Washington Post on Private Equity Funds Cashing in on Desperate Poor People

There is an interesting article on washingtonpost.com today concerning on how private equity funds are cashing in on the short term cash needs of poor people, Billionaire-controlled private equity funds are investing heavily in payday loans and high-intereset personal loans including "check loans"  Highlighted in the story is Mariner Finance, a firm run by a private equity firm headed by Timothy Geithner.

  If that name sounds familar Geithner was the Secretary of the Treasury under President Obama.. In my opinion, President Obama was an excellent president who made two big mistakes (1) Not going to the mat for his Supreme Court pick, and (2) picking Timothy Geithner as his Secretary of the Treasury.  Time and again Geithner was two-faced in claiming to be pro-consumer but taking actions that were pro-lender.  Although Geithner denies it, many people believe that Geithner was responsible for President Obama not nominating Elizabeth Warren as the first permanent head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the important agency that she conceived. 

If you get tangled up in predatory installment loans or paday loans that you can't pay, you should consult with a consumer lawyer or bankruptcy lawyer in your area.  Because the laws are written to protect these lenders, there may be nothing a lawyer can do for you directly except filing bankruptcy; however indirectly these companies might violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices s Act. Their dunning phone calls and text messages may violate the TCPA.  In cases of disabled customers, elderly customers, and customers who don't speak English, the loans might be rendered void. 

Thanks to Carol P. For pointing out this article to me. 

Car Title Loans - the Worst of the Worst

Car title loans are effectively illegal in Indiana, though out-of-state lenders do try to talk Indiana consumers across state lines to get the loans.  This is one area of consumer finance that Indiana has right, because title lenders are merchants of misery. The loans are even worse than payday loans, because when a title loan goes bad, they take your car, and that may mean taking your livelihood. Generally title lenders lend no more than 25% of the value of the vehicle. When you don't pay, they take the vehicle and resell it.  The article linked here from thetruthaboutcars.com shows that these acutions are anything but fair to the car owner, The lender sells the car as quickly as possible just to get whatever is owed for the loan and repossession.  For most of these borrowers, the car is likely the only asset that the person has, and with the repossession sale, even that is gone.

These "auction" sales may be illegal in some cases and may give you the right to a remedy. If you lose your vehicle to a payday lender, talk to a NACA consumer attorney. Find one in your area by going to www.naca.net or www.consumeradvocates.org.