Guest post by Emily Martin, General Counsel and Vice President for Workplace Justice. National Women's Law Center Fox News. Sterling Jewelers. Wells Fargo. What do they all have in common? For years, they successfully kept corporate wrongdoing secret, through forced arbitration. Buried in the fine print of employment contracts and consumer agreements, forced arbitration clauses prohibit you […]
Author Archives: Allison Zieve
The New York Times reports that "Wells Fargo engaged in unfair and deceptive practices, failed to properly manage risks and hasn’t set aside enough money to pay back the customers it harmed, according to a confidential report by federal regulators." "The report, prepared by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and reviewed by […]
The Washington Post reports that the Federal Trade and 12 state attorneys general have formed a task force to crack down on student debt relief scams. "The federal-state initiative, dubbed Operation Game of Loans, is responsible for five cases against companies, such as Student Debt Doctor and American Student Loan Consolidators, accused of misleading borrowers about their ability to lower […]
I don't post every article about the Consumer Financial Protection bureau rule barring financial services companies from using forced arbitration provisions to impose class-action bans on consumers. But I wanted to pass along this one by CFPB director Richard Cordray responding very directly to a couple of the rule's opponents.
On October 5, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its final rule on payday, vehicle title, and certain high-cost installment loans. The National Consumer Law Center prepared this article describing the rule's coverage, two main provisions, and effective date. The article also lists ways under current law to challenge abusive payday, auto title, and installment […]
The Federal Trade Commission announced to day that it is mailing 227,000 refund checks totaling more than $9.8 million to people who bought “fat burning” and “weight loss” products and other dietary supplements, DVDs, or skin creams, including Pure Green Coffee Bean Plus and RKG Extreme, from Health Formulas LLC and related companies. The average […]
Amanda Werner of Americans for Financial Reform and Public Citizen attended the Equifax hearing today to draw attention to forced arbitration and make the point that forced arbitration gives corporations a monopoly on justice. Amanda seems to have attracted as much attention as the former Equifax CEO who was testifying. Below is a small sample […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today issued an interim final rule and a proposed rule "to provide mortgage servicers more flexibility and certainty around requirements to communicate with certain borrowers under the Bureau’s 2016 mortgage servicing amendments. The interim final rule gives servicers more flexibility regarding when to communicate about foreclosure prevention options with borrowers […]
"Black people struggling with debts are far less likely than their white peers to gain lasting relief from bankruptcy, according to a ProPublica analysis. Primarily to blame is a style of bankruptcy practiced by lawyers in the South." ProPublica's full story is here.
Below are announcements from the Department of Justice's Consumer Protection Branch from July through September. September 27, 2017 – District Court Enters Permanent Injunction Against Illinois Caviar Supplier to Prevent Distribution of Adulterated Food September 26, 2017 – District Court Enters Permanent Injunction Against Two New Jersey Companies and Two Individuals to Stop Distribution of […]