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Positive Changes For Consumers In Debt!

Natasha Aronov — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 08:00:17 +0000

Changes to fees and terms may be positive for many consumers struggling to pay their bills! New rules obtaining to overdraft protection requires consumers to specifically request it, rather than being automatically enrolled in it. According to the Credit CARD Act, should the consumer enroll for overdraft protection, fees can only be applied once during a billing cycle and the card company must notify the consumer of the amount. These new overdraft rules only apply to debit cards, not checks or electronic transfers.
Consumers now are given 21 days to send credit card payments in, rather than only 14, and if changes are made to terms, 45 days notice must be given instead of 15. This change does not apply to reducing your credit limit, the credit card company can do this at any time without any warning!
One new change might be scary for many consumers to see, but after the initial shock sets in, the overall perspective will hopefully ultimately help consumers in the long run. Effective starting February 22, credit card bills must make it clear how long it will take the consumers to pay off the balance, and how much interest will be paid if the minimum amount is all that is paid each month.
While there is no current cap placed on increasing interest rates, credit card companies are required to give customers 45 days notice on changes and may not raise the current interest rate on customers existing debt unless payment is more than 60 days late on payment. Additional help to consumers trying to pay off debt, additional fees for paying over the phone, electronic transfer, or mail are no longer allowed and universal default for existing credit card balances may no longer be practiced. The Credit CARD Act has now made is more difficult for college students to obtain credit cards, someone under 21 may not be offered a credit card without a co-signer or proof of proper income.
LeadPile matches consumers in debt with Debt Consolidation, Debt Settlement and Bankruptcy companies daily. Debt is a huge source of stress for many people, hopefully the new Credit CARD Act will help get people back on track and become more aware of their own debt, and make plans to get things paid off!

Changing Times, Rising Economy?

Natasha Aronov — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:38:01 +0000

As the economy has began to rise out of it’s rut, companies have been hiring temporary workers to get them through without initially handing over the large cost of hiring full time workers. In the past, this has been a symbol that permanent hires are in the near future and that the economy is on its way back up, however this might not be the case this time.

According to msnbc.com economists and business people say that employers are lacking confidence that the economy will continue to get better. The current economy is believed to be fragile and unpredictable.
In the 90’s, temporary hiring launched the quick return of job creation and permanent hiring, as well as in 2003 this was shown once again. For people who are not employed, temporary jobs help feed families and give people pay checks who have been unfortunate and lost jobs.
In a time where to have any job is good news, hopefully the temp jobs will keep coming and eventually turn into long term permanent employment.

Higher Interest Rates, Lower Lines Of Credit!

Natasha Aronov — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 04:27:50 +0000

As if consumers do not have enough financial stress to worry about, the credit card companies are decreasing credit limits and increasing annual percentage rates. Due to the high number of people without jobs and suffering financial hardship, the credit card companies have had billions of dollars worth of losses. To attempt to fill in the gap, the card companies are making changes effecting card holders who are behind in payments in addition to card holders who have always paid their bills on time and have a perfect history. Credit cards have in the past always been issued to people with an interest rate and credit limit based on their specific risk to default.
With the economy in the state that is has been and many people with additional debt, consumers have been forced to use their credit limits, now faced with paying off balances with interest rates that have doubled or tripled.
According to msnbc.com we are entering a new “era” for credit cards. Previously as many of us experienced, credit card offers would appear daily in your mailbox, each with enormous credit limits and interest rates that were so competitive that it made applying for the card hard to resist. Many people who “couldn’t resist” are now paying for it with the increase in interest.
Possible changes in the near future…The new Credit Card Bill of Rights. The American Bankers association has stated that the new law will limit the amount of credit that is available and it will come attached to a higher price tag. In theory, consumers will have a better idea of long term costs and terms with the new law and will allow them to make more educated decisions.
LeadPile currently helps match consumers with unsecured debt such as credit card debt with debt settlement and debt consolidation companies, but what will change in the future of credit card debt if there is a “credit card bill of rights” that gets passed? Will it really affect anything? Who will feel it the most?

Is Debt Consolidation Right For You?

Natasha Aronov — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:48:21 +0000

With the amount of debt continuing to rise, you may have thought about debt consolidation as one of your options. Just like anything, it is always good to do a little research before jumping into a big decision. For someone who only has a few hundred dollars in debt, consolidation may not be the best options. There are costs that are associated with the actual consolidation process, and it can actually put you more in debt.
For someone who is thousands of dollars in debt, consolidation could be the perfect solution to your problem. Debt consolidation will combine all your debt into one large lump sum with only one payment being made, usually per month. This one payment will also be lower than what your normals bills would have been, and it will also have a lower interest rate.
One helpful tip is to make sure that you find a trusted lender. Since you are already in debt, you do not want to find your self getting ripped off on top if it. Leadpile wants to make sure that all consumer use a trusted debt company, so do your research first!. So, if you think that you are a good candidate for debt consolidation, don’t wait and get further into debt, start consolidating today!

Paying To Not Use Your Credit Card?

Natasha Aronov — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 03:59:07 +0000

This past June many card companies such as First Third Bank decided they are now charging their customers $19.00 for not using their credit card. They added this fee to help increase their revenue, and a way to “encourage” their customers to use and manage their credit card accounts. With the amount of credit card debt and late payments, is this the only option of increasing revenue? Probably not. A lot of credit card companies such as Amex and Discover will simply send you a notice that your account will be closed if you do not start using the card. This seems much more reasonable than charging your customers for inactivity.
Climbing your way out of debt is hard enough, but fixing your credit score can be even more challenging. When an individual finally pays off their credit card, the first reaction might be to close the card so you do not get yourself into that situation again. However, depending on your debt to credit ratio it can actually lower your credit even more. So what is the best to do? Close your account and potentially lower your credit or leave the account open but get a fee for non use? This really puts people in a pickle.
One option for the consumer is to charge only one or two small items on the card a month. This will keep the card active without getting a fee or affecting your credit in a negative way. If you are one of the many that are in debt, debt consolidation/settlement maybe something worth looking into. Everyday at LeadPile, we match lenders with consumers to try and help with their debt needs, but each person needs to know the basics about their own credit/creditors. Knowledge is power!

Banks Under Fire For Their Fees

Mari Holt — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 03:14:46 +0000

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?

Robocalls Are No Longer Legal

Mari Holt — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 14:34:19 +0000

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.

New Credit Card Laws Taking Effect

Mari Holt — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 14:59:09 +0000

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.

Ask.com: Is Staying In The Search Game

Mari Holt — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:04:25 +0000

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!

LeadPile Announces 61 Lead Verticals Served in past 30 Days

Eugen I. — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:36:25 +0000

*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.

About LeadPile:

LeadPile (”LeadPile” or the “Company”) is the premier Lead Exchange, providing a central marketplace for the buying and selling of targeted consumers or “leads.” The Company’s system sits between lead buyers and sellers allowing them to conduct business in an efficient, exchange-driven environment providing value to both parties. The Company’s MicroClick form allows high traffic affiliates to merely place LeadPile-generated code on their pages in order to immediately produce leads. These leads are directly routed to the exchange for sale, thus the system allows affiliates to generate leads without creating a backend management system or managing lead buyer relationships. To read more, please visit http://www.LeadPile.com

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.

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