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Online Critics Decry Even More Wells Fargo Fraud Scandals (boingboing.net)
On Saturday author/blogger Cory Doctorow launched a new barrage of criticism towards Wells Fargo:
It's been a whole day since we learned about another example of systematic, widespread fraud by America's largest bank Wells Fargo (ripping off small merchants with credit card fees), so it's definitely time to learn about another one: scamming mortgage borrowers out of $43/month for an unrequested and pointless "home warranty service" from American Home Shield, a billion-dollar scam-factory that considers you a customer if you throw away its junk-mail instead of ticking the "no" box and sending it back.
$43/month gets you pretty much nothing: people who tried to actually use their AHS insurance found it impossible to get them to actually do anything in exchange for this money. Here's a quick Wells Fargo fraud scorecard: stealing thousand of cars with fraudulent repos; defrauding mortgage borrowers; blackballing whistelblowers; creating 2,000,000+ fraudulent accounts, and stealing millions with fraudulent fees and penalties.
Life Pro Tip: if you don't like banks, join a credit union.
$43/month gets you pretty much nothing: people who tried to actually use their AHS insurance found it impossible to get them to actually do anything in exchange for this money. Here's a quick Wells Fargo fraud scorecard: stealing thousand of cars with fraudulent repos; defrauding mortgage borrowers; blackballing whistelblowers; creating 2,000,000+ fraudulent accounts, and stealing millions with fraudulent fees and penalties.
Life Pro Tip: if you don't like banks, join a credit union.
The habit of having a "negative agreement" where you have to check a box and send back if you don't want a service is not legal in some areas.
If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
It's neither legal not ethical for a company to"offer" services on an opt-out basis, but why does this rant focus on Wells Fargo (scummy though they also be)?
American Home Shield is not owned it operated by WF. It is owned by the same company that owns Terminix, Merry Maids, and some other brands. When you buy a house, the transfer is a public record in most places, and you absolutely will get a lot of junk offers from companies who have no relationship to any of the ones you used.
The difference is that they are owned by the depositors. Hence they are not subject to the same commercial pressures that regular banks are. Unfortunately most of the mutual financial organizations in the UK where destroyed in the 1980/1990's when the building societies converted to banks. During the financial crisis the building societies in the UK weathered the storm much better than the banks and demutilized former building societies did for example.
Why these recidivist fuckers aren't in jail ?
Because they're "too big to fail".
Where the God damn fuck is justice in all of this ?
If you have to ask, you can't afford it.
Only four posts until Godwin.
Actually, Trump wasn't really elected either. He was only "elected" because was not Hillary. Least of two evils and all that shit.
Yes, I have bought dozens of houses. I am aware that it is a lot of paperwork. That is not an excuse to ignore any of it, nor it is an excuse not to have your own attorney thoroughly review them with you.
Reading everything is not impossible by any stretch of the imagination. If your lawyer only spends 20 minutes on it, you need to tell them that is unacceptable and make them read everything.
Making the largest purchase you'll make in your lifetime is not a time to be uneducated and complacent.