I must admit that I am not a fan of info-mercials. I see the hawksters, the promotions on the television and while I might want to buy the “ShamWow” (now, that guy Vince is a salesman), I usually flip straight through the channels to get to the show of the evening.
I have been seeing Kevin Trudeau on many cable channels, promoting his book: “Debt Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know About”. I had bought an earlier book, “Weight Loss Secrets “They” Don’t Want You to Know About” and was completely unimpressed as most of the book seemed to promote Trudeau’s website and additional purchases (others have also complained).
So, I bought the book, figuring to review and discount most of what Trudeau had to say and try to educate folks in the process. So, rather than calling in and allowing his expert sales team to sell additional products, I purchased the book at Wal-Mart for $21.97 and settled in to read Trudeau’s cures for debt. The purpose of the review is to examine whether Trudeau, who has had extensive involvement with credit card fraud and the Federal Trade Commission for some of his previous books, makes any sense in this latest self-help promotion or is he making money selling empty promises?
But…he ain’t bad in the first three chapters (I have broken the review into several parts–that “ain’t bad” does not extend to the whole book).
Chapters 1- 3 discuss the abuse heaped on consumers by credit card companies, mortgage lenders, and banks through the charging of hidden interest and ”fees”. Trudeau points out the complicity and endorsement by the federal government by its turning a blind eye to the goings-on of these companies. Trudeau labels his first chapter “License to Steal” and points out the use of fees as really a hidden interest charge but by labeling a late fee as a fee rather than interest, banks and credit card companies can avoid usury charges. Trudeau blames greed as the ultimate cause of these profit-making fees.
None of this information has been kept secret; none is new blockbuster information; it has all been published before in other forms–however, the difference is that Trudeau presents the information in an easy-to-understand format and lays out the foundation in place that allows these companies to make money off consumers.
So far, okay. Stay tuned for Part 2.
