Tag Archives: TILA

Target shoppers, don’t panic!

So, maybe you are among the 40,000,000 Target shoppers whose credit and debit card accounts have been compromised by a security breach that took place over the three weeks after Thanksgiving.  In response, consumers are being warned to do everything … Continue reading

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Dealer won’t pay the two (thousand) dollars… ordered to pay $37,881.38

Representing victims of bad car deals often brings to mind that old vaudeville routine with the punch line,  “Just pay the $2!” * These cases often start out as disputes over relatively little money.  The customer typically learns that the … Continue reading

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The Annual Percentage Rate: the real cost of credit

The other conspicuous disclosure on every Truth-in-Lending disclosure form is the Annual Percentage Rate, or APR.  Expressed as a percentage (%), the APR is defined as “the cost of your credit as a yearly rate.” Behind this seemingly simple definition … Continue reading

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The Finance Charge: your “price tag” for credit

On every TILA form two disclosures are especially conspicuous, printed in larger and bolder type than the others:  the Finance Charge and the Annual Percentage Rate (APR).  The Finance Charge, expressed in dollars and cents,  is defined as “the sum … Continue reading

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The Truth-in-Lending Act is your friend

Credit is the right to put off paying for something you get now.  Credit almost always costs money.  When you buy a car or a living room set in installment payments, you pay more than if you bought it for … Continue reading

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Of payment schedules and gap insurance

To recap, we’ve been talking about my friend “Irene,” who bought a car she couldn’t afford, and then the dealer talked her into a second deal …. to pay even more money for a less valuable used car! When I … Continue reading

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With the benefit of hindsight…

To recap from last week:  first Irene got into a car deal that was too expensive.  When she went back to the dealership and asked them to help her get out of it, she wound up agreeing to pay three … Continue reading

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