Debt collection is a multi-billion dollar industry, and it is only growing. One of debt collectors’ tactics is to get people who owe long past due debts to pay those debts despite the fact that the debts cannot be collected as a matter of states’ statutes of limitations. Debt collectors do so in a variety…
Payday loans are short-term loans that generally must be paid on the borrower’s next payday–typically, two weeks. These loans carry a fee of around $15 for every $100, payable at the end of those two weeks. But most borrowers are unable to pay within two weeks. Instead, they roll the loans over, sometimes multiple times,…
I have a couple credit cards, and for more than a year, both have provided me with a free credit score (FICO score), updated about once a month. From what I know about the computation of credit scores,they seemed more or less accurate. Nonetheless, they are hard to compare because each credit card company’s FICO…
First, many thanks to Amy Schmitz for inviting me to guest blog on My Consumer Tips. I’m excited to share some of the consumer credit issues I’ve happened upon during my work. My research includes empirical studies of bankruptcy and consumer credit. (Read more about me here.) Along with my co-authors on some articles, I’ve written…