Texas Attorney General, Greg Abbott, reached a settlement last month with Universal Underwriters Life Insurance Company who unlawfully withheld insurance premiums from more than 12,000 Texans who paid off their vehicle loans early.
Under the terms of the settlement, Universal Underwriters agreed to refund insurance premiums worth $2.4 million to Texas policyholders whose loans terminated between [...]

Make no mistake, in the State of Missouri when a foreclosure sale is cried on the courthouse steps your house will be gone. Do not ignore the letters from the mortgage company or the certified letters from attorneys. You only have the following options to stop a foreclosure: 1) Sell the property, [...]

In Texas, a business can not penalize you for paying with a credit card. Businesses that add a surcharge to those who pay by credit card might be violating provisions of the Texas Finance Code.
However, businesses can discount the regular retail price of an item for consumers who pay cash. If you believe a business [...]

The Consumer Law and Policy Blog recently called our attention to the fact that the National Arbitration Forum (NAF) is making a concerted effort to influence public policy in a way that could further diminish the rights of consumers who have arbitration awards entered against them.
Debt collectors and debt buyers frequently take advantage of private [...]

A recent article in The Wall Street Journal, Are Borrowers Free to Lie?, talks about a recent Bankruptcy Court decision in the Northern District of California. In re Hill dealt with an attempt by National City Bank to hold the Hills’ mortgage loan non-dischargeable, meaning that, despite the loss of their home due to foreclosure [...]

Only people with a legitimate business need, as specified by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, can look at you report without your permission.  For example, if you apply for credit, insurance, employment, or to rent an apartment, the company is allowed to obtain your report.
A Consumer Reporting Agency (CRA) is not allowed to give information [...]

Once a court has held that a creditor has willfully violated the automatic stay, it turns to the issue of damages. Certainly verifiable out-of-pocket expenses suffered by the debtor are fully recoverable. So are the attorney fees incurred for having to bring the motion or adversary proceeding.
But are “emotional” damages recoverable by the [...]

The filing of a bankruptcy case creates an estate that is comprised of all of the debtor’s interests in property. The bankruptcy trustee has the duty of administering the property of the estate. If the property has value that exceeds the exempt value, the trustee will liquidate the property and distribute the net [...]

When someone files a Chapter 13 plan and/or modification to the Chapter 13 plan, the Trustee or Judge may not approve the plan or modification based on non-feasibility of the plan. In simple English, this means the proposed plan/modification is destined to fail. In order to confirm a plan, the court must find [...]

If all your assets and income are protected by law from a creditor who obtained a judgment against you – you are judgment proof.
Your individual state laws determine what property is protected from a creditor. For example, in Texas a creditor, such as American Express or Discover, cannot take your homestead to pay the [...]