Consumer agency will fight to defend service members' pocketbooks
WASHINGTON -- Navy Petty Officer Tyson Steele needed to buy a new vehicle. But like some military members who borrow money, he said he was taken for a ride on the financing.
He signed a deal in December to purchase a used Chevrolet Silverado through a San Diego dealership loan at 6.9 percent interest, according to his attorney. A few days after Steele drove the pickup off the lot, the dealership said it was unable to secure financing.
If he wanted to keep the truck, he'd have to pay 9.99 percent interest.
"I had to refrain from saying what I wanted to say to those people," said Steele, 26, who was stationed at North Island Naval Air Station at the time. "I believe there should be an act ... to protect military personnel against a scenario like mine."
Washington is trying to grant his wish.
The federal government has launched an initiative to prevent companies from taking advantage of young, often financially inexperienced service members.
To head the effort, it has enlisted Holly Petraeus, a longtime advocate for military families who said that as an Army wife she was once ripped off by an unscrupulous landlord.
"I think a lot of people are surprised to think of the military as a target for unethical business practices or abuses," said Petraeus, head of the military affairs office at the recently opened Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
"But the fact is that they have an absolutely guaranteed paycheck; it comes in twice a month, and they're not going to quit or be laid off."
Those characteristics help make members of the military prime targets for shady salespeople.
The overhaul of financial rules enacted last year mandated that the consumer bureau have an office to protect service members, one of several federal initiatives in recent years aimed at defending the pocketbooks of America's fighting men and women.
The Obama administration tapped Petraeus, giving the new office a director deeply familiar with the military and one who carries a name that resonates throughout the armed forces community. Her husband is former Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the former commander of armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, who now directs the CIA.
payday loans in columbus oh - News
The Columbus United Federal Credit Union started its program three years ago after noticing it had seven payday lenders in Columbus, Neb., a town of about 20000. Brian Christensen, the credit union's president, said 50 to 100 such loans typically are
In 2007, amid concerns that payday lenders were taking advantage of service members, Congress capped the interest rate at 36 percent for such loans to military members. Still, Sen. Jack Reed, DR.I., a former Army commander, said financial challenges
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