The Chicago Sun-Times urges "Congress should side with consumers, not with what it says in the fine print, and abandon its efforts to repeal the rule." Fine print has never been the friend of consumers, and in recent years the perils have escalated as financial institutions have drawn up clauses that deny customers effective redress […]
Author Archives: Allison Zieve
The New York Times reports that the Food and Drug Administration has warned Congress that it is frequently finding contamination, illegal ingredients and other problems in the soaring quantities of imported cosmetics, and that it has limited resources to inspect the shipments. The warning was part of a letter sent in late June to a […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today issued a bulletin warning companies about tricking consumers into expensive pay-by-phone fees. The CFPB is concerned about companies potentially misleading consumers about the purpose and amount of certain pay-by-phone fees or keeping them in the dark about much cheaper payment options. The bulletin also reviews guidelines to help consumer […]
A coalition of 20 Attorneys General sent a letter today urging U.S. Senate leaders not to repeal the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Arbitration Rule, which stops companies from forcing consumers to sign away their legal rights. The press release of the Massachusetts Attorney General explains: The House recently passed a Joint Resolution of Disapproval that […]
As we reported at the time, here, in 2015 the Second Circuit held that the National Bank Act, which preempts state usury laws regulating the interest a national bank may charge on a loan, does not preempt state usury law after the national bank has sold or otherwise assigned the loan to a company that […]
The Wall Street Journal, reporting on data compiled by the National Center for State Courts, reports that State restrictions, increasing cost, and a long campaign by businesses have discouraged plaintiffs from filing tort suits. Tort cases (primarily auto, medical malpractice, and product liability cases) declined from 16% of civil filings in state courts in 1993 […]
Reuter's reports that, "[a]s part of its review of Amazon's agreement to buy Whole Foods, the Federal Trade Commission is looking into allegations that Amazon misleads customers about its pricing discounts, according to a source close to the probe. The FTC is probing a complaint brought by the advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, which looked at […]
Discussing a resolution introduced by two Republican Congressmen to kill the CFPB's arbitration rule, Washington Post columnist Catherine Rampell observes: "For some reason, though, the idea of giving consumers the choice to participate in a court of law — a right enshrined in the Seventh Amendment — leaves some GOP legislators quaking in their loafers." […]
The White House has withdrawn or removed from active consideration more than 800 regulations proposed during the Obama administration. Among the regulations are auto safety protections, environmental protections, worker protections, and a range of others. A New York Times article is here. Public Citizen's reaction is here. The list of remaining rules under consideration and […]
The New York Times reports: Tens of thousands of people who took out private loans to pay for college but have not been able to keep up payments may get their debts wiped away because critical paperwork is missing. The troubled loans, which total at least $5 billion, are at the center of a protracted […]