The Washington Post reports today: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and other Senate Democrats are calling on federal regulators to step up efforts to protect consumers from educational programs that engage in fraud and deceptive marketing, in light of the ongoing case against Trump University. In a letter sent Wednesday to the heads of the Federal Trade Commission, […]
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Study results released yesterday by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation found that, although Americans as a whole are feeling less financial stress, making ends meet remains a daily struggle for millions — particularly women, millennials, African-Americans, Hispanics, and those lacking a high school education. Among the study’s most significant findings: More than one in five […]
California's Attorney General announced on Friday a settlement agreement with K12 Inc., a for-profit online charter school operator, and the 14 affiliated non-profit schools known as the California Virtual Academies (“CAVA Schools”) that it manages, over alleged violations of California’s false claims, false advertising and unfair competition laws. As part of the settlement, which is […]
The Wall Street Journal reports: Democrats Mark Warner of Virginia and Chuck Schumer of New York plan to send a letter to the Federal Trade Commission [today] asking the regulatory body to examine the persistent challenge of fraudulent ads in online advertising. For the past several years, as the buying and selling of digital advertising […]
by Jeff Sovern As I listen to more of the Chain of Title audiobook, I am struck by how the acts of the robo-signers resemble those of consumers faced with disclosures. Like the consumers, the robo-signers signed the documents without reading them, trusting that the documents presented for their signature were what they should be. […]
Dear Mr Oliver: Your show, Last Week Tonight, has had several entertaining segments on consumer law issues, including debt buyers, credit reports, and student loans. But you're missing out on a consumer law subject that can be quite entertaining (unfortunately), even without your special touch. I refer to consumer disclosures. Some of the aspects of […]
The Wall Street Journal reports that More than at any time in their history, banks are being asked to work hand-in-hand with the U.S. government, serving as deputized watchmen for suspicious activity. That has been happening to some extent since legislation passed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but banks’ responsibilities have steadily increased. […]
The Hill reports: The entire federal government is exempt from consumer protection laws that limit unwanted robocalls, the Federal Communications Commission decided in a ruling issued Tuesday night. While the Telephone Consumer Protection Act bars businesses from making numerous autodialed or prerecorded calls to a person’s cellphone—and similar telemarketing calls to a person’s home phone—the […]
by Julie Murray On Saturday the New York Times had this article about New Jersey’s student loan program, which has an outstanding loan portfolio of about $2 billion. Here’s an excerpt: The loans . . . carry higher interest rates than similar federal programs. Most significant, New Jersey’s loans come with a cudgel that even […]
by Jeff Sovern I'm listening to the audio version of David Dayan's book Chain of Title: How Three Ordinary Americans Uncovered Wall Street's Great Foreclosure Fraud. A lot of it will be familiar to those who followed media reports of the foreclosure crisis and robo-signing, but having it all pulled together gives it considerable impact, and those who didn't […]