Capital One Bank is having a bad week...
By louisehartmann
After it was the first bank to be hit by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for defrauding consumers and ordered to pay $165 million to customers in refunds, Capital One was just hit with another fine. This time – the Department of Justice has ordered the bank to pay out $12 million to members of the military for denying them their legal right under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to avoid foreclosures and high interest rates.
According to the DOJ – as many as 4,000 troops were illegally foreclosed on by the bank. Back in the old day, when corporations operated against the best interests of the nation – and preyed on our military members – there was a simple solution: the death penalty. The corporate death penalty – essentially revoking the corporation’s charter – has a long history in America. It’s time to bring it back.
Comments
#2
All "too large to fail" banks should get the death penalty. We should go back to the time when banks were banks and investors worked in investment companies and insurance was sold by insurance companies. Speculators should be outlawed totally.
I worked at a community bank beginning in 1972 and absolutely loved it. At that times banks were state by state and not allowed to go across state lines, etc., for business. The employees were are like family and it was a good time to be working at a bank. Then it merged with other banks - and again with others and, needless to say, the family feeling was gone and you were now just a number - no one knew your name unless you were in some way connected with something that was not good. I left banking twice to go to work for the DoD after mergers meant having to relocate to either other cities or states and, since my husband was in the military, this was not an option. I gave up on banks several years ago and now have all of my funds in a credit union and feel much safer and have a much better relationship with them.
Yes, it is time to revoke the current corporate charter of the big banks - Bank of America first, followed by Wells Fargo, Citi, Chase and on and on until they are ALL community banks again with the full responsibility for extending loans and mortgages AND servicing those products until they are paid out. You should be able to know and be known by your banker - not because you have millions (or billions) in their portfolios but because you are an ORDINARY, EVERYDAY customer.
I woud not work for any bank anymore - nor would I work for a lot of businesses for the same reasons. The phone (home and cell) companies are good examples as are just about all large corporate companies.
I started working (other than babysitting) at the age of 14 in the kitchen of a local hospital, moved on to waitress at various places, a curb hop at a drive-in restaurant, retail work, cashiering in grocery stores and then on to banking and finance with DoD. Many years I worked 2 jobs leaving home at 4:30 in the morning and not returning until 10:30 or 11:00 PM (or later when the 2nd job was at a tax office). I had my husband who was a 20 year military man and then also moved on to DoD and we had 2 children.
I have worked until this past April (at the age of 72) leaving ONLY because the corporation for which (not whom because, despite what the Supreme Court says Corporations ARE NOT PEOPLE!) I worked had absolutely NO respect and NO trust in their employees and the employee moral was so low as to be shameful. I wrote out my resignation, making sure to state the reasons why I was leaving with local management but also made sure that a copy of that resignation reached the CEO, Director of HR, etc at the Corporate Office in California - the job was in Florida at a Nature Theme Park. On my last day of work, after having given proper notice, NOT ONE PERSON was there to say goodbye, you did a good job, kiss my A_ _! or anything else.
With few exceptions jobs are just that anymore - the companies and/or corporations want loyalty and hard work from their emplyees but they give as little as possible back in return. The only people who have any appreciation for what you do are those WITH whom you work and who are in the same situation but, for many reasons, cannot afford to do what I did. Believe me, my husband and I do NOT have money but I felt my self-respect and self-worth was more important than the little bit I was bring home every 2 weeks.
I have no sympathy for the corporate CEOs, CFOs, etc and only wish that people such as Bernie Madoff were put out into the real world to have to live off of minimal Social Security and Medicare as so many of us do after having ALL of their off shore accounts, trust funds, etc taken away from them. I believe that would have been a much better sentence for him than the jail in which he now resides and for which taxpayers have to pay.
I kow this has turned into a manuscript but I have lived too long and have too much bottled up about the financial industry to be able to say what needs to be said in a sentence or two.
Thanks for all you do, Thom.
#3
I must agree withy dowdotica -- i trust my government over my bank. Why should the workers of America contnue to susidize the fat cats -- first by working at the lowest wage we can squeeze out of them, and second, by subsidizing public amenities such as roads, bridges & schools for them. I doubt they ever decide they can't afford to take their Caymen Island vacations, unlike many of their employees who may just have to settle for taking their kids to the nearest public park.
#4
This rotten corporation deserves the death penalty! How dare they treat our soldiers in the careless, heartless, and greedy manner. I am just disgusted with our whole banking system. Just full of fraud and thievery. We as people have to do something to put an end to their behavior.
#5
If there are as many as 4000 members of the military who have been illegally foreclosed on, $12,000,000 equals about $3000 for each one that lost their home.
