Maryland Consumer Rights has a policy clause that says one cannot denigrate others on their website.  How can anyone operate with this sort of professionalism when the entire system is criminal?  So I will denigrate here:

Below we see a report that says the banks have done next to nothing regarding the bank settlement.  These short sales would have been done anyway and the fact these sales were included in the settlement was just a give-a-way to the banks.  We know that Gansler placed the lions share of the settlement in Maryland's general fund and have no doubt it will simply move back to the banks as they are involved in development projects.  The point for me is that the Maryland consumer Rights Coalition will consider this one announcement to be the public lashing these brutes will receive.

HOW DO THESE PEOPLE LIVE WITH THEMSELVES?  THEY ARE SOCIOPATHS!!!!

Monday, September 10, 2012   Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition
National Mortgage Settlement-More Needs to Be Done 

On August 29th, the Office of Mortgage Settlement released a report on the progress five national banks have made in fulfilling their obligations under the national foreclosure settlement. The banks have committed to providing relief to beleaguered homeowners through principal reduction loan modifications, refinancing, short sales, and more.

To date, banks have done an excellent job in moving forward on short sales while there has been scant progress on principal reduction loan modifications. While this report only covers the first few months since the settlement and does not cover loan modifications that are in progress or in a trial period, the number of homeowners receiving meaningful principal reductions is still a cause for concern.

Read MCRC's short analysis and policy recommendations here:http://www.marylandconsumers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=nkJ02aij4n4%3d&tabid=38


WE EXPECT CONSUMER/PUBLIC ADVOCATES TO SHOUT LOUDLY AND PUBLICLY ABOUT THE EXTREMELY HIGH LEVEL OF CRIME AND CORRUPTION IN MARYLAND.  QUIET BEHIND THE SCENE DIPLOMACY NO LONGER WORKS. WE ARE DEMANDING PUBLIC ADVOCATES HIT THE PRINT AND TV NEWS WITH GOVERNMENT SHORTFALLS!!!!



I WILL ASK MARYLAND CONSUMER PROTECTION COALITION AND MARYLAND PIRG HOW THE PUBLIC IS SCAMMED ON INSURANCE CLAIMS OVER AND OVER WITHOUT ANY SHOUTING FROM THESE ORGANIZATIONS!

WE ARE ABOUT TO HAVE A BGE/EXELON RATE INCREASE AFTER THESE ORGANIZATIONS FAILED TO SHOUT OUR AGAINST THIS MERGER!!!!!

WHAT ABOUT ALL OF THE HEALTH INDUSTRY FRAUD AGAINST ENTITLEMENTS?  WHERE ARE THESE CONSUMER ADVOCATES REGARDING TOUGH, WELL-DEFINED FRAUD LAWS?

WE KNOW THE OBAMA $70 BILLION  MORTGAGE WRITE-DOWN MIRRORS THE $25 BILLION WALL STREET MORTGAGE FRAUD SETTLEMENT.  DOES ANYONE BELIEVE THESE FEDERAL TAXPAYER FUNDS ARE BEING USED TO DISGUISE THE $25 BILLION BANK PENALTY PAYOUT?  ABSOLUTELY NO ONE, YET WE DO NOT HEAR THESE PUBLIC ADVOCATES SHOUTING LOUDLY AND STRONGLY THAT THE PUBLIC IS BEING DUPED YET AGAIN!   WHO ARE GETTING THESE WRITE-DOWNS----WHAT ARE THE HOME VALUES?


THIS IS A COMMENT FROM A MARYLAND CITIZEN WHO IS OUTING THE MARYLAND INSURANCE COMMISSION FOR INCOMPETENCE AND CORPORATE PROTECTIONISM.  WHERE ARE ALL OF THE MARYLAND PUBLIC INTEREST ORGANIZATIONS WHEN THESE CORPORATE POLICIES FAIL TO PROTECT PEOPLE OVER AND AGAIN?

