If you fail to pay money that you've agreed to pay through a contract (that's what debt is), that is a civil matter between you and the lender. That goes for credit cards, payday loans, mortgages, car loans, medical bills, etc. You have agreed to pay those companies, and they attempt to collect from you, either themselves, through a debt collector or by suing you. So the answer is no: debt collectors don't have the power to send you to jail.

Let's say your lender or collector sues you and wins and you still don't pay. Even then, it's not a criminal matter. They could go back to the court and try to seize your possessions - cars, house, garnish wages, etc. But criminal charges are not an option.

The only time you might be charged with a crime related to debt is if you commit fraud. For example, if you write a check to a payday lender, then immediately close your bank account, you can be charged with passing a bad check. Or if you knowingly falsify documents, etc.

Federal law gives you certain rights in dealing with debt collectors. Here is a summary.

Technorati Tags: debtor's prison, fair debt collection practices act, fdcpa, finance, shopping and spending, debt collection, moagoconsumer, consumer protection

Whether you use these checks is up to you (keep in mind they may have different interest rates than your standard charges), but if you throw them away, shred them first. Otherwise, you have identity theft waiting to happen in your dumpster. Think about it: if a thief gets his hands on these checks, he can start using your credit card account for his own purchases.

So if you're not interested in these checks at all, you can call your credit card company and ask them to stop sending them. Most companies will honor that, though it may take a month or two.

While on the topic of credit cards, remember that you can opt out of unsolicited credit card offers.

Technorati Tags: convenience checks, credit card, finance, opt out, shopping and spending, solicitation, courtesy checks, moagoconsumer, consumer protection

We get a number of complaints to our office from consumers who say they signed up for a travel club (usually in Branson) then tried to cancel within the three days allowed by Missouri law, but the travel club wouldn't accept the cancellation. Why? Because they used the dinner certificate, hotel coupon or other freebie they got for listening to the sales presentation. In that case, the travel club tells them they used their club benefit, which triggered an active membership, which removes their right to cancel.

The proposed law would change that: it would still allow consumers to cancel within three days even if they use the freebies.

You can file a consumer complaint with our office if you have a problem with a travel club.

Technorati Tags: branson, shopping and spending, travel, travel club, travel clubs, moagoconsumer, consumer protection

Here's the real scoop:

1. Tickets are free
2. You can only get them from your U.S. senator or U.S. representative. They won't be available until about a week before the Jan. 20 inauguration.

File a consumer complaint with our office if you suspect a scam.

Technorati Tags: inaugural tickets, scams, shopping and spending, solicitation, inauguration tickets, moagoconsumer, consumer protection

Mechanic's lien - a general contractor doing repairs or remodeling at your house can go to court and get a mechanic's lien on your property if you don't pay him. This means if you sell your house, part of the sale money will go to pay that contractor's bill. Any prospective buyer is obviously going to be turned off by this.
Under Missouri law, only the general contractor - not the subcontractors such as plumbers, electricians, drywallers - can put a mechanic's lien on your house. That means if you have paid the general, but he doesn't pay his subs, they can't put a lien on your house. The only way they could do that is if you sign a Consent of Owner statement. We do not recommend consumers ever sign this document, as it makes you vulnerable to having to pay the general contractor and the subs for the same work.

Lien waiver - Missouri law is different for new construction. It allows any contractor - general or sub - to put a lien on your property if they don't get paid. That means if you pay your general and he doesn't pay his subs, the subs can still put a lien on your property. So you may want to ask for a lien waiver from every subcontractor working on your house. Yes, this is a lot of work because there are so many - landscapers, concrete, masons, roofers, flooring, carpenters, etc.

Technorati Tags: finance, general contractor, home construction, home remodeling, lien waiver, mechanic's lien, shopping and spending, subcontractor, home repair, moagoconsumer, consumer protection

Well, we can expect this problem to get worse. You may have heard there is a credit crunch around the country. That's because there are a lot of people not making their loan payments. In other words, consumers are going to have even more debt than they already do.

Remember, you can file complaints with our office about debt collectors. We can not only help you fight the ones who are breaking the law, but sometimes our involvement will encourage the good debt collectors to negotiate your payment down.

Technorati Tags: debt collector, fair debt collection practices act, fdcpa, finance, shopping and spending, debt collection, moagoconsumer, consumer protection

Usually it refers to being promised one product and getting another. But we have brought lawsuits where consumers are promised one price and given another. This was the case when we sued the Procycle motorcycle dealerships in Columbia and Springfield.

For the exact legal definition, check out page 6 of these regulations.

As with any violation of Missouri's fair trade laws, you can file a complaint with our office if you suspect a bait-and-switch operation going on.

Technorati Tags: consumer fraud, false advertising, misrepresentation, scams, shopping and spending, solicitation, bait and switch, moagoconsumer, consumer protection

You do not have tickets to see your college take on the number-one-ranked football team. So, you shell out $400 for a couple of tickets from a vendor located near campus. You get to the stadium, pull out your ticket, but wait ... DENIED ... you are left outside the gate.