Capital One Bank steals a house and the rightful owner get $3000 in compensation? That's not justice; that's an insult and an indication of just how broken our judicial system is!
I think Justice requires the Capital One Bank to purchase a new home, paid in full, for each of the 4000 members of the military who had their home stolen. $3000 isn't even a down payment.
#6
Corporations don't need the death penalty.
The executives who make the decisions to violate the law need to go to prison. REAL prison, for a long time.
When those personally responsible are held accountable, you will see corporate responsibility blossoming everywhere you look.
#7
I believe both corporations and governments are staffed by people. Government employees are no more immune to corruption than corporate employees. The pentagon can't even be sure how many billions of dollars they can't account for. Billions! Each year! For decades!
Anyone, who can act without accountability will eventually realize he/she is above the law. Then they will begin to act accordingly.
The question in my mind is not whether the government or corporations are more trustworthy. The question in my mind is why are we not holding individuals, whoever they work for, accountable for the decisions they make?
#8
Wait till Capital One starts to overwhelm us with commercials on TV showing how much they love the Military and what they are doing for the military. Every time I see a BP commercial that tries to tell us that everything is back to normal in the Gulf..gee, you can eat the fish again...go swimming. I almost puke!
And the really terrible thing is that it probably works for a lot of people. There needs to be a lot more skeptics. Trust no one! I really detest commercialism... advertisements... and sneer at most...and those boiler room maggots who pester the hell out of me by calling me up or constantly sending me advertisement mail really ticks me off....especially those ones from the Medicare Supplemental plan pests.
I read that in 2008 they passed a bill stopping a lot of that badgering old people (those of us about to turn 65). They used to knock on doors and stop you in the parking lots trying to get you signed up for Medicare parts C or D or whatever else the other ones are. And many of these insurance companies were way more expensive and may not have covered as much as the original Medicare part A and B. I noticed the deductibles on one was twice to three times what original Medicare required. But they have so many plans and options and fine print that it could easily be very confusing for most...exactly why they do it that way..they want to confuse you and then sucker you in to talking to a representative (salesman). He'll confuse you even more and talk you into committing to a tragic mistake. ka-ching! There goes your money down the rabbit hole.
#9
Maybe we need to have an election every year. Eventually, the wealthy will lose a lot of money each year and give up...yeah right! And besides if our elected officials turn out to be lying sacks of spit then we don't have to wait a whole 4 years to choose another one.
#10
Yes, definately, banks who do these things, forclosing on regular people as well as our military, when it's within their power to do otherwise, and especially when the law mandates they do otherwise -- these banks' charters and licenses should be pulled immediately, and they additionally be made to make full restitution and pay additional damages.
This should also be done to banks that have forced people into debt by absorbing other banks student loans (by corporate purchase or takeover) and repackaging them with other kinds of loans into Wall Street products. [This way they make the loans "dissappear" for many years, then resurface them with outrageous bottom lines, putting the borrower in the position of being unable to pay.] They should be made to repay every penny of what they've taken from borrowers, plus a huge amount for every year their fraudulent tactics damaged and put on hold the borrowers lives. And they should lose their charters and licenses.
Not only does this destroy people's and families' lives and circumstances, but the debt can remain, destroying any chance a person has of rebuilding their life. A person can grow old under this kind of oppression [which, for me, has been going on for 26 years.]
#11
Where is a justis department ? i am sick of this Cruuuuks.
#12
I agree whole-heartedly! One of the great problems (for us) of the way financial corporations are permitted to operate, is the lack of personal accountability of the individuals composing them (and the sloppy financial legislation in place, allowing corporations to be generally unaccountable). If we could change that, making them liable to do prison time for such flagrant violations of people's rights and basic business ethics, it would dovetail nicely with the Correction Corporation of America's proposed $250 million contract being put out to 48 states (requiring 90% prisoner occupancy minimum). Considering that those states are on the verge, or in the process, of going bankrupt, they'll probably take the deal.
Think of all the bankers we could jail!! And if we're industrious, maybe we could change the laws so that both financial people and the legislature (state and government) could be imprisoned for their many failures to perform, and outright treacheries. I think it's a goal worth working for.
#13
you cannot legislate morality,real change can only come about in the heart and cannot be enforced.Why would a bank act like this in the first place? Is the purpose of a bank not profit at all cost,s ,why should they act any differently! if its in there culture.
The profit motive is deeply embedded in our survival of the fittest culture remember people are starving all over the world right now ,children ,women, men people like you and me even in the land of the free, the thing about freedom is even people with freedom will choose not to be free and approve of giving away all that they have worked for ,why ? because they want safety ,security and survival due to FEAR .Fear and Guilt are the only enemies of humans.
