If you're drowning in debt, chances are you're desperate enough to try anything.
That includes so-called "Debt Relief" services.
These bogus businesses hit radio airwaves and late-night infomercials to pose as knights in shining armor for consumers reaching the end of their money rope.
Don't worry, they say, pledging to slay the Big Bad Wolf (i.e.: your creditors) and help you live Happily Ever After – for a fee.
Here's a wake up call: This is a probably a lie.
The Federal Trade Commission just revamped regulations surrounding debt relief services, making it more difficult for them to dupe unwitting consumers into forking over cash for services they have no intention of rendering.
But it's still all-too possible to get tricked, so here are some red flags to look for:
Upfront fees. By law, debt relief companies can't collect fees until you've gotten what you intend to pay for. If they try to feed you a line of bull about down payments or holding fees, don't stick around to hear the rest of their sales pitch.
Shady timelines. The firm has to tell you how long you'll have to wait to see results, according to the FTC. If they're playing coy, they're probably up to something fishy.
Unclear pay scale. They're required by law to tell you how much their services cost upfront.
Fairytales. If they're painting a rosy picture of all the magical benefits you'll glean from their service without telling you the potential negative side effects, they're in the wrong. The new FTC rule makes it illegal to tell you the pros without the cons.
Now see 11 tips to help your credit score skyrocket >
Online transactions company PayPal is taking heat from critics after forcing Regretsy to refund all donations for its holiday charity efforts, while keeping the initial transaction fees.
Regretsy is a blog that features odd and/or strange items that are for sale through arts and crafts online marketplace Etsy, while also raising money for various charities. For its Secret Santa charity, Regretsy owner Helen Killer accidentally selected the “donate” button — rather than “Buy Now” or “Shopping Cart” buttons — when setting up options for people to make a donation.
Because the money from these donations isn’t going directly to the charity (meaning, donation money goes through Regretsy first before going to the charity), PayPal is making the site refund hundreds of $2 donations. Had Killer selected the “Buy Now” option, none of this would be an issue.
“Because I used the wrong button, they have made me send them everything from bank statements to Articles of Incorporation to affidavits and notarized statements, even though I have been a verified business customer of theirs for 10 years,” wrote Killer in a blog post about the incident.
While PayPal’s policy was put in place to prevent scam artists from taking donations under the guise of being a charitable organization, it doesn’t excuse the company for pocketing the transaction fees.
What do you think about this situation? Should PayPal forfeit the fees?
Update: A PayPal spokesperson just sent us the following statement regarding Regretsy’s donation button incident:
We can’t comment specifically on the Regretsy.com account due to our privacy policy. However, we can confirm that the funds have been released and we are working directly with the account holder on this matter. We are also working with Regretsy to make a donation to help families in need this holiday season. We’re very sorry this occurred.
For reference, we have clear guidelines for any business who uses PayPal to accept donations. For example, we require certain documentation to prevent misuse of the donated funds and, if the recipient claims charitable status, to determine whether they are properly registered. As a regulated payment service, we’re also required by law to follow these guidelines.
We appreciate that this can be an inconvenience, but we have a responsibility to all our customers – both donors and recipients; or buyers and sellers. In this instance, we recognized our error and moved as swiftly as possible to fix it.
[via The Consumerist]
http://cssa.mit.edu/forum/index.php?showuser=45958
http://www.ncv.unsw.edu.au/index.php/member/18835/
http://www.knopm.uw.edu.pl/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=37409
http://www.u.arizona.edu/~phlee/xenonapp/forums5/xenon/profile.php?action=get&id=7208
http://music.unt.edu/pianoresearch/discussion/profile.php?action=get&id=16272
http://sweb.uky.edu/StudentOrgs/Badminton/bbs/profile.php?action=get&id=8681
http://avidbbs.cuc.edu.cn/profile.php?id=1721
http://www.uta.edu/studentorgs/cgsa/forum/profile.php?id=33272
http://ftp.itcs.tsinghua.edu.cn/papakons/teaching/advalgorithmsS11/forum/member.php?action=profile&uid=68662
http://getreal.ous.edu/forum/member.php?action=profile&uid=36957
http://forum.loni.ucla.edu/member.php?u=10198
http://forum.portal.edu.ro/index.php?showuser=386978
http://www.jiexiu.gov.cn/user/profile/20442.page
http://forums.saa.edu/profile.php?id=263561
http://yakko.cs.wmich.edu/~digiband/index.php?section=showuser&subsection=lancemara
http://www.sas.edu.pk/vb/member.php?u=32029
http://www.sti.edu.vn/members/lancemara.html
http://forum.thcsnguyenbinhkhiem.edu.vn/member.php?u=5454
http://rkjsw.sh.gov.cn/user/profile/87172.page
http://portal.aerocivil.gov.co/foro/user/profile/25230.page
http://www.fjit.gov.cn/bbs/user/profile/173385.page
http://school41.edu.ru/smf/index.php?action=profile;u=9962
http://www.scribd.com/doc/75882708/Appliance-Repair-Services
http://www.docstoc.com/docs/108712775/Appliance_Repair_Services
http://www.slideshare.net/henryjohn34/appliance-repair-services
http://member.thinkfree.com/myoffice/show.se?f=d90342b9c507ddcc38f0d41fde4ffb82
http://www.divshare.com/download/16396780-375
http://www.4shared.com/document/0X9KkdQJ/Appliance_Repair_Services.html
https://share.zoho.com/preview/writer/685465000000083014/appliance_repair_services
http://www.box.com/s/e5ms3a5duhvte9n4zqig
http://issuu.com/henryjohn34/docs/appliance_repair_services
http://www.calameo.com/books/0004699018b34a74b13b0
http://www.keepandshare.com/doc/3361132/appliance-repair-services-doc-december-16-2011-10-50-pm-54k
http://www.wepapers.com/Papers/170344/Appliance_Repair_Services
http://www.gigasize.com/get/s485m5vogkd
http://www.doxtop.com/browse/96533712/appliance-repair-services.aspx
http://www.mediafire.com/?ciyw4482dy3atym
http://www.ziddu.com/download/17839907/Appliance_Repair_Services.doc.html
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/36250372/Appliance_Repair_Services.doc
http://speedy.sh/ChBFG/Appliance-Repair-Services.doc
http://mesendfiles.info/files/gnNd1324054830.html
http://www.largedocument.com/4/5d2c0f69/Appliance_Repair_Services.doc
http://uploadingit.com/file/ylcrcv2z7ucstwx7/Appliance_Repair_Services.doc
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Kb1Go8YnHCzaOfSEaWqAeMYnX8h96pKUORofpujcsvQ/edit
http://www.myplick.com/view/6jNtKqnkbS8/Appliance-Repair-Services
http://www.viewdocsonline.com/document/sgzpdj
http://www.crocko.com/6B8A3E8E69FE448B90DB88104BD7FF9F/Appliance_Repair_Services.doc
No comments:
Post a Comment