Thwarting the Sheriffs of Wall Street

Did you really think I was done with this issue? Citibank and its associated Wall Street cohorts have been bad and need to be spanked like any spoiled child caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar. Having consulted with a genial attorney sympathetic to the cause, it nonetheless seems a snowball has a better shot in hell than a lawsuit – class action or otherwise – against the infernal region's spawn. Not for any lack of initiative or the odds of success, mind you; rather, the benefit versus the cost of pursuing such on an individual basis. By no means does that mean the fight is over.

If you happen to be in dire straits and at wits ends with a financial institution – say one that has bilked taxpayers and card members alike – file a complaint, as I did, with your state's Attorney General. Then, at least, there is the chance that the gauntlet will be taken up by someone with the authority, resources and legal backing to pursue the crooks. As a taxpayer, you pay for that sort of consumer protection. And even if it ends up going nowhere, there's at least the sense of self-satisfaction in the attempt to fight these modern-day robber barons and the economic servitude they represent.

After all, is this not why we keep fresh the idea in re-tellings and re-examinations of the tales of Robin Hood and his Merry Men? That people feeling pinched eventually will push back against those doing the pinching? Or is that just an untenable, too-idealistic fable passed through the centuries without any true merit?  

Missouri - Consumer Complaints

Nationwide - National Association of Attorneys General

©2010 Steve Sagarra