The games that the insurance industry are playing with policy holders isn't much better either. The so called order not to charge policy holders hurrican deductables fell on deaf ears. I was denied by Lloydes of London. What a game they have going on in Maryland. They are allowed to sell policies in Maryland but are not regulated by the Insurance Commission of Maryland. Great job Annapolis. I know who butters your bread now. Talk about predatory practice. Pay top dollar and when something goes wrong......GOTCHA


The Obama Mortgage Refinance Plan Struggling with your mortgage payments? There are government mortgage refinance programs that can help you out. Let's look at one.

Obama Stimulus Mortgage Refinance Plan The idea behind this group of programs introduced by the Obama Administration in 2009 is to give people alternatives to foreclosure. Whether you want to reduce your payments by taking advantage of today's lower interest rates, find a way to to stay in your home despite job loss or make sense of a mortgage that is larger than the value of your home, there are options available to an estimated 6 or 7 million homeowners.

Get Qualified for Obama's Mortgage Relief Plan Today...! Refinance your mortgage to a low fixed interest rates and make your monthly payment more managable. Reduced rates on additional mortgage OR home equity loan to as low as 1% Low fixed interest rates for initial 5 years New loan duration extended up to 30 Years Save hundreds of dollars every month Pay off existing loan instantly Know More about Obama's HARP 2.0 Apply here to see if you qulify for Obama's Mortgage Relief Plan

How to Use the Obama Mortgage Assistance Plan

: 1. The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) this is probably the most publicized of the Obama mortgage relief programs. For those who qualify, Home Affordable Modification Program lowers your mortgage payment to no more than 31% of your monthly gross income. This typically results in a 40% savings. To qualify the home must be your primary residence, you got your mortgage prior to 2009, your mortgage payment is greater than 31% of your gross income, you owe up to $729,750, you have financial hardship that has made you delinquent or in danger of being delinquent, you have enough income (documented) to afford the modified loan and you are not a convicted felon.

2. Principal Reduction Alternative (PRA) created for those who owe more than their home is worth. Of the Obama mortgage refinance plans, this one encourages mortgage investors and servicers to reduce your mortgage principal. To qualify your mortgage must not be owned by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, you must own more than the home's current value and you must live in the home. You also must have obtained your loan prior to 2009, your payment must be more than 31% of your gross income and the first mortgage principal must not be greater than $725,750. Finally, you must have sufficient income to cover the modified loan, you must have financial hardship – you're behind with your mortgage or about to fall behind – and you are not a convicted felon.

3. Second Lien Modification Program (2MP) of the programs to designed for mortgage refinance Obama has put into place, this one is least known. Why? Because it applies only to second mortgages and works in conjunction with the HAMP program. To qualify to have your second mortgage reduced your first mortgage must be part of HAMP. Your second is more than $5,000, your payment is more than $100 a month and you have not missed 3 consecutive monthly payments under HAMP. And, of course, you can't have been convicted of a felony in connection with real estate in the last 10 years.


Obama mortgage refinance to as Little as 2% Interest The Obama administration is working with mortgage lenders to bring down the monthly cost of home ownership for some 9 million homeowners. In an effort to bring monthly mortgage payments below 31% of gross incomes, the Obama mortgage refinance plan calls for the government to assist lenders in either reducing principal or interest rates for qualified homeowners. In some cases interest rates could be reduced to as little as 2%


ATTORNEY GENERAL GANSLER PLACED $700 MILLION IN MARYLAND GENERAL FUND. A VERY SMALL AMOUNT WENT AS $1,900 CASH PAYOUT TO FRAUD VICTIMS AND THE REST SUPPOSEDLY WENT TO DO THE EXACT SAME THING AS THE OBAMA PLAN.  WHERE DID THE MONEY GO?


As with most such settlements negotiated by state attorneys general, this one includes a little for everybody, including $2.5 billion that will flow back to their home states to use for further investigations, recoup costs spent on this one, and other uses as they see fit. There is no sign their Washington professional association, the National Association of Attorneys General, will obtain funding as it did under the tobacco settlement.

