That's the subject of a new book by Linda Fisher of Seton Hall and Judith L. Fox of Notre Dame, published by Cambridge Press, The Foreclosure Echo: How the Hardest Hit Have Been Left Out of the Economic Recovery. You can read the introduction here. Here's the abstract: This paper includes the Table of Contents and […]
Author Archives: Jeff Sovern
. . . should get in touch with @daliejimenez.
by Jeff Sovern The Dodd-Frank Act gives the CFPB the power to act against entities within the CFPB's jurisdiction for engaging in abusive practices. See 12 USC 5531. Though that section explains what the limits are to the Bureau's power to proscribe abusive conduct, the industry has long claimed that it needs additional guidance as […]
James P. Nehf of Indiana–Indianapolis has written The Failure of 'Notice and Consent' as Effective Consumer Policy. Here's the abstract: Over the past several decades, the preferred model for consumer protection in most countries has emphasized a notice and consent (or choice) approach with less emphasis on normative laws that prohibit or mandate certain contract terms, […]
by Jeff Sovern Section 1692g(a)(4) requires debt collectors to send consumers a "a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector . […]
We have received the following call for abstracts (last year's conference was excellent): The Berkeley Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice, its director Ted Mermin, and co-organizers Abbye Atkinson, Kathleen Engel, Manisha Padi, Rory Van Loo, and Lauren Willis are pleased to announce the second annual Consumer Law Scholars Conference (CLSC), which will be […]
Jamie Luguri and Lior Strahilevitz, both of Chicago, have written Shining a Light on Dark Patterns. Here is the abstract: Dark patterns are user interfaces whose designers knowingly confuse users, make it difficult for users to express their actual preferences, or manipulate users into taking certain actions. They typically exploit cognitive biases and prompt online consumers […]
Here. Excerpt: Companies like National Debt Relief seek out heavily indebted consumers with a promise to help them get out from under it. But regulators say these debt-settlement programs can leave customers worse off, facing high fees, damaged credit scores and unexpected income-tax bills. * * * Data from credit-reporting companies has been used by some debt-settlement […]
We've received the following Call for Papers: 4th CFPB Research Conference on Consumer FinanceDecember 12th–13th, 2019This December, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) will host its fourth researchconference on consumer finance at Catholic University in Washington, DC. Information on priorconferences can be found here: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/cfpbresearch-conference/We encourage the submission of a variety of research. This includes, […]
Daniel Schwarcz of Minnesota has written Towards a Civil Rights Approach to Insurance Anti-Discrimination Law, 69 DePaul Law Review (Forthcoming). Here's the abstract: Discrimination is fundamental to the business of auto and homeowners insurance. Yet state insurance law does remarkably little to police against the risk that this discrimination will unfairly harm minority or low-income […]