The Debt Trap: Banks Mine Data and Pitch to Troubled Borrowers

[Scamp]

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/106002/The-Debt-Trap:-Banks-Mine-Data-and-Pitch-t...

..."They get people who they know are in trouble, they know are desperate, and they aggressively market a product to them which is not in their best interest," said Jim Campen, executive director of the Americans for Fairness in Lending, an advocacy group that fights abusive credit and lending practices. "It's the wrong product at the wrong time."...

Read any offers you receive VERY CAREFULLY, folks!

(edited to shrink the typeface size)

Message Edited by scapegrace13 on 10-23-2008 07:37 PM

[MattH]

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@scapegrace13 wrote:

http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/106002/The-Debt-Trap:-Banks-Mine-Data-and-Pitch-t...

..."They get people who they know are in trouble, they know are desperate, and they aggressively market a product to them which is not in their best interest," said Jim Campen, executive director of the Americans for Fairness in Lending, an advocacy group that fights abusive credit and lending practices. "It's the wrong product at the wrong time."...

Read any offers you receive VERY CAREFULLY, folks!

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Robert Shiller, the Yale Professor who wrote a book called Irrational Exuberance a while back that correctly predicted the stock market bubble would burst, has a new book out called The Subprime Solution.  One of his proposals in the latter book is a Financial Product Safety Commission that could protect unsophisticated customers from toxic financial products much as the Consumer Product Safety Commission protects the public from toxic physical products.

[marty56]

Great, another useless professor advocating another useless government agency to protect people from themselves.  I think I going to start a business that for a monthly fee will open people's CC offer letters and comment whether it's a good deal or not.  Sort of an monitored opt-out services if you will.  For an extra fee I will call have a 24-7 monitored crisis center where they can call prior to accepting the app.

I wonder if the CCCs put "This offer is a bad deal" on the letter if people would take notice.  IMHO I dont think so.

[Scamp]

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@marty56 wrote:

Great, another useless professor advocating another useless government agency to protect people from themselves.  I think I going to start a business that for a monthly fee will open people's CC offer letters and comment whether it's a good deal or not.  Sort of an monitored opt-out services if you will.  For an extra fee I will call have a 24-7 monitored crisis center where they can call prior to accepting the app.

I wonder if the CCCs put "This offer is a bad deal" on the letter if people would take notice.  IMHO I dont think so.

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Marty, don't DO that!!! 

This made me laugh so hard right in the middle of a mouthful of my morning tea that I may NEVER get it all out of my computer keyboard!!