The other major provisions include:

- At least $10 billion to be used to reduce the principal owed by borrowers who are delinquent and owe more than their homes are worth. Another $3 billion is earmarked for homeowners who are current, but underwater on their loans. These measures may be controversial — especially with paid-up homeowners who aren’t offered similar reductions on their loan balances — but from a capital-markets perspective it may not be so painful. Many mortgage securities are already trading below par in anticipation of default losses and second liens have even steeper discounts on the secondary market. The banks, which already made provisions for the costs of this settlement, also may have written down the value of much of the mortgage-backed paper affected by it.

- $7 billion for “other forms of relief” including principal forbearance for unemployed borrowers, blight-reduction programs, and benefits for service members who sell their homes at a loss after being transferred.


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THERE IS NO DOUBT THAT THESE SMALL PIECES OF LEGISLATIVE STANCES  WILL BE HELPFUL.  THE MAJOR ISSUES FOR CONSUMERS IS FRAUD, THE DEFINITION OF FRAUD, AND THE OVERSIGHT AND PROSECUTION OF EXISTING FRAUD LAWS AND THE RECOVERY OF PREVIOUS FRAUD.

THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT ISSUE FOR CONSUMERS IS THE FAILURE OF STATES TO HOLD NATIONAL CORPORATIONS ACCOUNTABLE TO STATE LAWS.  MOST OF THE BUSINESSES SETTING UP SHOP IN MARYLAND ARE NATIONAL AND WE HAVE NO LEGAL RIGHTS IN MANY CASES.  WE DO NOT HEAR CONSUMER ADVOCATES SHOUTING LOUDLY ABOUT THESE FEDERAL LAWS BLOCKING STATE ACCOUNTABILITY.  WE STILL CAN'T HOLD WALL STREET ACCOUNTABLE ON A STATE LEVEL FOR EXAMPLE.

WE HAVE NO PROACTIVE PROTECTIONS FROM OUR STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR CONSUMER PROTECTIONS.  THE LAWS STILL STATE THAT THESE OFFICES WILL PURSUE BUSINESS CRIME AFTER A CERTAIN THRESHOLD OF MONEY IS LOST TO CONSUMERS AND BUSINESSES ARE ALLOWED TO SIMPLY CHANGE THEIR NAMES TO BEGIN THAT THRESHOLD LEVEL ANEW.  THIS IS HOW WE LOSE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS BEFORE LEGAL INVESTIGATIONS/ACTIONS START.  THIS ALL CENTERS ON THE FAILURE TO STAFF WHITE COLLAR CRIMINAL AGENCIES. STATUTES STATE THAT A PERCENTAGE OF LEGAL SETTLEMENTS MUST GO TO BUILDING/STAFFING THESE AGENCIES.  WITH BILLIONS IN SETTLEMENT MONEY WE SEE A HANDFUL OF NEW HIRES.

THE CITIZENS ARE AT THE MERCY OF PUBLIC COMMISSIONS FILLED WITH GOVERNMENT APPOINTEES WHO CONSTANTLY VOTE IN THE INTEREST OF CORPORATIONS AND SHAREHOLDERS OVER THE PUBLIC AND LABOR.  WE NEED THESE COMMISSIONS DISBANDED AND THESE POLICIES TO BECOME PUBLIC REFERENDUM.  WE ARE HAVING OUR UTILITY COMPANY THAT SHOULD NEVER HAVE MERGED NOW DEMAND WE PAY THEIR OPERATING COSTS WITH THE COMMISSION AND GOVERNOR SAYING YES.  THIS HAS TO END. 

THESE ARE JUST A FEW OF THE PRIORITIES FOR MARYLAND CITIZENS.  AS YOU SEE BELOW NONE OF THEM IS ADDRESSED BY THIS PRIMARY CONSUMER ADVOCACY GROUP.




2012 Legislative Watch


2012 Legislative Watch List MCRC's 2012 legislative agenda focuses on protecting the finances of Maryland consumers, promoting transportation mobility, saving the homes of Marylanders threatened by the foreclosure crisis, and protecting access to affordable energy. Below you can find a summary of the bills we worked on, the testimony we offered, and the status of those bills. To read our testimony, just click on the blue-shaded bill numbers in the "MCRC Position" column.

