Hi, Anne!

I think it's more an issue of living in the age of instant gratification, or what I call the Domino's Pizza generation.  Mass marketing has trained us to believe that we're entitled to get what we want in thirty minutes or less, or it's free.

It's been my experience that most consumers, when buying big-ticket items such as an automobile or a house, just want to get the whole thing over with as quickly and painlessly as possible. They simply throw caution to the wind, not bothering to read the fine print, then end up nailing their own fannies to the wall with a fountain pen, as was the case in the story I cited above.

I don't believe that further regulation is the answer.  This industry has already been ruled and regulated into oblivion, yet this sort of thing still happens all the time.  People have to realize that the lenders always find ways around the regulations.  At some point, the consumer has to take responsibility for his own protection.

Regards,
Scott Perry