WASHINGTON, July 5, 1999 -- That $15,000 "check" someone sent
you the other day? It's really a high-rate home equity loan even though it displays
the FDIC symbol and claims to be not only "preapproved" but also "insured
to $100,000."
All of this is pretty much meaningless if not downright deceptive. In the first place, the "check" is not really a check and chances are there is no "preapproval."
To activate the loan, you must submit the "check" to the finance company behind the mailing and then undergo an approval process. After all this, the chances are very good that the interest rate is much higher than you would pay if you applied to a respectable financial institution via the Internet or simply by calling local banks.
Nevertheless, many consumers fall for this and wind up paying high interest rates and exorbitant service fees, often burdening them with debt they can ill afford.
Congress is staritng to take notice. Rep. John J. LaFalce (D-N.Y.), ranking minority member of the House Banking Committee, has introduced a bill that would shut down all so-called "live check" operations
LaFalce's bill would also give the Feds the authority to regulate the use of the FDIC symbol and other images that make a solicitation look like something it's not.
