Leadpile’s Blog

Many conversations recently have involved payday loans and how they are just not right for consumers, yet articles like this one today make you think that maybe a payday loan is not really a “bad” option for a consumer. With this recent news that banks are under fire for the insane overdraft fees they charge consumers, payday loans are looking pretty good right now. Banks are projected to be generating up to $38.5 billion dollars in fees being charged to our nation’s bank customers. Congress is not liking this, and is looking at cracking down on all the banks that are charging these fees. What appears to be happening is consumers are using their debit cards and not having enough funds to make the purchase, yet the banks allow the transaction to take place and then charge the large overdraft fee. Maybe banks should not allow these sorts of transaction to take place, which in turn are getting the consumers more and more in debt?

In a previous blog post, I discussed the FTC cracking down on those that were making “robocalls” to consumers. These were calls where a computerized message was placed to consumers about things such as car warranties. Well now it is official- The FTC (Fair Trade Commission) has enacted new rules forbidding the prerecorded commercial telemarketing calls to consumers without written permission from the consumer. These calls being eliminated has created a lot more buzz for internet generated leads, because now businesses need to get the most targeted people they can for their buck. A perfect example of this is the car warranty leads. The car warranty industry was very much involved in having these pre recorded calls placed to consumers to drum up business. Now that this is illegal, many advertisers are reaching out to companies like Leadpile for the targeted car warranty leads where the consumer physically opted in for information about a car warranty. Other verticals like debt and repairing your credit are services that were using robo type of calls and will be counting more on people like us to get these targeted consumers.
The ironic thing that just happened to me. I just received a robocall from a lender wanting to try and modify my home loan. Unfortunately, I tried to get a live person on the phone and was unsuccessful. I guess these new FTC rules didn’t scare everyone.

Some recent laws passed regarding our credit cards are taking effect this Thursday. Currently credit card issuers have an ability to change interest rates on existing balances without any sort of notice. Part of the new law taking effect Thursday will put a restriction on the credit card companies from doing this without a 45 day notice. They can still charge you penalty fees for late payments and over-limit charges, however being able to freely increase the percentage rate (fixed rate percentage) on an already existing balance, will be going away. Any change to our interest rate, late payment fees, over-limit fees or finance charges can still increase, but they have to now give us a 45 day notice. It seems that a lot of credit issuers have recently become very aggressive in even shutting down card holders cards if there was no activity. There is a potential “risk” involved to the credit card issuers, and they are scrambling to get rid of those sorts of consumers. The other thing that we are all witnessing is the credit card issuers reducing balances on our credit cards if they are not being utilized. Once again, this is the credit card issuers reducing their “risk” or potential exposure, however it is very much an inconvenience for many people that want to then utilize their credit cards for a larger purchase.
Reading over anything that comes in the mail from your credit card company is probably the safest thing to do to keep up to date on what is going on with your account. Maybe even utilizing your credit card randomly might even be a good idea if you want to maintain the credit card availability. That sounds a little odd, because the “right” thing to do is really maintain a debt free life and live within your means. The credit card companies are almost indirectly pushing Americans to use their cards… or LOOSE them.

Lately it seems to be a dog-eat-dog world with all our search engines trying to get the biggest piece of the search engine “puzzle”. Yesterday I spoke about search engines and the need to bring new things to the table in order to stay competitive with other search engines. Ask.com is one of those search engines that is offering a unique service that other search engines are not offering. For instance, Ask.com is great for longer questions you want answered versus entering them in a standard Google search, and having to filter through all the results. Comscore reports that Ask.com’s ranking rose from 10th place to now 6th place, compared to other properties such as eBay and Facebook (in May based on unique users). This explains why a lot of Leadpile publishers are using this search engine to generate traffic to their payday loan, debt, auto finance, online education and other websites. Just like search engines trying to do something different to attract users, affiliate marketing and lead generators have to think of unique ways to generate traffic to their properties. Ask.com seems to be a good option to consider. It appears that others think so too, and that’s why their rankings seem to be headed in the right direction. Another GREAT alternative to the Google BEAST!

Phoenix June 30th, 2009 — LeadPile, The World’s Largest Online Exclusive Lead Exchange announced today record results for its MicroClick Form (http://www.microclick.com) in June, 2009. LeadPile reports a record number of Lead Verticals being served by its MicroClick Form with Lead Sellers producing leads in 61 different verticals in the month of June. This makes the LeadPile MicroClick Form the most widely used Multi Vertical Lead Generation Form in the lead Marketplace and Lead Exchange Industry.

