Recently, the U.S. Department of Education pulled a manual for debt collectors who are attempting to collect student loan debts off of its website. The Private Collection Agencies Procedures Manual was removed because a blog operated by the U.S. News…
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California Insurance Commissioner to Review Rate Increases
The California Department of Insurance announced that it will be reviewing plans for rate increases for individual health insurance policies for its four largest individual policy providers: Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna, Health Net, and Blue Shield of California. The review…
California Debt Blog: Fake Facebook Profile Seeks to Find Debtors
The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (commonly called ANZ) has been accused of spying on debtors on Facebook. Allegedly, one of the bank’s debt collectors set up a fake Facebook profile under the name “Max Bourke”. Max Bourke’s profile…
To Purchase or Not to Purchase Travel Insurance This Summer?
The New York Times had an excellent article this week about travel insurance. A few decades, travel insurance was obscure. However, this summer travelers have been inundated with a variety of problems around the world that could result in a…
California Debt Blog: New Credit Card Rules Will Limit Fees
The Federal Reserve Board announced new rules this week on credit cards that will benefit credit card holders. The rules will begin on August 22 of this year. The new rules will affect several key areas of credit card use:…
Possible Changes in Rules for Pet Insurance Companies in California
Most people are familiar with health insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and long-term care insurance, among other forms of insurance. However, although 62 percent of Americans own at least one pet, most don’t consider purchasing insurance for their pets. California…
California Debt Blog: Harassed Debtor Wins $1.5 Million Verdict Against Debt Collectors
Allen Jones, from Lewisville, Texas, won a large verdict earlier this month against a collections agency that violated Texas debt collection laws. Jones, 26, claims he owed an $81 credit card debt, which was actually paid off at the time…
California Program Offers Low Cost Auto Insurance for Low Income Families
Last weekend, the L.A. Times published this article about a state program that helps provide low-income Californians with auto insurance at a reduced cost. The article pointed out that there are estimated to be millions of California drivers without auto…
California Debt Blog: Preventing Identity Thieves from Obtaining Your Personal Information
Last week, I discussed six ways in which identity thieves obtain your personal financial information, which they then use to steal your identity. So how can you prevent identity thefts from occurring? The Federal Trade Commission recommends a three-pronged approach….
New California Organization Created to Certify Safety of Consumer Products
According to the Wall Street Journal, a new nonprofit institute, Green Products Innovation Institute, has recently been formed to help establish product safety standards to be used by California’s regulators. The regulators will use these standards when enforcing a California…