I missed it when it first came out, but the United States Supreme Court decided an important employment law case this week, Integrity Staffing Solutions, Inc. v. Brusk. Full disclosure: I haven’t read this case, and I’m not planning to.  From the write-up in The Daily Kos, I don’t have the stomach to read it. […]

It has been passed along to me that a news reporter is looking to talk to consumers with the following stories: 1. Anyone who’s been harassed or mistreated by a debt collector (especially any cases that are particularly extreme or unusual.)  2. Anyone who’s been collected on twice for the same debt, by different collection […]

If you read the post below, you will see that I’m really angry at Wal-Mart for effectively cutting the pay and worsening the working conditions of already put-upon workers.  I thought about it, and the best think I can do is offer my time to Wal-Mart workers for free.  If you are a Wal-Mart worker […]

What’s worse than a payday loan? Not much, but one thing that is worse is a fake payday loan. The FTC has taken action against a group of firms they say bilked consumers out of tens of millions of dollars by putting through electronic funds transfer requests for payments on loans that never existed. The […]

Today I filed  an official Access to Public Records Act complaint against the Wayne Township Small Claims Court in Indianapolis. I don’t do this lightly. Twenty years ago, I filed a complaint against a judge who was letting collection lawyer run the court, and although the judge was reprimanded, I was effectively blacklisted from all […]

Sometimes it takes somebody from somewhere else to really see how much you are messing up.  John Oliver takes the time to expose the myths and lies in the payday loan industry.  Language Alert.

Gary Welch’s Advance Indiana blog has a great post explaining hidden fees in Indianapolis’s bike sharing program. If you don’t dock the bike every half hour, you can be charged astonishing fees. Read about it at this link.

If you are a parent who (or even a grandparent) who has cosigned private student loans for your family member, you are in for a rude surprise if the borrower dies. The entire loan balance often becomes immediately payable.  This is a rude surprise for an older family member who thinks Junior is going to […]

Welcome to Steve’s (Totally Free!) Consumer Law Blog – the semi-official blog of the Consumer Law Office of Steve Hofer. I’ve blogged before. From 1999 through early 2014, I was the semi-official blogger of AFSCME Local 3357, the union for UAW Legal Services attorneys. If you are a UAW member, retiree, spouse, or surviving spouse, […]