Subject:

Credit Services and Intermediation

  • Blogs

    March 8, 2012

    Information Privacy: Non-Public Driver License Data Gets Into Commercial Hands

    How could a credit card company have driver license information? That's what I asked myself recently when I activated a new Discover card, and was asked to verify my identity by giving the height written on my license. The problem: Driver licenses in Washington state are not public.

  • Blogs

    February 8, 2012

    A Tale of Lunacy From the Last Frontier

    It could be the worst case of cabin fever ever in Alaska. Authorities recently put away a man who threatened to teach "crackheads" how to make "electromagnetic distortion devices" unless the state pays him the $85,000 he owes to credit-card companies. (I used to live and work in Alaska. This stuff h ... More >>

  • Blogs

    December 7, 2011

    Kerry Killinger, Other WaMu Execs, Reach Settlement in Likely Final Government Case

    Killinger​The government's pursuit of Kerry Killinger is apparently over except for the official champagne uncorking - by Killinger. The feds have already ended a fruitless criminal probe of the man behind America's biggest bank failure. Now a Seattle federal judge says a settlement is pendin ... More >>

  • Blogs

    September 20, 2011

    Bellevue-Based Coinstar (and Its Subsidiary Redbox) Set to Gain from Netflix's Loss

    Image Source​Yesterday, Netflix shocked the world by severing itself in two, creating a new entity named Qwikster to handle its mail-order DVD business. While the move makes a certain sense from the perspective of a company intent on staying as far ahead of the competition as possible, reactio ... More >>

  • News

    January 12, 2011

    Shawn Portmann: Loan Wolf

    How one of the nation's top mortgage brokers allegedly brought down a Pierce County bank.

  • Blogs

    January 12, 2011

    Emiel Kandi, Another "Loan Wolf," Tied to Pierce Commercial Bank in Foreclosure Case

    Little Friends of Printmaking​Today's cover story tells the tale of one "loan wolf," as we call him--a Pierce County banker who once sold more mortgages than almost anybody else in the country and allegedly committed a stunning amount of fraud in the process. His name is Shawn Portmann, and he ... More >>

  • News

    May 5, 2010

    Red-Hot Redbox

    A Bellevue company’s DVD vending machines hit pay dirt.

  • Blogs

    April 30, 2010

    How a Bellevue Company is Making a Killing Renting Movies for a Buck

    Not as cool as Netflix, but not doing badly either.​You may have thought that Netflix was completely killing off the brick-and-mortar movie-rental business. And it's true that one well-known chain seems to be tanking. But another just had a blockbuster quarter. If you're not a frequent visito ... More >>

  • Blogs

    February 15, 2010

    John Tuttle Launches Online Assault on Banks and Credit Cards

    "Granny," star of three videos posted on creditcardrevolt.com, takes a large sticky note declaring "Stand Up to the Rich Bankers" and slaps it onto a Bank of America ATM. She turns to the camera: "I've never posted a flyer in my entire life," she announces. "It's my first time, that makes me a fly ... More >>

  • News

    February 10, 2010

    Loan Shark

    A local attorney says the tactics of these 21st-century crooks have evolved from broken arms and cement boots.

  • Blogs

    January 28, 2010

    Reader: For Richer or Poorer, Till Debt Do us Part

    ​Reader Michelle responds to Can't Shake Bill Collectors? Then Sue 'Em. "Although I do not agree with the morals of the man who sued the debt collectors, because he did not pay his debt, I do find this article interesting. It is nice to know that real people may have some defense against the ... More >>

  • Blogs

    January 25, 2010

    Can't Shake Bill Collectors? Then Sue 'Em

    There is no more fitting recession-era story than a consumer fighting back against debt collectors.​Our sister paper the Dallas Observer has a fantastic cover story about Craig Cunningham ("Better Off Deadbeat"). A man America's debt collectors call a terrorist. But who's served as inspiration ... More >>

  • Blogs

    August 13, 2009

    Not-So-Smooth Criminal Apparently Still Smoother Than Seattle-Area Car Dealers

    Take him for all he's worth, grandma.​No one looks too good after this story, except maybe the law enforcement who put it to an end. A dude named Muhammaed Zbeida Tillisy spent four years in federal prison for, among other things, a car-theft scam in which he posed as an official with the Liby ... More >>

  • News

    March 25, 2009

    The Secret to Passing a Payday-Loan Reform Bill

    Make sure everyone hates it.

  • Blogs

    March 20, 2009

    Key To Payday Bills? Make Sure Both Sides Hate It

    Every year bills pop up in Olympia to rein in the payday loan industry. Most are pushed by advocates like Rep. Sherry Appleton (D-Kitsap) who wants to cap annual interest rates at 36 percent, something that, when passed in other states, has resulted in the industry picking up stakes and leaving. The ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 17, 2009

    St. Patrick's Day Battle: Leprechauns and Sharks vs. Caterpillars

    St. Paddy's Day may be a time to drink beers and fill out your tournament bracket, but it's also a time to dress up like a leprechaun or a loan shark and protest predatory lending. A group called the Alliance to Prevent Predatory Lending will be holding two events at the state capitol today to call ... More >>

  • Blogs

    October 15, 2008

    Feds Take On WaMu

    St. Paddy's Day may be a time to drink beers and fill out your tournament bracket, but it's also a time to dress up like a leprechaun or a loan shark and protest predatory lending. A group called the Alliance to Prevent Predatory Lending will be holding two events at the state capitol today to call ... More >>

  • Blogs

    May 9, 2008

    Wondering what to do with that refund check?

    St. Paddy's Day may be a time to drink beers and fill out your tournament bracket, but it's also a time to dress up like a leprechaun or a loan shark and protest predatory lending. A group called the Alliance to Prevent Predatory Lending will be holding two events at the state capitol today to call ... More >>

  • News

    March 19, 2008

    More Ramen? A Balanced Article About Payday Loans? Amazing!

    St. Paddy's Day may be a time to drink beers and fill out your tournament bracket, but it's also a time to dress up like a leprechaun or a loan shark and protest predatory lending. A group called the Alliance to Prevent Predatory Lending will be holding two events at the state capitol today to call ... More >>

  • Blogs

    March 17, 2008

    Comments of the Week: Payday Loans, Pay-Per-Use Toilets, and Waiting Tables

    St. Paddy's Day may be a time to drink beers and fill out your tournament bracket, but it's also a time to dress up like a leprechaun or a loan shark and protest predatory lending. A group called the Alliance to Prevent Predatory Lending will be holding two events at the state capitol today to call ... More >>

  • News

    March 12, 2008

    Moneytree CEO Wants You to Rethink His Business

    With targeted philanthropy, and close attention to ethics, Moneytree CEO Dennis Bassford is achieving the unthinkable: overcoming prejudice against the payday lending industry.

  • Blogs

    January 15, 2008

    Ticketmaster Swallows Scalper

    With targeted philanthropy, and close attention to ethics, Moneytree CEO Dennis Bassford is achieving the unthinkable: overcoming prejudice against the payday lending industry.

  • News

    March 26, 2003

    The Petro Bonus

    A neglected loophole in the state tax code.

  • News

    November 24, 1999

    The Devil's Dictionary of Free-Trade

    A neglected loophole in the state tax code.

  • News

    February 24, 1999

    Tip dancing

    A local restaurateur comes up with a way to subvert the minimum-wage law.

  • News

    July 15, 1998

    Turnabout.com

    An aggrieved citizen turns the tables on his tormentors by exposing them on the Web.

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