Law Office Of Donald E Petersen

01/24/2021

06/21/2020

If you received the $ 1,200 stimulus card, opt-out ASAP. is a con. Thanks to Paul Bland for the tip.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”), passed by the Congress on March 27, 2020, authorizes the Treasury Department to issue “Economic Impact Payments” to individuals with income below $75,000 in the amounts of $1,200...

05/16/2020

One of the small measures of relief for consumers during Covid 19 was the ability of certain student loan borrowers to defer payments during the pandemic. Of course, "servicers" are screwing it up so that borrowers who utilize this option are screwed by the servicer's reporting the deferral rather than "on time" as Congress "intended". Fair Isaac, of course, hoovers up the available data and penalizes the consumers and, because Fair Isaac is not a credit reporting agency, consumers have no recourse against the last and final cause of their harm.

The federal CARES Act paused those student loan payments to give relief to borrowers during the coronavirus crisis.

01/18/2020

Cathy Moran 's Bankruptcy Soapbox takes on the misconceptions about consumer debt and consumer bankruptcy. Someone please tell Motley Fool and a legion of other "authorities" that it's time to quit spreading "myths" and shaming consumers. Thanks for speaking up Cathy Moran.

Whether to file bankruptcy when you're deep in debt has no single, simple answer. Here's what The Motley Fool failed to consider about bankruptcy relief.

08/01/2019

Katie Moritz surveys the prospects for educational debt forgiveness. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like the prospects of meaningful reform (i.e., mass debt forgiveness) is on the immediate horizon. The US DOE and its contractors who service the Public Service Loan Forgiveness ("PSLF") program have performed horribly, so the prospects for an administratively driven improvements are high if regime change occurs.

Only 57% of people agree with widespread student debt forgiveness. Does that mean it'll never happen? Financial expert Logan Allec weighs in.

05/09/2019

The federal and state health care agencies have made great strides to detect and prevent fraud on the federal and state health care programs. Unfortunately for tax payers, the scamsters' level of sophistication keeps them a step ahead of the enforcement agencies --- at least for a while. The latest "hack" is to use beneficiaries' DNA code to obtain their identity. Wow! Thanks to Considerable.com for including my comments.

Recent con jobs across the U.S. target older victims to collect their personal information

04/30/2019

Thanks to Marissa Lalliberte for telling consumer how they can reduce the odds of being scammed by a car seller on Craigs List (and LOTS of B&M places too). Thanks for the shout out too.

Not everyone selling a car on Craigslist has good intentions.

06/05/2018

In Florida, I have never observed anyone being sued in an attempt to collect a pay day loan. I've observed a total of a couple of cases when I searched several populous counties and all of central Florida in data bases that each went back several years. Those borrowers must have gone out of their way to p**s off the manager at A** C**** E*******. Otherwise, nada. What have you observed?

You know a payday loan can hurt your credit. But can failing to pay one back actually put you in front of a judge?

04/30/2018

Writing for The Street . Com, Brian O'Connell warns consumers about dealer "tricks" (actually fraud) while financing vehicles and arms them with questions to ask the dealer before they sign the contract. Mr. O'Connel was kind enough to include two of my "pointed' questions.

Don't finalize any new vehicle purchases until you get these key questions answered by your auto dealer.

04/10/2018

What a WONDERFUL use of a $ 1.7 million cy pres award resulting from a junk fax class action. This thoughtful WaPo article describes the privacy education being provided to 10 year olds before they become hyper active online and the privacy threats against our next generation.

A test program is aimed at teaching 10-year-olds — and their parents — how to protect their privacy, save their brains and still prosper in the digital age.