Has Credit One Bank Accessed your Credit Report?

There is a section on your credit report that discloses who has received a copy of your credit record. One section includes companies with whom you have applied for credit.  These inquiries show up on the general report, and they become part of your credit score.  They aren't weighted greatly in the score, but they do count.

There is another section of inquiries which don't show up when potential creditors access the report but they are included on your consumer disclosure. These inquiries include current creditors who are reviewing the record for purposes of servicing or collecting a current account or others with a permissible purpose.  Some companies stretch the meaning of permissible purpose for the hilt.  

I reviewed one report of a client who was sued by LVNV Funding, LLC c/o Resurgent Capital Services LP.  

This report included an access by Resurgent Capital Services - not surprising under the circumstances, but the report also included accesses by 

Credit One Bank NA

Assent, Inc.

Credit One Bank appears to be affiliated with the Sherman/LVNV group of bottom feeder collectors.  Assent, Inc. might be, but I haven't been able to determine one way or the other. As far as I can determine these companies have a different role in the Tholian web of Sherman companies than just buying debts for pennies on the dollar and suing poor people. These companies are designed to create new debt, perhaps including and renewing old debt.  A company can't just troll your credit report to find people to hawk new credit to.  A potential creditor can only receive limited information about you in the context of a prescreening program by the credit reporting agency in connection with FIRM OFFERS of credit.  We have not been able to verify that these companies have been accessing reports only in connection with firm offers of credit.  

If you see these companies or other companies receiving access to your credit report, please contact me at 317-662-4529 or contact a NACA consumer attorney in your area by going to www.naca.net.  

Bad Company of the Day - PNC Merchant Services

Ordinarily I write about bad companies that victimize my clients or others.  In this case I'm writing about a company that tried to victimize me as a small business owner.

I do my business banking at PNC Bank.  I chose that bank because their involvement in the financial shenanigans that caused the Great Recession was minor.  As a bank, they've generally given me good service.

When I set up my bank account, they set me up with PNC Merchant Services for credit card processing, PNC Merchant Services has been less than steller, and one practice of theirs shows outright contempt for the customer.

In the Fall of 2014, I found that Amazon Marketplace had better terms for credit card processing than PNC Merchant Services.  I called to stop my credit card processing, and PNC Merchant Services stopped my monthly fee - that is, they did until spring of 2015.  In spring of 2015, they started adding a fee of $24.99 per month for something called Transarmor Solution.  I did not order Transarmor Solution. When I called to inquire, PNC Merchant Solutions said I was sent a letter about the new charge. This letter was apparently sent to my old business address and not where I received my statements or where I changed my address with PNC Bank.  Although this looked to me like your typical negative option scam that I see on consumer credit cards. In this case, PNC Merchant Services intimated to me that it was not an optional charge, and that if I want to close my account with them, I have to pay them a $450 early termination charge, even though they did not provide me with my credit card terminal and I was no longer processing credit cards through them.

If you are a small business person, doing business in general with PNC Bank is fine. The others are probably worse, but I recommend that you NOT do business with PNC Merchant Services.  I filed a complaint with the CFPB, and more complaints may follow.

We're Still Looking for Pension Factoring (Pension Assignment) Cases - Especially Veterans' Pensions

We are still interested in helping people who assigned all or part of their pensions to third party companies in exchange for a lump sum.   It is a lot easier to stop the payments going out than to collect the money once it has been taken from you.  Please call us at 317-662-4529.

Bad Company of the Day: Navient Corp. - CFPB may take action

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it may sue Navient, Inc., the parent company of Sallie Mae, the student-loan giant, for cheating student loan borrowers.  Among the practices being investigated are practices designed to maximize late fees.

If you have a loan being administered by Navient, and you have had a problem with late fees, I suggest that you send a few payments by certified mail, and check the date the payment was credited against the date your certified mail receipt shows the company received the payment.  If there is a discrepancy, file a complaint with the CFPB and/or contact a consumer lawyer.  If you contact me, I will find one in your area.

COMMON DEFENSES TO STUDENT LOAN LAWSUITS

If you are sued by Navient, Sallie Mae, or a collector for either, contact a NACA consumer lawyer through www.naca.net.  Most student loan borrowers think that because student loans are usually not dischargeable in bankruptcy, there is nothing they can do if they are sued. Often that is not the case, especially in the case of private student loans.  The collection agencies who collect student loans often have problems proving the assignment. Sometimes they add extra fees (especially attorney fees) that aren't owed. Sometimes they violate the statute of limitations.  (We settled a case against a student loan collector based on a student loan suit filed past the statute of limitations.)  Sometimes underlying problems with the schools and their promises create defenses to the student loans.   The crumbier the school, the more likely you have a defense.  Sometimes the lender sues people in the wrong jurisdiction, especially cosigners, and that can lead to a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claim against the cosigner.  Sometimes the collector engages in unauthorized robocalls to the borrower's cell-phone.

Buying a New Car? Change your Oil at 500 Miles - Probably - the Z06 Corvette Fiasco

If you are like most people I know, you probably bought 1 2016 Chevrolet Corvette Z06.  You might have also had a problem with your engine self-destructing not long after purchase.  You may have had Chevrolet tell you that the blown engine was due to hooning behaviour or some such.  Now Chevrolet is sending out a bulletin to owners advising them to change their oil immediately as early production Z06 Corvettes have a problem with oil contamination due to thread shavings making their way past the oil filter.

According to what Chevy is telling the owners: "We now encourage all owners to change their oil at 500 miles to remove possible contaminants created during the engine break-in process. And, as always, we encourage the use of Mobil 1 synthetic oil – which is a factory fill for all Z06 models, and Stingray Z51 models – and encourage owners to follow the engine break-in process detailed in the owner’s manual,”

Why do I bring this up to the audience of people who (like me) don't have a new Corvette in their garage?  Because as a young adult, I was told that if you get a new car to change the oil shortly after delivery to get rid of the crud from the manufacturing process.  some years later (the 90s?) I was told that's outdated advice, that the cars go through a process at the factory to wash out the shavings and what not, and it is wasteful to change the oil before the ordinary interval.  Based on this bulletin from Chevrolet regarding their flagship car ($65k on up),  I'd have to say that it's time to revert to the old advice and to change the oil 500 miles after you buy any new car.  

I also think this reflects very negatively on General Motors.  Instead of suggesting that the owners change 7 quarts of Mobil One oil ($29/quart on up plus labor), Chevrolet should be comping the charge. I suspect they probably will if you raise a big enough fuss at the dealership.

http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/2015/08/chevrolet-telling-corvette-z06-owners-change-oil-500-miles/

Victory Against Educap - Lawsuit Against Client Dismissed

A client was sued by Educap, Inc. on an old student loan account.  Many people are under the impression that there is no statute of limitations on student loan debts. That's true as to government student loans, but not true as to private student loans.  If the lender or servicer waits past your state's limitation period (in Indiana, it's 6 years from when the loan went in default), you can use the statute of limitations as a defense to payment. In addition, if you are sued on a debt that is past the statute of limitations, you likely will have a claim for damages against the suing law firm for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.   That's our next step.