Credit, finance concerns
focus of UW consumer issues conference
How
to live in a world of consumer credit will be
the message at the seventh regional “Money
Matter$: 2007 Consumer Issues Conference” Sept.
26-27 in the Wyoming Union on the University of
Wyoming campus.
Featured events are
discussion by writer/director/producer James
Scurlock of the nationally acclaimed documentary
film Maxed Out and recognized experts on
personal finance, credit and financial safety.
There is a pressing need for reform in consumer
credit on the state and federal levels right
now, according to conference planner Dee
Pridgen, a professor in the UW College of Law.
“Consumers are being squeezed by sky-high
interest rates on payday loans and subprime
mortgages as well as by hidden fees and charges
on their credit cards,” said Pridgen, who is
also a presenter at the conference. “Identity
theft is also a continuing worry as well as how
to protect a nest egg during turbulent times in
the stock market.”
The
conference will highlight some of these issues
and will help consumers protect themselves, she
said. “It also will shine a light on practices
that are calling out for state or federal
intervention. State legislators will be on hand
to listen to consumer concerns. Also,
congressional hearings on credit card practices
are taking place and feedback from consumers is
critical to federal action.”
The conference
features sessions at a variety of levels, she
said. Adults, youths, senior citizens,
professionals and policy makers are welcome.
Professional credits are available.
James Scurlock, who
produced Maxed Out: Easy Credit and the Era
of Predatory Lenders, will attend the free
showing of his film the evening of Wednesday,
Sept. 26, at the UW Arts & Sciences Auditorium
to start the conference. A question and answer
session will follow with Scurlock and Norma
Garcia, an attorney with Consumers Union, which
publishes Consumer Reports.
The movie is a
preface to a full day of workshops Thursday at
the Wyoming Union that starts with UW President
Tom Buchanan and conference committee co-chairs
Pridgen and Virginia Vincenti providing the
welcome. Vincenti is a professor in the
Department of Family and Consumer Sciences in
the UW College of Agriculture.
Keynote speakers are
Jeanne Hogarth and Nancy Smith. Hogarth is
manager for the Consumer Education and Research
Section of the Division of Consumer and
Community Affairs at the Federal Reserve Board.
Smith is vice president of investment services
at AARP Financial. Scurlock is the final keynote
speaker in the afternoon.
Key topics at the
conference will be credit cards and credit
scores, bankruptcy and debt collection,
investment and retirement, and privacy and ID
theft. Concurrent sessions are presented in
three separate time slots. Each session has a
different speaker with a different topic.
Presenters and
topics include:
Credit cards and
credit scores – Hogarth, The Mysterious
Monthly Statement: Discover the Secrets Hidden
in Your Credit Card Bill (and what the Fed is
trying to do about them!); Cole Ehmke,
personal financial management extension
specialist in the Department of Agricultural and
Applied Economics in the UW College of
Agriculture, Credit Cards on Campus: Managing
Student Debt; Garcia, Credit Card
Quicksand: Examining Common Practices &
Legislative Proposals for Reform.
Bankruptcy and debt
collection – Elaine Welle, professor in the UW
College of Law, Costly Cash: Payday Loans,
Car-title Loans and Check Cashing Services: What
are the costs, risks and repercussions?;
Michele Hankins, assistant U.S. bankruptcy
trustee for the Cheyenne Office, District of
Wyoming; G. Paul Hunter and John Patton,
Cheyenne attorneys, and Welle, Maxed Out: Is
Bankruptcy Still an Option? How Bankruptcy
Reform Has Impacted Debtors and Creditors;
Anthony Gold and Jennifer Hanft, Laramie
attorneys, The Debt Man Cometh: Collecting
Debts and Dealing with Debt Collectors.
Investment and
retirement – Thomas Cowan, Securities Division
director, Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office,
Campaign for Wise and Safe Investing;
Mary Anne Heyman, certified financial planner
from Fort Collins, Colo., What You Need to
Know about Long-Term Care Insurance; Nancy
Smith, AARP Financial, Investing for the
Future.
Privacy and ID theft
– Tim Summers, associate state director for
advocacy AARP Wyoming, Security Freeze
Legislation & What It Means to You; Jan
Zavislan, Colorado assistant attorney general,
ID Theft Prevention; Pridgen, Navigating
the Maze: The Consumer’s Right to Access
& Correct Credit Reports.”
Other program and conference
information is available at the conference Web
site
www.uwyo.edu/consumerconference. Early
registration ends Sept. 13. General registration
costs $45; seniors are $35, and students are
free.
Audio File:
Dee Pridgen commenting upon conference
opportunities
