Consumer Finance

When Squeaky Wheels Get Rusty

10/08/12

Yesterday, I wrote about the "squeaky wheel system," or "SWS" for ease of reference, which I explored in my article, Access to Consumer Remedies in the Squeaky Wheel System.  The research shows that consumers who have and take the time and resources to complain (or “squeak”) often get what they want.

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Layaway Fees Waived

10/07/12

We've posted before about Layaway's resurgence after the Great Recession.  A new development: gearing up for the holiday season, many major retailers are waiving their layaway fees, and consumers are responding positively. Here's KMart's.  Also, embargos on various popular products are now being lifited.  This leads me to belive that Layaway's resurrection (in places where it died) may be long-lasting.  It seems that spending on layaway items has gone up in response to this campaign, which makes me wonder: is this just anot

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Latest Visa Fraud

07/26/12

A heads up regarding the latest in Visa fraud. Royal Bank received this communication about the newest scam. This is hitting the midwest with a vengance and moving. The trick here is that they provide YOU with all the information, except the one piece they want. The callers do not ask for your card number; they already have it.  By understanding how the VISA & MasterCard telephone Credit Card Scam works, you can avoid this one.

The scam works like this:

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Payday Loans and the Tribal Sovereignty Model

07/12/12

Think about what happens when you pit tribal sovereign immunity against effective consumer protection laws. In my view, no one wins. Yet payday lenders are now very actively seeking tribes with whom to partner, in order to get the benefits of tribal sovereign immunity.  As one might expect, the payday lenders make out big and in most cases, the tribes get very little, at least so far.

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Debit Cards and Colleges; An Unholy Alliance

07/10/12
Colleges are courting the Devil - the Debit Card Devil.
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Debit Cards and Colleges; An Unholy Alliance

07/10/12
Colleges are courting the Devil - the Debit Card Devil.
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The Bully Model of Consumer Finance and Litigation

05/30/12

There's a fearful symmetry in the consumer finance world. It's a symmetry of bullies between overreaching financial institutions and plaintiff strike suits, as in both, litigation costs present a ceiling, under which there's a license to overreach. 

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Reputational Sanctions in an Age of Internet Manipulation?

05/30/12

A major argument against substantive regulation of industries (including consumer finance) is that the market self-regulates. Bad actors get bad reputations and lose business.  Therefore, there's no need for government to intervene.  

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Learn about Teaching Consumer Law at Houston Law Center May 18-19, 2012

04/25/12

On May 18-19, the Center for Consumer Law at the University of Houston Law Center will hold its sixth bi-annual Teaching Consumer Law Conference. This year’s theme is “Teaching Consumer Law in an Evolving Economy.” I have always enjoyed this conference as it is the only one in the country devoted exclusively to teaching consumer law.  It is designed for those currently teaching consumer law, those interested in teaching, as well as those who just wants to know more about consumer law issues.

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Platform, infrastructure, utility?

04/07/12

While we’ve been blogging, Stevie has begun his dissertation fieldwork in Korea. He emailed Bill the other day: “Yesterday I opened a bank account here in Seoul, and conducted the entire interaction in Korean. For some reason, I don't get an ATM card, which is really strange. But in all likelihood I had no idea what the teller was trying to say to me, so I might end up getting a card in the mail next week or something.

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