Right now we live in a world built on fear ,what happened to give me liberty or give me death so we give our lives over to people and institutions that oppress and repress us but do not worry because our true essence is freedom and oneness this is the missing message that will change our cultural story.
The day will come when we reach a critical mass of people who no longer support oppression and repression then that government , religion or dictator will disappear and as the government of the united states becomes more dictatorial and freedom taking ,it will occur there as well,this will happen on a global level and has begun.
The new spirituality and the foundational truth of oneness will be embraced by more and more people and will grow exponentially each year this shift in peoples awareness will produce an on the ground experience and people will know themselves to be one with everything and they will feel one with everything.This is the game changer for humanity and will affect all aspects of life ,the environment,the economy,commerce,politics,education all our created social systems ,nothing will remain unaffected .
The future is bright for humanity when we get through our birth ,our birth is happening now it certainly is producing some interesting and challenging times ,but we must not challenge each other but challenge our beliefs that create our behaviors and our old cultural story that is based on fallacy and is in fact a misunderstanding.
#14
Bring out the guillotine. It would only take a couple of heads, then the rest of the one percent would be asking us "What can we do for you!"
All through history not one government,even ours, made significant change without blood being spilled
It is a shame to say this, but the ones in charge will not listen until someone in thier class has to give up more than lawyer fees.
When a student at Kent State University died,then the call for the Vietnam war to end was heard.Until then it was just hippies protesting
Until Martin King died, laws were passed, until then it was just " the blacks protesting."
Occupy wall street right now is just "lazy kids protesting."
Until the Congress is not allowed to own or have stocks or bonds, money will be their God.
Until the Presidents kids, nephews,and nieces are forced to fight on the front lines for the duration of a war, we will keep invading.
Until the lobbiest are limited to one day a week, thier laws will be passed. Allow the regular citizen the rest of the week to lobby for their cause.
Until the press reports the whole truth, we will keep having drama for news.
Until our election process is open and honest(not just legal) they will be rigged.
Until blood is spilled,, nothing changes.
And right now, it is world wide.
#15
I just got rid of my CapitalOne Platinum card because my card number was stolen twice this year. The computer company the first thief was trying to buy a computer from smelled something fishy and called me--CapitalOne wasn't looking out for me--the customer who ALWAYS pays her bill--the next time, I spotted the breech on my statement. First, I was issued a new card and account number. Then that number was hijacked within a month. CapitalOne's fraud department told me they couldn't protect me--so I said good-bye.
I'm done with credit cards. I'm dealing in cash from now on--which means I won't be shopping on the Internet any more, which is where my visits to supposed safe sites were exposed to thieves.
The rest of you should wake up and start drawing your money away from these corporate banks and institutions and Internet retailers. That vaccum of lost cash/revenue could be the wake-up call they need.
#16
For those of us who own businesses and can't manage to operate in a cash-only world, pulling one's money out of the big banks is a place to start.
If you are interested in putting your money into a locally-owned bank, you can learn more at this website: Move Your Money Project.org.
#17
JFYooper--I agree with most of what you said but we need to support those who are in the streets rebelling against a corrupt system...even if some believe that some of these protesters are just lazy kids...they are sure not as lazy as most of us who just respond to blogs and don't make the effort to show up like the "kids" do..and it takes a lot of bravery to stand in front of police with pepper spray and head bangers. I suspect a lot of that "lazy kids" idea is planted by those who are feeling the pressure of those demonstrations. I believe we need to praise these "kids" and not denigrate them...and hope that many, many more join them.
#18
Elioflight--Way to go! I try to use cash in most transaction where I used to use a credit card. It also helps to afford me more privacy as no one knows what I am buying...except in those cases where I use a Supermarket Member's card...saves some money on member's prices...but maybe I should shop exclusively at only markets that are normally more inexpensive without having to use such gimmicks.
The more places one uses one's credit card, ie: the more people you hand your card to, who could be swiping your card covertly, the greater chance one has of compromising the security of the credit card number.
And another really huge possibility is when you use your credit card on-line. You could have a trojan, virus, keylogger on your computer that is using rootkit technology to avoid detection even by most virus checkers.
And then there are man-in-the-middle hackers who can grab your transactions right from the servers between you and the on-line businesses you are sending your credit card information to. Then there are the businesses who may not have very good security that gets hacked and the hackers steal all of the credit card numbers.