LeadPile’s Centralized Online Exclusive Lead Marketplace supports thousands of affiliates that use the exchange to sell to suitable lead buyers. By using the LeadPile MicroClick Form, Affiliates can focus on driving traffic to their pages and not on managing lead buyer relationships. Over 90% of LeadPile’s active affiliates are currently using the MicroClick form, offloading the responsibility for lead collection, management, technology infrastructure, and quality control to LeadPile.

Astoundingly, LeadPile’s MicroClick form has been used to produce leads as diversified as Tax Debt Relief, Home Improvements, Business Loans, Health Insurance, Equipment Leasing, Credit Card Processing, Cash For Gold and more.

Andrew Jacob, CEO of LeadPile says, “The LeadPile MicroClick Form allows us to handle leads across multiple verticals, including payday, starter credit, debt consolidation, credit repair, bankruptcy, auto financing, and homeowner. While the majority of leads currently being exchanged in the  Marketplace are in the Financial sector, the fact that Lead Sellers are using the MicroClick form to produce leads in over 60 verticals is very rewarding for our team.

Jacob adds, “I would like to personally thank our existing Lead Buyers and Leads Sellers for their business, and it is our promise to everything we possible can to help them in their efforts by continuing to provide the type of technology infrastructure and transparency that they have come to both expect, and deserve, from LeadPile.

To read more, please visit http://www.LeadPile.com/

Thursday the House of Representatives passed a bill that has potential to protect consumers from the credit card companies. It appears this potential law could pretty much affect all credit card holders. The good news is some of this could be implemented within 90 days if the law makes it through the Senate and our nation’s president. The Associated Press points out some of the details of this new bill. The bill would prevent retroactive rate increases and prevent credit card companies from giving credit cards to anyone under the age of 18. “This is a unique opportunity to end abusive practices that afflict millions of families across the nation, to contribute to our economic recovery, and to take a stand for American consumers,” Sen. Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and the bill’s primary sponsor, said after the House vote. “Now it is the Senate’s turn to act.”

With our nation’s auto makers, mortgage companies and financial institutions getting a “bail out”, it is kinda nice to see the government lending a helping hand to consumers when it comes to their credit cards.

It is with sadness that I write about another major newspaper ceasing publication.  Tuesday, March 17th will be the final printed edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.  Just like the Rocky Mountain News, this comes as no surprise as the Hearst Corporation was attempting to sell the newspaper with no success.  The company will retain a small staff to continue with an online-only news venture.

Seattle becomes another major city with just one daily printed major newspaper.  The Seattle Times for the moment remains in operation, but is bleeding debt.  The Times is a family-owned newspaper, and will benefit some by the closing of the competition.  There is an outside chance that Seattle could become the first major city with NO printed major newspapers if the family cannot, or chooses not to, withstand the challenging time ahead.

Sadly, there will be more newspapers closing in the near future, and the San Francisco Chronicle is likely to be next.

The economy is bad, and consumers are needing help with their mortgages and debt. Leadpile realizes this, and so does our advertisers/lead buyers. There are loan modification and debt companies out there looking to help more consumers. Leadpile is looking for those people to be matched up with our advertisers to provide these services.

Leadpile Lead Exchange makes it quick and easy for lead publishers.  Here are the offers you can get up and going in minutes.  This is a great way for these consumers to fill out the required information, and be matched up with those that can provide the service to them!

Every time you check out at a retail store, do you recognize the statement, “would you like to save 10% on today’s purchase?”

You are getting asked this at all your favorite retails stores, because they are looking to have you open a new store credit card.  This is something that is enticing you to potentially save some money on that current purchase.  Who doesn’t want to save money, so many consumers choose to accept the offer.  However, do you know when you answer “yes”, that is giving that company to pull your credit and potentially affecting your credit score?

Any time anyone applies for new credit it affects your credit and it also affects your overall outstanding bills you are now going to have to pay.  Are these things that you think of when making that split second decision to say, “yes I would like to save 10% with that new credit card?”  According to bankrate.com, there are some pros and cons to retail credit cards.

Pros
• Promotions, discounts and other perks.
• Helps build credit history.

