FTC to Ramp Up Law Enforcement Against Illegal Repair Restrictions (July 21, 2021) FTC Rescinds 1995 Policy Statement that Limited the Agency’s Ability to Deter Problematic Mergers (July 21, 2021) FTC Votes to Reverse Course on Repeal of Fabric Care Labels (July 21, 2021)
Category Archives: Uncategorized
As you may know, most student loans are notoriously difficult to discharge in bankruptcy. But not all loans, according to In re Hilal K. Homaidan (CA2 July 15, 2021). In that decision, the Second Circuit has joined the Fifth and Tenth Circuits and held that private student loans are dischargeable in bankruptcy. The exceptions to […]
Americans for Financial Reform, the Public Interest Research Group, the Center for Responsible Lending, the National Consumer Law Center, the Consumer Federation of America, National Association of Consumer Advocates, New Jersey Citizen Action, the Woodstock Institute and the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights is commemorating the 10th anniversary of the creation of the […]
Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a report on "several areas of concern related to relief provided in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) eviction moratorium. Some consumers reported facing homelessness because of the negative impact of an eviction on their credit history reported by […]
Politico reports that President Biden is scheduled to to issue an executive order today "to promote competition throughout the U.S. economy in the most ambitious effort in generations to reduce the stranglehold of monopolies and concentrated markets in major industries." The order is part of an effort "to focus on competition as part of the […]
This morning the Supreme Court released its decision in TransUnion v. Ramirez. The decision reveals that although Justice Thomas has jumped off the bandwagon, the Court's majority is continuing its project of expanding its Article III standing doctrine as an obstacle to suits in federal court. This time, the Court holds explicitly that even when […]
This afternoon, the House of Representatives voted to overturn the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s “fake lender” rule, which allows predatory lenders to evade state interest rate laws by putting a federally-chartered bank’s name on the paperwork. The Senate passed the same resolution on May 11. It now heads to President Biden for […]
Countering assertions that student-loan forgiveness would primarily benefit wealthy people, a new study from the Roosevelt Institute determined that "student debt cancellation would provide more benefits to those with fewer economic resources and could play a critical role in addressing the racial wealth gap and building the Black middle class." The study, titled “Student Debt […]
Use of automatic subscriptions has exploded in recent years. Some companies make it easy to sign up but very difficult to cancel, and consumer complaints have piled up. The Washington Post reports, here, that the Federal Trade Commission is looking at ways to make it harder for companies to trap consumers in monthly subscription.
Recently, the blog posted two items (here and here) arguing that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should issue a rule barring the use of arbitration clauses unless consumers opt in to them. The second item was in reply to Mark Levin's blog post at Ballard Spahr's Consumer Finance Monitor blog response to our first blog […]