And all of this goes double for on-line banking. On-line banking is just not safe and despite the very safe encryption they use, there are ways around it that renders it not safe. Especially, if you are using wireless. Check out Firesheep. If the entire web (ie: every web site) used SSL then we might be a bit safer. Most, or all, banks use SSL, at least for the initial log in...but do they use insecure unencrypted session cookies thereafter? How do you know?
http://codebutler.com/firesheep
Forgive me if you already know all this stuff and you may have many certificates in networking or crypto and may be very up on this stuff. But, maybe, some others may not be. I'm certainly not an expert and learn new things every day. But I try to keep up with all of the security breaches that occur all the time and know that most of this stuff does not get into main stream news.
And a lot of people put way too much trust in very vulnerable "institutions". If you think you're safe....you're not! Trust no one! Use cash! But then you have to worry about being clobbered over the head and your money stolen anyway. But, at least, then you'd know you had been robbed (unless you're dead) and could immediately report it to the police. With on-line banking or credit card fraud you may not know immediately, or maybe never, that you had been robbed. And if you don't report it immediately to the bank or credit card company you could just be totally unable to recoup your money.
Given what the financial institutions have done...it may just be safer to keep your money under your mattress...and hope you always know what denomination bills you are paying for merchandise with.
Once, I handed three $50.00 bills to a cashier at Frys, for a $58.00 purchase, thinking they were $20s. I was really thankful that the cashier looked at me really funny and told me what I had done. He said that it happens all the time...one guy, he said, handed him three $100.00 bills thinking they were $10s. Thank goodness for a few people like that guy at Frys who was honest.
#19
Can't even trust your own bank!
San Jose couple convicted of scamming 97-year-old of life savings
By Eric Kurhi
http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_21115460/bank-employee-and-he...
It is believed that the 97 year old man, who died just a few days after the deposition, died from the stress of being cheated out of his life's savings. A lifelong handyman, who scrimped and saved, worked hard for his money. And this young couple who defrauded him, the woman a bank employee, only got a few years in jail...5-7 years.
#20
Put the CEO and President in jail, hard time, not country club, and also the v. Pres or director in charge of the department that did the bad ethical judgement leading to the charges. You can forgive with misdemeanor charges the people who fillrd out the papers. they were just following orders subject to being fired if they didn't follow orders.
No ome in a democracy, including the U.S President is above the law.
#21
When you buy something on-line, you may be sending your payment information to someone you never even knew about or ever heard about and they may hold the keys to your bank account.
Global Payments(GPN) is "One of the largest online payment processors, the company handles online transactions for thousands of merchants around the globe. When you pay for something on the Internet, your bank probably doesn't deal directly with the company that you're buying from. Rather, your information gets passed on to Global, which passes it on to a bank, which completes the transaction."
"According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, 3,044 data breaches have been made public since 2005, affecting 546,357,063 compromised records -- more than one for every person in the country. Most of these aren't bank accounts, but it seems likely that records involving almost every aspect of our lives have been breached at some point."
"You shouldn't use your debit card to buy things,"...... "They don't have the same legal protections as credit cards." "Under the law"....., "banks have 45 days to investigate compromised accounts. If they have not concluded their investigation within two weeks, they must reimburse the customer, but are legally able to take the money back if they later find that they have been cheated. "If you're using a debit card, you could end up in a situation without funds,"
http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/04/23/bank-accounts-hacked-chase-global...
----------------------------------------
"A recent data breach may affect under 1.5 million credit cards in North America, according to the card processor involved.
Visa and Mastercard announced Friday that they had notified their card holders of the potential for identity theft and illicit charges because of the breach. The card processor, Global Payments, put a number on those who could be affected late Sunday.
Global Payments said that credit card data may have been stolen..."
http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/02/business/la-fi-visa-breach-20120402
Find a lot of interesting stuff on Pastebin...lots of different bank account and credit card stuff
http://pastebin.com/YLNhU8L8
http://www.animegist.com/old//Somaleaks/Rsa.Banking.dbo.CLIENTS_sample.txt
But, although this is mostly Middle East bank...I have seen bank account info posted on pastebin from US banks as well...and a whole lot of them.
#22
VA doctor prescribes physical therapist for someone who has cancer. Doesn't even bother with X-rays or any other scans...just prescribes more pills and physical therapy despite the immense constant pain, even after taking the pills.
As I said in previous posts...a relative of mine..(that I will call M)..had been having terrible constant pain that the VA doctor diagnosed as sciatica. M had had the pain for many months and it was getting so bad that he was actually thinking of suicide.
The first time I took him to the VA hospital emergency...that didn't really do much except to relieve the immediate pain...but it returned as we waited in the emergency room waiting room for many hours waiting for yet more pills..
