Simple Lending Solutions

The CARD Act May Be Working. Consumer Credit Complaints Decrease.

According to the FTC, the number one consumer complaint in 2010 was Identity Theft. Here’s credit expert John Ulzheimer’s takeaway on the Top Consumer Complaints titled Identity Theft and Debt Collection are Getting Closer to Each Other. The Federal Trade Commission recently released their list of top consumer complaints from 2010 and identity theft is by far the number one complaint, even though the gap between 1st and 2nd has closed since 2009.

In 2010, ID theft complaints represented 19% of the FTC’s complaints with debt collection clocking in at 11%. The gap between the two has narrowed from 2009 when ID theft represented 21% and debt collection represented only 9%.

A Record Number of Lawsuits were Filed Against Debt Collectors. The increase in debt collection complaints is validated by the fact that roughly 12,000 FDCPA (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) lawsuits were filed in 2010, a record number that we’re on pace to match in 2011.

Credit Bureau Complaints Fell. The number of credit bureau complaints went from 31,629 in 2009 to 28,724 and the number of credit repair complaints went from 41,448 to 31,726. The FTC continues to lump credit repair with advance fee loan scores despite the two having nothing to do with each other.

The CARD Act May Be Working. Credit card complaints are down from 45,203 in 2009 to 33,258 in 2010. This seems to confirm that the CARD Act has had some success in curbing the more abusive credit card practices, such as retroactive rate increases.

A leading debt advice charity says the number of people seeking debt help is soaring, while the number of people able to repay their debts is plummeting. Consumers must be aware of the need to repay a debt consolidation loan as quickly as possible. This will avoid any excessive costs associated with the interest factor. An added incentive of debt consolidation for those with personal debt is the relief of strain created by the fear of missed repayments on outstanding debts and the result of this on their credit score.