010