Then, the next day we got yelled at by his doctor, who called us up, for not getting in touch with him before going to emergency even though we tried. Then his doctor gave him more pills, and a stroller, and told us to schedule an MRI scan with the hospital and, in the mean time, to schedule with a physical therapist. We called to schedule an MRI but had to leave a message...when the dominatrix drill-sergeant from the hospital called back and balled us out for calling so soon..she said that they were swamped and that they needed to wait for the paperwork from the doctor (yeah, like they tout this computer system that is so good but they can't get "paperwork" from the doctor)..we were at a loss as to what to do next. About a week later we get a call from a "specialist" and set up a date next month to see him.
After, a week of seeing M sink into depression and not eat for days...we called the doctor back but he was, again, unavailable. We talked to the aide who said that we should take M back to the emergency room. We did, and he was finally admitted to the hospital. M has been there for a week now and the tests have shown that he has a lot of cancer masses in several places (lungs, liver), and that has spread to the bones. They say, if he is lucky(?) he has only about 3 months to a year...if the radiation treatments work. M looks like he has shriveled up so frail and tiny compared to what he was. I just hope the VA can keep him medicated and painless until he finally dies. If he had only been diagnosed correctly earlier, he may have had a chance. But, it seems that mega-pain is not important...you have to tell them that you have been thinking about committing suicide before they will do anything like X-rays or MRI. I think the military has been getting a real political black eye because of all of the many suicides of soldiers and veterans. And so they are very sensitive to that problem. They don't seem to mind if you suffer and die...as long as all you cost them is a few pills...and physical therapists.
I'm glad they finally took him into the hospital and ran the necessary tests even though it is too late to really do anything about it...except to try making him as comfortable as they can before he dies. But, why are the arrogant primary care VA doctors so oblivious to the lives of people who are suffering? Are they really so incompetent or are they being manipulated by the system to play the one to decide who lives and who dies.
#23
Death Penalty doesn't work on rich people. They buy their way out. Or deny It was their fault. Remember? Mining neglegence death in Virginia or People dying on an oil derrick AND IT WAS FILMED!
#24
On the other hand, as I heard in the news this morning...there is a big shortage of doctors not only in the private sector but also in the VA. It is said that they are swamped with patients and that we might have to import more doctors from abroad. Maybe more people who would become doctors are lured into banking instead..or maybe health insurance....who knows....
My relative, M, was a heavy smoker...he stopped drinking a number of years ago. The VA or military didn't give him his cancer (unless Agent Orange was involved...who knows). Smoking was something M decided to do himself and only he can be blamed for making that decision. I had a former boss, who I liked a lot (everyone liked him), a very nice mild mannered person who died of lung cancer due to smoking. And there are a few other people I knew that smoked and, I suspect, died because of it. I used to smoke at a very young age for a few years but quit. And I very seldom drank..and then only very lightly...but don't even touch the stuff anymore...not for many years. I guess we are all carrying the potential keys to unlocking the door to cancer within our bodies. All of our body's cells, using the DNA codes, go through normally short life cycle of replication and cell death. In with the new cells...out with the old worn out cells.
Our cells are exposed to all kinds of behavior modifications all the time and they normally have a way of "error checking" that replication and normal cell death as part of the cell cycle. The cell replication can be influenced or modified by many different internal or external stimuli....radiation from various sources, things you eat or drink (including chemicals), breathe (chemicals and/or smoking), or things your external skin comes into contact with. Although that major organ, the skin, does a pretty good job of keeping most bad things out...except the sun. Usually, cancer, which is the failure of the normal cell cycle in performing apoptosis...error correcting of an aberrant production of mutant cells. It also normally takes more than one concurrent potentially mutating influence to "cause" cancer....weak immune system, radiation, chemicals, exposure to viruses or bacteria, long term irritants...and some people can even have a genetic disorder increasing one's chance of getting cancer.
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kill wall street and nationalize the banks. regardless of how anti tax, anti government, brainwashed America has become I'd still trust the government with my money over the casino royal! think about it. we have become so anti gov, anti tax that a person would rather think its good to take the interest deduction on a tax return to avoid taxation instead of paying the house off quicker? get it?10-12k in interest deduction might save you 2 k in tax but who'd ya give that 10-12k to, hmmm? jokes on us worse yet? i tried to convince my employer we are doinig a disservice to our clients by letting those who could pay down mortgage debt continue to think that the deduction has value? Me? can't wait 'til i don't owe the banks jack shit!!! oh wait, thats right i just put 2 kids into college that when i had them would have been affordable but with the new American screw job now tuition is up, what, 500-700% over where it was a decade ago? darn it all!!!lol death to the banks!!!