by Jeff Sovern Last Friday, I posted a comment on Alan Kaplinsky’s remarks, quoted in the Bloomberg Business story, Bank Customers May Get Their Day in Court, about the CFPB arbitration report. Alan replied in a post captioned “Sovern v. Kaplinsky.” Here I offer a rebuttal. In my original post, I expressed the view that […]
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
by Jeff Sovern Not that I need one, but my question is prompted by my expectation that during the Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus's field hearing today on payday lending, the Bureau will propose new restrictions on payday lending. Critics may claim that the restrictions will drive consumers to loan sharks. For a past example of […]
by Jeff Sovern According to ThinkAdvisor, Georgia Senator David Perdue has introduced an amendment that would subject the CFPB to the congressional appropriations process. Calling the Bureau "reckless," Perdue added "the CFPB is a rogue agency that dishes out malicious financial policy and creates new rules and regulations without any oversight from Congress. As seems […]
The CFPB arbitration report found that class actions can return significant sums to consumers. Adding to the literature on that topic, Brian T. Fitzpatrick of Vanderbilt and Robert C. Gilbert have written An Empirical Look at Compensation in Consumer Class Actions. Here is the abstract: Consumer class actions are under broad attack for providing little in […]
by Jeff Sovern Here we go again. The Republicans have repeatedly tried to convert the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to a commission structure. The latest effort, H.R. 1266, is sponsored by Representative Randy Neugebauer of Texas. The bill would replace the CFPB's director with a five-member commission, of whom no more than three could be […]
by Jeff Sovern BloombergBusiness columnist Carter Dougherty has a story, Bank Customers May Get Their Day in Court, about the CFPB arbitration report. Dougherty writes: In its report, the CFPB noted that there were just 52 arbitration claims under $1,000 in 2010 and 2011, and consumers won relief in just four of them. Says [Deepak] […]
Nancy S. Kim of California Western and D. A. Jeremy Telman of Valparaiso have written Internet Giants as Quasi-Governmental Actors and the Limits of Contractual Consent, Forthcoming in the Missouri Law Review. Here is the abstract: Although the government’s data-mining program relied heavily on information and technology that the government received from private companies, relatively little […]
Here. An excerpt: The reality is that credit-reporting firms have been required for decades to ensure the accuracy of consumers' files. They're not doing us a favor. They're just finally saying that they'll follow the law. "For years, the credit-reporting agencies have scoffed at the law," said Scott Maurer, a law professor at Santa Clara […]
Here. An excerpt: In the Big Business narrative, arbitration is a far better place for consumers than a nasty-wasty court. Lack of choice is a better choice! Well, this week, a big, fat government report blew that fiction away. * * * Companies, it turns out, weren't using mandatory arbitration clauses to protect us. […]
Here. My favorite part: I've written a lot over the years about the need for government to step in when markets fail to protect consumers.* * * Nearly every time, I get angry push-back from tea-party types and libertarians who question any intervention – even against monopolists or near-monopolists. Among the rare exceptions: the nation's […]