More special places in hell:
Comes the news report that NxCare, Inc., the manufacturer of "Slimquick--The Female Fat Burner" faces a class action consumer fraud case in Pennsylvania. Catanzaro v. Nx Care, Inc., U.S. District Court Case No. 2:07-cv-0171 (W.D. Pa.) Allegations include that the company made claims unsupported by scientific evidence. Some of the testimonials of women who claimed to have lost weight were made by company executives' wives or girlfriends.
The diet product scams play on the obesity epidemic with "scientific" formulations that are often bunk. Sometimes these "natural" formulations are profoundly dangerous, as with the recent ephedra products. While we all assume that the government regulates things like this, in fact, the FDA provides almost no oversight of so-called diet supplements. Consumer cases are becoming the last level of accountability for market misconduct.
David Sugerman
Paul & Sugerman, PC
www.pspc.com
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Payday Lenders-Is there a special place in hell?
Some claim--without laughing hysterically--that payday loans provide important sources of temporary cash to those in need who don't otherwise qualify for convential financing. Sounds great. But then there's the whole interest thing. Buried on page 2 in a droning prose is this jewel about payday loans from the Oregon Division of Finance and Corporate Securities:
"Borrowers usually look at the cost per $100 borrowed; however, the APR, which typically ranges from 391 percent to 520 percent, is useful for comparing the cost of payday loans to costs of other types of credit. Oregon law requires that lenders clearly post the APR for a typical payday loan in their office where customers can easily see it."
State of Oregon, Div. of Finance and Corp. Securities, Payday Loans in Oregon, p. 2 copy at http://dfcs.oregon.gov/pdf/2938.pdf.
Ohmigod: interest of 391 percent. Surely that would be against the law. Not until recently. In 2006, Oregon passed a law limiting payday loan interest rates to 36 percent. Something seems wrong if that's the best we can do in regulating those who prey on the most desparate. ORS 725.622 became effective January 1, 2007. I have yet to hear of any payday lenders closing shop because of this modest effort to limit usury. Let's hope that their day comes.
David F. Sugerman
Paul & Sugerman, PC
www.pspc.com
"Borrowers usually look at the cost per $100 borrowed; however, the APR, which typically ranges from 391 percent to 520 percent, is useful for comparing the cost of payday loans to costs of other types of credit. Oregon law requires that lenders clearly post the APR for a typical payday loan in their office where customers can easily see it."
State of Oregon, Div. of Finance and Corp. Securities, Payday Loans in Oregon, p. 2 copy at http://dfcs.oregon.gov/pdf/2938.pdf.
Ohmigod: interest of 391 percent. Surely that would be against the law. Not until recently. In 2006, Oregon passed a law limiting payday loan interest rates to 36 percent. Something seems wrong if that's the best we can do in regulating those who prey on the most desparate. ORS 725.622 became effective January 1, 2007. I have yet to hear of any payday lenders closing shop because of this modest effort to limit usury. Let's hope that their day comes.
David F. Sugerman
Paul & Sugerman, PC
www.pspc.com
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