This happened to about 500 people in Lubbock, Texas, last Saturday. Fans bought counterfeit tickets and were prohibited from entering, and did not see their Texas Tech Red Raiders beat Texas. The tickets were rejected when the barcode on the counterfeit tickets failed. That barcode fail-safe prevented - presumably - mass chaos inside.

Closer to home, the University of Missouri has not had an issue of counterfeit tickets, as of yet. Tickets are not printed with a barcode, so tickets aren't scanned at the gate. However, Mizzou does take precautions to prevent this type of fraud.

Single game tickets are printed "in house" meaning the MU Ticket Office is responsible for and tracks all MU Athletic tickets. Those tickets are marked with gold foil, which is difficult to replicate. Season ticket holders have further assurances: those tickets - printed out of state - have the foil, as well as, specific, detailed artwork. (If you have an issue with your ticket, you should report it to the MU Ticket Office at 800-CAT-PAWS.)

Ticketmaster software is used to print the Mizzou Athletic tickets. Ticketmaster also supplies tickets to concerts and events on campus. Those non-athletic tickets are printed with a bar code and are often scanned upon entering a venue.

Both Ticketmaster and the Mizzou Ticket Office stated that the only way to prevent purchasing a fake ticket is to make a purchase from a reputable dealer. They both also said that this issue needs to be evaluated often. Re-evaluating the ticket process would take time and be costly. That said, as the MU Football program continues to grow, more and more games are sold out. And next year, the Texas Longhorns come to Columbia. Will you have your ticket or could you be scammed?

In 2005, the St. Louis Cardinals partnered with Attorney General Nixon at a press conference to announce a validating system that would combat ticket counterfeiting.

Technorati Tags: Texas Tech scam, counterfeit tickets, finance, scams, shopping and spending, solicitation, Football tickets, moagoconsumer, consumer protection

The Missouri Public Service Commission enforces the Cold Weather Rule. We also, thanks to a new state law, have a Hot Weather Rule. It basically provides the same protection against shutting off your AC (via your electricity) from June 1 to September 30.

One side note: the Cold Weather Rule only applies to the utilities regulated by the PSC. It does not cover others, including government-owned utilities or electric cooperatives. For their part, the co-ops say they honor the CW Rule, even though they're legally exempt from it.

The PSC has tips on weatherproofing your home here. This can reduce your heating bills. And if you need financial assistance with paying your utility bills, your local Community Action Agency is the place to start.

Side note: The Cold Weather Rule only applies to utilities regulated by the PSC. It doesn't apply to government-owned utilities or electric cooperatives. The co-ops, for their part, say they honor the CW Rule, even though they're not legally required to.

Technorati Tags: finance, heating bills, hot weather rule, shopping and spending, utility bills, cold weather rule, moagoconsumer, consumer protection

Technorati Tags: bailout, finance, shopping and spending, credit card debt, moagoconsumer, consumer protection

Seventeen people have been arrested in what appears to be a significant mortgage fraud case.  According to the KC Star, this complicated ring provided opportunities for a real-estate agent, mortgage officers and homebuyers to earn some extra cash, while duping the mortgage companies in the process.

Allegedly, the real-estate agent sought out potential buyers who then provided false information while applying for their loans.  After the homes were acquired, the homeowners received a bonus for their fraudulent information – somewhere between $60,000 -$125,000.

All of the deception distorted the property values for the neighborhoods of Kansas City. Even more, most of the homes are in foreclosure or abandoned.  Now those empty homes are in disrepair and thus, have decreased the value of the surrounding homes. 

Technorati Tags: finance, foreclosure, loan scams, scams, shopping and spending, mortgage fraud, moagoconsumer, consumer protection

Technorati Tags: finance, financial assistance, mortgage crisis, renters, foreclosure, moagoconsumer, consumer protection

• If you have negative information on your credit report that's incorrect, you have the right under federal law to have that removed. No need to pay a company to do that. You can either go through the credit bureau that lists the inaccurate info, or file a consumer complaint with our office.
• If you have negative info that's accurate, there is nothing you can do about that. Negative information can stay on your credit report for seven years under federal law - or 10 years if it's a bankruptcy.

For more info, see our publication on credit repair scams.

Technorati Tags: credit bureau, credit report, credit score, federal trade commission, ftc, scams, shopping and spending, solicitation, credit repair, moagoconsumer, consumer protection

Also, remember Missouri has a Cold Weather Rule, which protects consumers from having their heat shut off by utility companies on cold days. The Missouri Public Service Commission has tips for keeping your heating costs down here.

Technorati Tags: energy assistance, finance, heating assistance, liheap, shopping and spending, utilicare, heating bills, moagoconsumer, consumer protection

But there are also financial risks - and the good folks at scambusters.org have put together a list of the top 5 social networking scams. This isn't mentioned in the article, but monitor your kids' online activities - they could easily compromise your computer security or give out information. Either one puts you at risk for identity theft.

One other note: if you use Web sites to meet potential dates, check out our cautions against dating scams.

Technorati Tags: dating scams, facebook, flickr, id theft, internet, internet safety, linkedin, myspace, scambusters, scams, social network, social networking, identity theft, moagoconsumer, consumer protection