Articles: Finances

Dear Consumer Ed:  I live in a senior care facility. They are attempting to make me pay for services that I did not receive. What recourse do I have?

Dear Consumer Ed:  I paid off my car loan last year, but my credit report is still showing a balance of over $8,000. How can I get this corrected? 

Dear Consumer Ed:  I filed my annual income tax return on time, and I have still not received my refund. What can I do?

Dear Consumer Ed:  Is it legal in Georgia for a business to refuse cash for payment of goods or services? Can businesses legally force consumers to pay with a debit or credit card?

Dear Consumer Ed:  A medical provider recently sent me a statement for $14,850.00, with charges dating from four to six years ago. The provider never submitted the bills to my insurance company as it had done in the past. The charges are far outside my insurance company’s contracted time (60 days) for consideration. Now the medical provider is threatening to send my account to a collection agency. Am I legally required to pay the full amount of these medical costs under these circumstances?

Dear Consumer Ed:  How much of a surcharge are merchants allowed to charge you for paying with a credit card?

Dear Consumer Ed:  I had a bill that went into collections. Now that I’ve paid it in full, will this continue to negatively affect my credit?

Dear Consumer Ed:  If I ask questions about an old debt that might have expired, will that make it active again? I’m not sure what the original debt was for before it was sold to a debt collector, and I need to find out the date the debt was incurred.

Dear Consumer Ed:  Once your car is repossessed, how much time are you given to pay the overdue amount before your vehicle is sold? Also, how long does a repo company have to wait before getting rid of any belongings you left in the vehicle?

Dear Consumer Ed:  I have an old student loan debt that I defaulted on in 2004. It is still on my credit report. I thought the statute of limitation on debt was six years. Don’t they have to remove this from my credit report by law? Also, is a collection agency still allowed to garnish my wages for this?