Bill Number(s) Description of the bill MCRC Position Status of the bill

HB 997/SB 778 Limit rent-to-own fees, require full disclosure, give consumers more time to reinstate contracts Favorable
HB 997SB 778 House concurs with Senate amendments, passed third reader (105-33)
Amended Senate bill passed with amendments (44-2)
HB 1373 Create registry of foreclosed properties Favorable
HB 1373 Passed third reader in House (100-37)
Second reading passed with amendments in Senate
HB 1374 Establish pre-filing mediation for homeowners
facing foreclosure Favorable
HB 1374 Passed third reading in House (137-0)
Second reading passed with amendments in Senate.
HB 600/SB 580 Mortgage balance written down after foreclosure not to be treated as taxable income Favorable
HB 600 Amended, passed third reader in House (132-0)
Senate bill passed third reading (46-0)
HB 555/SB 295 Allows parent or guardian to put a security freeze on credit report of minor children Favorable
SB 295 House bill passed third reader (137-0)
Senate bill passed third reading (46-0)
HB 1242/SB 387 Expands ability to win restitution for financial loss caused by identity theft Favorable
SB 387 Unfavorable report from House Judiciary Cmte.
SB 302 Gives Commissioner of Financial Regulation new oversight, enforcement power over mortgage lenders Favorable
SB 302 Passed third reading in House (130-8)
Passed third reading in Senate (46-0).
HB 674/SB 451 Allow loan brokers to be paid to be both brokers and lenders in "table-funded" mortgages Opposed
HB 674SB 451 Bills withdrawn
HB 571/SB 792 Requires Treasurer to consider giving preference to small banks in contracts for state banking services Favorable
HB 571SB 792 Passed third reader in House (131-6)
Senate bill passed third reader (46-0)
HB 730/SB 258 Allows interest-deferred balloon payment loans in some motorcycle contracts Opposed
HB 730 House bill amended, passed  3rd reading (133-0)
Senate bill passed 3rd reading (47-0)
HB 771 Requires gas and electric company to share customer information with competing suppliers Opposed
HB 771 Amended, passed third reader in House (138-0)
HB 781/SB 780 Limits automatic-renewal clauses, early-termination fees in energy supply contracts Favorable
HB 781 Unfavorable report from House Ec. Matters Cmte.
HB 1033 Requires leasing agent to give homeowners written notice of oil or gas lease offers Favorable
HB 1033 Unfavorable report from House Ec. Matters Cmte.
HB 1034 Requires oil and gas leases to conspicuously disclose specified risks to landowners Favorable
HB 1034 Unfavoable report from House Ec. Matters Cmte.
HB 1040 Requires gas and oil leases to be recorded in a specified manner Favorable
HB 1040 Unfavorable report from House Ec. Matters Cmte.
HB 1170 Requires holder of oil and gas drilling permit to keep and maintain specified records Favorable
HB 1170 Unfavorable report from House Ec. Matters Cmte.
HB 1172 Requires Dept. of Environment to establish and maintain gas and oil lease registry Favorable
HB 1172 Unfavorable report from House Ec. Matters Cmte.
HB 988 Requires merchants to notify loyalty-card holders of product recalls Favorable
HB 988 Unfavorable report from House Ec. Matters Cmte.
SB 927 Prohibits car manufactures from retaliating against MD dealers as a result of state policies Favorable
SB 927 Hearing 4/3, Senate Judicial Proceedings Cmte. HB 77 Prohibits condo. owners or homeowners assoc. from foreclosing over fines or attorney's fees owed Favorable
HB 77 Unfavorable report from House Ec. Matters Cmte. HB 78/
SB 1013 Establishes procedure for condo unit owner to pay assessments under protest Favorable
HB 78 Unfavorable report from House Ec. Matters Cmte.
SB 901/HB 1027 Alters definition of "debt cancellation agreement" in ways allow sale of phony debt agreements Unfavorable
SB 901 Senate bill amended, passed 3rd reading (25-20)
House bill passed third reading (136-0)
SB 813 Allows Verizon to sell its landline franchise without prior approval from the Public Service Commission Unfavorable
SB 813 No House Action
Senate Fin. hearing 3/20
  
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