With all the talk about predatory lending, mortgage meltdowns, etc in the past few years, it's discouraging to note that mortgage fraudsters are still ripping people off.

According to today's Inquirer, the number of consumer complaints about mortgage fraud have risen:

Several months ago, we told you here that the U.S. Supreme Court was considering a case under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  Last week, the Supreme Court reversed the lower court of appeals and found in favor of the consumer.

From the New York Law Journal: 

A lot of people have been getting fed up with gift cards they've purchased or received.  That's because the cards would expire early or their value would decrease over time due to fees levied by the card issuers.  In Rules interpreting the newly minted Credit CARD Act of 2009, the Federal Reserve Board has put a stop to that. 

According to creditcards.com:

In this difficult economy, more and more average Americans are being harassed, deceived and hounded by unscrupulous debt collectors.  The federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act protects consumers from debt collection deception and abuse, and many states have consumer protection statutes of their own offering similar protection. 

In the coming weeks, New Jersey will consider adopting an FDCPA of its own.  According to nj.com: