 A MUST-READ if you are or anticipate being in the market to buy a car anytime soon. And for everyone else, a good article to read anyway -- you never know when someone will smash your car for you by driving inattentively and you will be in the market to buy a car on short notice.
 "Surprise, surprise, surprise" as Gomer Pyle used to say. Consumer Reports has a good article on how car dealers rip you off on loans. Well worth a read if you ever consider buying a car. ProTIP: If you can't pay cash and must finance a car purchase, separate the loan deal and the car deal; never do them together with financing from the dealer.* Get your loan approval from your own credit union or bank before you go car shopping so you can know exactly how much you can afford and the dealer can't bamboozle you by negotiating both deals at the same time. And, of course, you have to be willing to walk away from the lot without buying anything. And never buy any used vehicle without having your own independent mechanic to a complete pre-purchase inspection and test drive of the vehicle; if you can't afford the pre-purchase inspection, you can't afford the car anyway. (* With the possible exception for the case where you are buying a new car and the maker is offering zero-percent financing and you are certain that you aren't being overcharged on the car.) Experts say that CR’s analysis suggests a broad problem with the way car loans are arranged in this country: Dealers and lenders may be setting interest rates based not only on risk—standard loan underwriting practice—but also on what they think they can get away with. Studies show that many borrowers don’t know they should, or even can, negotiate the terms of a loan, or shop around for other offers.  
 Oregon Consumer Justice (OCJ) is making money available to community-based organizations working to support tenants in accessing rent assistance payments or making applications for rent assistance.
There's more information and a link to the application here: https://lnkd.in/gu7JBAzz Many organizations, community leaders, and individuals are hard at work trying to help prevent evictions, which are traumatic and have far-reaching impact on people's well-being. Spread the word about this resource which might help reach community members who don't know there's help available or don't have the ability to access that help. If you have questions, please direct them to either Janet Byrd at jbyrd@oregonconsumerjustice.org or Joseluis Maldonado at jlmaldonado@oregonconsumerjustice.org  Good review of some of the most common (most effective) scams that target elders. Always remember these safety rules:
1) Never give any personal/private information to someone who called YOU out of the blue. 2) Never buy anything from someone who found you and pitched you on it. 3) You can just hang up! It's not rude to hang up on scammers. Here are the six common scams in the article -- which is a short good read (just click on the picture). 1) Sweepstakes/lottery ("You have won! You just need to give us your banking info . . . ") 2) "Tech Support" ("We have detected a virus on your system, you need to give us access to your system so we can remove it . . . " 3) "Grandchild in Need" (Grandma, I've been arrested, send money . . . !") 4) Romance ("Send money and I'll visit you . . . ") 5) Social Security ("Give us your bank info . . . .") 6) Natural Disasters/Contractors ("We'll take care of everything, just give us your credit card number and we'll get started. ") The US Chamber of Commerce and other corporate power groups are terrified of the 7th Amendment to the Bill of Rights (right to jury trial) and the "FAIR" act, which would prevent them from forcing consumer and employee disputes into the lawless land of private arbitration controlled by and very favorable to, you guessed it, those same corporate power groups.
The American Prospect has a great story about an effort by these folks to disguise a corporate lobbyist-written editorial as an one written by a real consumer -- and an offer to pay a consumer attorney a $2,000 bribe if he would help find a consumer to put his name on the already-written editorial. https://prospect.org/power/corporate-lobbyists-seek-grassroots-support-forced-arbitration/  The federal Consumer Protection Financial Bureau (CFPB) has a website where you can see if there is rental assistance money available that you can access in order to help you avoid eviction for failure to pay rent.
Check it out if you are behind in your rent or utility payments. https://www.consumerfinance.gov/coronavirus/mortgage-and-housing-assistance/renter-protections/find-help-with-rent-and-utilities/ |
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