Author Archives: Brian Wolfman

Combating social security scam phone calls

Consumer reporter Michelle Singletary has just written a column entitled Have you received one of those Social Security scam calls? There’s a new way to report it. He column explains the varied and widespread nature of these scams and that the "Social Security Administration and its Office of the Inspector General (OIG) recently announced a […]

Just in time for the holidays: U.S. PIRG’s 34th annual “Trouble in Toyland” report

Just in time for the nation's annual gift-buying orgy, U.S. PIRG has issued its 34th annual Trouble in Toyland report. It's a guide to help consumers avoid buying toys that contain lead, have small parts on which kids can choke, or are otherwise unsafe. PPIRG explains that "[o]ver the past 33 years, our annual reports […]

“Hardly Anyone Files Arbitration Claims”

Journalist David Dayen (@ddayen) has written Tech Companies' Big Reveal: Hardly Anyone Files Arbitration Claims. "Responding to Congress," Dayen explains, those companies have "make clear that forced arbitration gives them the means to sidestep the law." Here's an excerpt:  Some new statistics from the nation’s leading tech firms on arbitration serve as evidence for an […]

Great recession mortgage meltdown redux? Read this story entitled “Federal government has dramatically expanded exposure to risky mortgages”

Damian Paletta at the Washington Post has written Federal government has dramatically expanded exposure to risky mortgages, effectively asking whether conditions are forming for another homeowner mortgage crisis of the severity associated with the Great Recession. Some excerpts: The federal government has dramatically expanded its exposure to risky mortgages, as federal officials over the past […]

Our federal financial regulators are busy defending predatory loans

Read this post by law prof Adam Levitin titled "FDIC and OCC Race to Court to Defend 120.86% Interest Rate Small Business Loan." It's not a pretty thing our federal regulators are doing. Here's an excerpt from Adam's post: FDIC and OCC filed an amicus brief in the district court in an obscure small business bankruptcy case […]

Read this op-ed on CFPB’s proposed rule authorizing debt-collection harassment

In May, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed new Fair Debt Collection Practices Act rules. In this op-ed, Jennifer Wagner (of Mountain State Justice) and Linda Frame (of the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy) explain why the CFPB's proposed rules, issued under a law meant to curb debt-collection harassment, actually authorize debt-collection harassment. […]

Federal Trade Commission issues staff report on class-action notices, redress methods, claims rates, and check-cashing rates; agency sets comment period and October 29 public meeting

The Federal Trade Commission has issued a staff report on class-action notices, redress methods, claims rates, and check-cashing rates based on the agency's survey of the results in 149 consumer class actions. The FTC has put together this home page on the report, which contains links to related information.  Consistent with other data and anecdotal […]