Part 12 of my review of Kevin Trudeau’s book, “Debt Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know” examines Chapter 17: Stealing Candy From Babies. 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.
Trudeau turns his attention to the state of the economy, both nationally and indvidually. He points out that the consumer has increased their debt through the efforts of the credit card industry and through the “have it now” philosophy of the American consumer. Trudeau believes that the accounting practices used by the credit card industry make it difficult to know exactly what one owes. He also points out that the targets of the credit card industry is the new consumer, such as college students, illegal immigrants, the impoverished. He urges parents to educate their children regarding the wise use of credit. He quotes Elizabeth Warren, Harvard Law professor who appears in the PBS documentary: The Secret History of the Credit Card, as saying: “it is credit cards who make big political contributions; it’s credit card companies who have been the number one givers in Washington….why would they be giving so much money? What they want is to be sure to protect is their ability to go out and sell credit cards when they don’t have to tell what the terms are, and they can change the terms after someone has taken out the debt.”
This chapter provides good information, easily available on the internet, but Trudeau gathers the information together well. This reviewer has noted that when Trudeau is providing basic information, the review is generally positive–it is when Trudeau provides specific directions that the facts don’t back up his writings. Overall, this chapter is worthwhile.
- Part 1 of my review examines the first three chapters of Kevin Trudeau’s book, “Debt Cures “They” Don’t Want You to Know. (gets an “okay” rating)
- Part 2 of my review dissects Chapter 4 of the book (gets a warning of “Get legal advice from a lawyer in your own state”).
- Part 3 of my review deals with Chapter 5 of the book (gets a warning of “Get legal advice before following Trudeau’s advice”)
- Part 4 of my review examines Chapter 6 over at our sister site, Credit Law Network, as Trudeau discusses how to “cut” your credit card rate. (gets a “doesn’t hurt to try it; don’t expect it”).
- Part 5 of my review examines Chapter 7: Fighting Back. (gets an okay rating).
- Part 6 of my review examines Chapters 8-11: Credit Score (gets “good information”)
- Part 7 of my review discusses Chapter 12: Credit Reporting Errors (gets mixed review as he repeats bad information (discussed earlier in Part 3) but generally good information).
- Part 8 of my review examines Chapter 13: Student Loans (gets generally good review)
- Part 9 of my review discusses Chapter 14: Home is Where The Start Is (gets nearly failing grade)
- Part 10 of my review examines Chapter 15: No Bankruptcy (gets failing grade/adds shame)
- Part 11 of my review examines Chapter 16: Big Business (credit card industry)(gets A grade for giving information)
