OCC Acts to Embolden Predatory Lenders, Eviscerate State Rate Caps Late last month, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) finalized the “True Lender Rule,” which fundamentally calls into question the power of state governments to independently regulate interest rate limits and could unleash predatory lending in all 50 states. The rule would … Continued
Auto Insurers Reap Billions in COVID Windfall Profits, Regulators Urged to Provide Relief New evidence confirms that auto insurers have reaped tens of billions in windfall profits due to the reduction in crashes and miles driven during the Coronavirus pandemic, as CFA and Center for Economic Justice (CEJ) predicted earlier this year. In a letter … Continued
FCC Urged to Leave Reform of Section 230 of the Communications Act to Congress Section 230 of the Communications Act of 1934 is suddenly in the headlines after President Trump tweeted a call for its repeal last week when one of his tweets was flagged by the social media site as providing misinformation about COVID-19. … Continued
Proposed Federal Banking Rule Would Unleash Predatory Lending In All 50 States The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has proposed a new rule that would encourage the spread of predatory loans by gutting the “true lender” doctrine that courts use to detect usury evasions, according to experts. In response, CFA joined with … Continued
Car Insurers Still Overcharging Consumers During Pandemic With the COVID-19 pandemic still ongoing, and claims remaining up to 50% below normal levels, CFA and Center for Economic Justice (CEJ) have called on insurers and insurance regulators to continue to provide ongoing auto premium relief. Having monitored crash data since March, the groups continue to find … Continued
AGs Challenge Rule Enabling Evasion of State Interest Rate Caps Attorneys General of California, New York, and Illinois challenged a new final rule from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) that encourages non-bank lenders to launder loans through banks so they can charge triple-digit interest rates. They argue that the OCC rule … Continued
By: Barbara Roper, CFA Director of Investor Protection Last week, the comment period closed on the Department of Labor’s proposed advice rule, which was strongly opposed by groups representing workers, retirees, and investors concerned that it decreases the likelihood financial professionals will be held to a fiduciary standard when providing retirement investment advice and dramatically weakens the standard when it does … Continued
By: Amina Abdu, Antitrust Advocacy Associate, Consumer Federation of America Last week, the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google testified before the House Judiciary Committee’s Antitrust Subcommittee as a part of the committee’s ongoing investigation into competition in the digital marketplace. The biggest takeaway from this hearing was a turning of the tides away … Continued
This year’s CFA survey of complaints to state and local consumer agencies revealed lots of interesting information about unfair and deceptive practices that harm consumers. One thing in particular that jumped out at me was how some scammers, and even some “legitimate” businesses, try to control consumers and make them do their bidding by not … Continued
Federal Regulators Weaken Payday Loan Rules As Americans struggle to cope with the devastating economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) took steps to weaken critically important consumer protections from high-cost, payday loans. The CFPB issued a new final payday loan rule earlier … Continued
Supreme Court Weakens the Independence of the CFPB Consumers were dealt a major blow late last month, but one that could have been a lot worse, when the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision weakening the independence of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). In a 5-4 decision in Seila Law LLC v The Consumer … Continued
Trump Nominee to Head CPSC Faces Strong, Bipartisan Opposition Following a massive advocacy campaign by over 100 groups, public outrage online, and numerous hard-hitting questions by senators at her confirmation hearing, the nomination of Nancy Beck, the former chemical industry executive put forward by the Trump Administration to head the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), … Continued
State Insurance Commissioners Urged to Ensure 30% Paybacks; Some Insurers Lead the way In a study issued last month, CFA and the Center for Economic Justice (CEJ) documented that the typical COVID-19 auto insurance premium relief provided by insurers to date was half what it should be based on a new analysis of driving and car … Continued
DOT Enables Carmakers to Bypass Safety Rules Under a change formalized last month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will no longer require companies seeking federal safety standard exemptions to provide timely, complete information on their requests prior to posting them for public comment. This move comes on the heels of NHTSA’s denial of … Continued
A Consumer Federation of America (CFA) analysis of off highway vehicle (OHV) recalls found that over the past 10 years, there have been 115 OHV recalls, and the number of recalls has increased from two recalls in 2010 to 17 recalls in 2018, and 16 in 2019. In 2020 thus far, there have been eight … Continued
Insurance Companies Graded on $6.5 Billion COVID-19 Premium Relief Policies Spurred by pressure from consumer advocates and their customers who are driving less due to COVID-19 and the Stay At Home orders that have dramatically changed Americans’ daily lives, insurers representing well over 80% of the auto insurance market in America have announced that they … Continued
CFA has begun compiling resources for consumers dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic. You can find those resources, and future updates, on a special section of the CFA website. Below you’ll find information and infographics on avoiding scams, food safety, and to child-proofing your home. CFA Offers Coronavirus Tips to Avoid Scams and Price-Gouging With concerns … Continued
As CARES Act Passes, Important Consumer Protection Measures Unaddressed Congress passed sweeping legislation last week, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), to address the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. While necessary to provide desperately needed funding to the health care system, to provide unemployment insurance to displaced workers, and to … Continued
Scammers always take advantage of disasters and other alarming situations. With the CORVID-19 pandemic, it wasn’t long before we began to hear about people selling face masks online that they never deliver and false claims for products that can supposedly treat or even prevent the virus. We’ve also seen emails that look like they’re from … Continued
Check out CFA’s Brochure 1. Take Steps To Reduce The Spread Of The Disease Halting the spread of COVID-19 is a top priority, which must be front and center in any agenda to address the crisis. Create a comprehensive national paid sick leave policy. Lack of paid sick leave encourages tens of millions of workers, … Continued
Check out CFA’s Brochure 1. Take Steps To Reduce The Spread Of The Disease Halting the spread of COVID-19 is a top priority, which must be front and center in any agenda to address the crisis. Create a comprehensive national paid sick leave policy. Lack of paid sick leave encourages tens of millions of workers, … Continued
Advocates Urge Federal Government to Address Auto Insurance Unaffordability The market for auto insurance is not fair for low- and moderate-income Americans and drivers in communities of color, even if they have an unblemished driving history, CFA Insurance Expert Douglas Heller said in testimony before the U.S. House Financial Services’ Subcommittee on Housing, Community Development, … Continued
Hardly a week goes by without disturbing news about another invasion of our privacy. In the past six months alone consider: Facebook settling a $550 million lawsuit alleging that it collected facial recognition data of users without consent; location data companies tracking the precise movements of more than 12 million Americans via our cellphones; dating apps like Grindr and … Continued
CFPB Weakens Deterrence Against Abusive Financial Practices The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a policy statement late last month that attempts to narrow the scope of federal laws that prohibit abusive financial acts and practices by banks, debt collectors, payday lenders, and other consumer finance companies. CFA director of Financial Services and Senior Fellow, … Continued
A Consumer Federation of America (CFA) analysis of off highway vehicle (OHV) recalls found that over the past 10 years, there have been 110 OHV recalls, and the number of recalls has increased from two recalls in 2010 to 24 recalls in 2017, 17 in 2018, and 16 in 2019. In 2020 thus far, there … Continued