The Michigan Senate yesterday passed bills to cap interest rates on quick-cash loans at 36% annually. Currently, Michigan allows short-term, high-interest cash advance loans that come due on the borrower’s next payday, with an annual interest rate of up to 391%. Supporters say that the bills, if signed into law, would protect people from getting […]
Author Archives: Allison Zieve
The National Center for Access to Justice at Fordham Law School has posted a report and online resource that ranks the 50 states and the District of Columbia on their adoption of policies promoting fairness in consumer debt litigation. The report notes that debt-collection lawsuits inundate courts across the country. Because many suits go unanswered, […]
The Federal Trade Commission announced on Thursday a final rule extending telemarketing fraud protections to businesses. The FTC also announced a proposed rule that would provide the agency with significant new tools to combat tech support scams. Both actions are part of the FTC’s review of the Telemarketing Sales Rule, which includes the Do Not […]
A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report on the first set of results from its newly updated Terms of Credit Card Plans survey reveals that large banks are offering worse credit card terms and interest rates than small banks and credit unions, regardless of credit risk. In fact, the 25 largest credit card issuers charged customers […]
The Federal Trade Commission is taking action against H&R Block, alleging that the tax preparation company unfairly deletes consumers’ tax data and requires them to contact customer service when they downgrade to more affordable online products, and that it has deceptively markets its products as “free” when they were not free for many consumers. The […]
After a service outage last week, AT&T said that it would automatically apply a $5 credit to the accounts of the thousands of impacted consumers. As reported by CNBC, here, consumer advocates suggest that customers ask for reimbursement fro cellphone or internet providers in the event of future blackouts.
Last fall, the Federal Trade Commission filed a complaint alleging that Amazon Marketplace unfairly highlights its own products on its website to encourage consumers to select the Amazon brand over competitors’ products. The Regulatory Review reports today on a study that questions that conclusion. The study’s authors explain how evaluating the fairness of product placement […]
The Supreme Court ruled unanimously yesterday in favor of consumer interests in Department of Agriculture Rural Development Rural Housing Service v. Kirtz, a case argued by Public Citizen Litigation Group attorney Nandan Joshi. The case concerned the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which allows consumers to sue creditors for failing to correct inaccurate credit information that […]
The Guardian reports: “Opioid manufacturers and other major corporations are pushing legislation to strip away state laws that have been used to sue the pharmaceutical industry for hundreds of millions of dollars over the worst drug epidemic in US history. The influential rightwing pressure group the American Legislative Exchange Council (Alec), which is funded by […]
The Department of Energy yesterday “finalized congressionally-mandated energy efficiency standards for residential cooking products that will reduce household utility costs while improving appliance reliability and performance. These standards—which reflect a joint recommendation from a wide range of stakeholders, including the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, Consumer Federation of America, and energy efficiency advocates—will take effect […]