Stories
Finance
Lending fees under the microscope: what borrowers don't see
A review of fee disclosures at consumer lending firms finds wide variation in how costs are presented to borrowers.
Law
Billing practices in legal services: the fine print clients rarely read
Lawyers' invoices can be hard to parse. A look at how hourly work is documented and what clients are told.
Finance
Late fees: the quiet revenue line
Penalty charges are a growing line item for consumer lenders. We examine how they are disclosed — and when they are not.
MLM
Income disclosures in direct selling: what the fine print says
Earnings claims are regulated in most markets. We compare what distributors are actually told versus what recruiting materials imply.
Law
Records handling: what firms keep, what they discard
Document retention policies vary widely across legal practices, with consequences for clients who need their own files.
MLM
Distributor outcomes: reading past the earnings claims
Industry surveys and independent studies paint very different pictures of typical distributor income. We walk through the numbers.