The AARP has brought several lawsuits against predatory lenders. The borrowers thought they were paying less than 7 percent. Under federal law, the true cost of the loan has to be disclosed before you sign. The disclosure form, however, will be stacked with a lot of other papers and the salesman won't point it out. If you complain, you'll be told that you had all the facts.
Big names are no guarantee of consumer protection.
In March, the Federal Trade Commission brought a predatory-lending lawsuit against Associates First Capital Corp., which was recently acquired by Citibank. Citibank says it hopes to settle the case. Jane Bryant Quinn is a syndicated columnist with the Washington Post Writers Group. Her column appears on Tuesday and Thursday.