Cons
• High interest rates.
• Low credit limits.
• Lowers your credit score.
• Another spending temptation.

Once consumers have these sorts of credit cards and all other types of credit cards, it creates a potential financial hardship if there is a life changing event (ie- job loss, pay reduction, loss of spouse etc) that could put a consumer in a tough situation. Debt consolidation and debt settlement companies are great services to look into if you are buried in the debt. Leadpile Lead Exchange works a lot with these lead types, and I have to say in recent months there has been a lot more activity in those verticals. This tells me that too many people said “yes I would like to save 10% on this purchase”. Think before getting that next new credit card!

The new year is here and there still is a credit crisis that Americans are trying to figure out how they are going to get through. Many of my other posts talk about credit and ways to know your financial situation, therefore you know what you are getting into with any “new” loans etc. One way some get through these problems is with a payday loan/cash advance. Payday loans get a lot of negative publicity because many feel they are not an “appropriate” way to get out of a temporary situation. Each consumer has their own way of fixing their financial situation, but I thought this quote was pretty interesting in regards to payday loans (Payday Pundit).

How much debt a person has does not determine whether a payday loan is a good idea for them. If the loan enables them to repair their car so they don’t lose their job or saves them from eviction, then it’s a good idea even if they owe a million bucks. And it’s also a good idea even if it just saves them a few dollars in alternative fees that they would otherwise have to pay. People know their individual circumstances and are in a better position to know if a loan is good for them than the lender or any government formula put together by activists and politicians who want to pride themselves on how they are protecting us from ourselves.

Every loan is a gamble on the part of both lender and borrower, and nobody can ever guarantee that any loan can ever be repaid. If both the lender and the borrower mutually agree that the transaction is likely to further their interests, then who are you or any government agency to tell them that they can’t engage in it? If the lenders are tricking people into expecting one thing but delivering another that of course is deception which should be stopped, but apart from that, BUTT OUT, MAN!

If lenders have a responsibility to investigate the finances of people who apply for loans to make sure they can afford them then so do all other merchants and service providers. Is that the kind of society you want to live in? When you are the one who has to get government permission to purchase a product or service then you may feel differently about making politicians our parents instead of our servants.

The holidays are here and more and more of us are getting more and more in debt trying to prepare.  The unfortunate thing is many consumers were already in a bad situation with their debt, and now the holidays are going to add to the mess.  There are various options out there to help consumers with their debt situation. Debt consolidation, debt settlement and credit repair are a few services that help consumers with resolving their debt situation.

Debt Consolidation:  Working with a company that helps you consolidate all your credit cards into one payment.  A lot of companies can even work with the creditors to pause any future late charges or excess fees from being added to the current balance.

Debt Settlement: Working with a company that works with the creditors to get balance settlements.  A certain percentage of the total debt amount is paid, versus the whole amount and the balances continuing to get larger.

Credit Repair: Working with a company to help educate and direct you in the right direction regarding your credit.  There is a lot of information to know about your credit report and how to really optimize getting the most of your credit report.

According to Consumers Affairs, here are some things that determine if you need help with your debt:

There was a recent report by Channel 15, that brought up a study done by Vanderbilt University. In this study it pointed out, “Payday loan customers who are approved on their first application are more likely to file for bankruptcy than those whose initial applications are denied, according to a study out of Vanderbilt Law School. ” I am not sure I understand where this is going as far as trying to point out a bankruptcy filing rate with those that took out a payday loan. The people that could not get a payday loan probably did not qualify for the loans because of some sort of income issue or other specific requirement the payday lenders require. I would think this sort of individual had more potential of falling behind and contemplate bankruptcy, don’t you think?
Leadpile Lead Exchange has been generating payday loan leads for some time now. Blaming or relating  bankruptcy filing rates to those that have taken out a payday loan, and not those that have been approved for one, just does not make sense to me. Does this also mean that someone who took out a new auto finance loan is more likely to file bankruptcy, versus someone that applied for an auto finance loan and was denied? There are people that have a lot of outstanding past due debt that I would say is more of a correlation to filing bankruptcy, versus someone who took out a payday loan.  Those that did not manage their debts properly, had an expected loss of job, or those that had a major financial change in their life are more of a cause of someone filing bankruptcy. Payday loan = bankruptcy?  Payday loan = what else?