| Volume 111 Number 1 |
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The People’s Lawyer’s Tip of the Day
Making the minimum payment on your credit card can cost you. If you have a $3,000 balance at 18% APR, paying the minimum will take 431 months to pay off and cost over $7,000 in interest. Click here to calculate the real cost of your credit cards.
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Sally Beauty Shoppers Should Monitor Their Credit Cards
Sally Beauty is monitoring "unusual activity" on payment cards at some of its U.S. stores, and is working with law enforcement and credit card processors to get to the bottom of the activity. This and recent data breaches at Home Depot and Target means consumers need to carefully check their credit card bills and bank statements for fraudulent charges. Click here for more.
Your Money
Is it time to change banks? With record low interest rates, many banks are turning to hidden fees and charges to make revenue. You should check your accounts to see what fees you are paying, and whether or not they are competitive with other banks. Credit Unions have usually been a better bet for consumers, because they don't charge consumers the same kinds of fees as banks. Here is a link with information about several credit unions anyone can join. Click here for more.
For the Lawyers
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not apply to a person collecting a debt that was not in default when it was obtained. The Fourth Circuit held that the FDCPA does not apply to a rental agent to whom a lease was assigned before payment was due. Under the lease, the tenant was required to submit her monthly rental payments to the agent. Therefore, the agent’s acquisition of the rent payments occurred before they were in default. Ramsay v. Sawyer Property, 593 Fed Appx 204 Click here for more.