Saturday, December 7, 2013

Debt Suspension Rights files complaint with the FTC about the CFPB.

I just want to clarify that I love that the CFPB exists. However, if the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is hardwired to believe that credit card agreements are not flawed, then much of the CFPB's great work is compromised. Think of it as spending money to do a perfect wheel alignment on a car that has four balding tires. 

Below is my official FTC complaint against the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau....

I have tirelessly tried to raise awareness about deficiencies in credit card agreement language. The CFPB has taken the position that there is nothing wrong with credit card agreement language.

The CFPB apparently believes that leaving out critical information for a consumer to consider prior to signing up for a credit card simply means that the consumer needs financial literacy training and that the consumer must honor the promise to pay at all costs, even if means placing a credit card debt above and beyond the value of a human life.

Is the FTC in agreement with the CFPB over the Promise to Pay and more financial literacy for consumers, policies?  

The latest smokescreen thrown up by the CFPB involves the claim that there are more complaints about debt collectors than there are about credit card companies. I personally handed the CFPB specific data that would level the credit card arena playing field back in May of 2013. I even posted the letter I gave to the CFPB online at the following link.  

When the CFPB announces their "ground breaking" debt collection decisions in early 2014 the report will probably mention some ways that debt collectors have misbehaved, and that they should fear fines from the CFPB. However, this will probably be balanced out by recommendations that credit card companies don't spend enough money on financial literacy education for its customers.

All of the ensuing media coverage will probably create conservative backlash outraged over the bullying of debt collectors while the progressives will screech about unfair debt collection practices.

Lost in all of the back and forth braying will be the following issues, consumers HAVE NO DEBT SUSPENSION RIGHTS of any kind. Even a criminal can serve time and be done with their sentence, but a credit card defaulter can be forced into perpetual ongoing interest rate charges no matter what the reason for the default.

Lost your home in a flood, doesn't matter, the credit card holder will simply default and be adjudicated into a lifetime 9.9% accruing interest rate charge by the courts.

Hurricane destroyed your home? Fire?  Have Cancer?  Medical Emergency? Identity theft? Accident victim not of one's own doing or fault? Job obsoleted and the only way out is to go back to school? Caregiving for a family member? All just excuses according to the CFPB and the credit card companies, let the perpetual interest rate charges accrue.

The irony is, I'm actually ok with the "debt matters more than life itself" meme prolifigated by both government and banking entities, as long as that boarish position is BOLDLY PRINTED RIGHT ABOVE AND RIGHT BELOW where the person signs their credit card agreement.

Anything short of that is basic fraud against the american consumer.

On top of that, in 2002 the comptroller of the currency denied the insurance industry access to compete with the credit card companies over credit card debt suspension insurance coverage. All the comptroller could think to offer was to make sure that premiums covered the cost of the insurance. 

The result? Credit Card Debt Suspension Insurance that was overpriced by a factor of 1,000% to 2000%. The profit was so great that the CFPB had to fine the credit card companies over 500 million dollars for over aggresively marketing their overpriced insurance coverage.

Can you fix whats broken with CFPB? 

-----end of complaint. For the record, I used the entire allowable character limit for my complaint, had zero left, so I left out an s in aggressively and "the" just before the final CFPB.


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