The Huffington Post reports today: Facing the prospect of imminent oversight by a newly created government regulator, the much-reviled payday loan industry’s lobbying machine surged into action. The campaign to blunt the power of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau included the usual monetary contributions to key lawmakers and hiring of well-connected lobbyists. But one little-known […]
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The New York Times reports today on financial companies' use of forced arbitration provisions to eliminate servicemembers' rights. Over the years, Congress has given service members a number of protections — some dating to the Civil War — from repossessions and foreclosures. Efforts to maintain that special status for service members has run into resistance […]
by Steve Gardner On Friday the 13th, the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion roundly rejecting almost every defense food companies use to try to avoid getting to the truth of the matter, in Reid v. Johnson & Johnson. The summary by court staff sets up the facts well: McNeil declared on Benecol’s label that the […]
This multi-part series is well worth a read. Here's a flavor from the summary: Debt collection horror stories are nothing new. But there's a whole other side to the industry that no one’s talking about: collectors hired by government agencies to hunt down debtors…. [G]overnment debt collectors are rarely held to the same consumer protection […]
Fair Warning reports today on online website selling used cars by matching buyers with car owners. Claiming not to be car "dealers," the sites do not necessarily comply with consumer protection rules that apply to traditional used car dealers. Read "Used Car Startups Do a Wheelie Around Consumer Protection Rules." Used Car Startups Do a […]
"Since 2005, student borrowers have been unable to discharge their private student loans through the process of bankruptcy. But that could soon change after a group of [13] senators introduced a bill aimed at addressing the current student debt crisis by restoring the bankruptcy code to hold private student loans in the same regard as other private […]
The Cleveland Plain Dealer reports: The Food and Drug Administration is again warning consumers of dangerous weight loss supplements that contain pharmaceutical drugs, including the weight loss drug Meridia, which was pulled from the market in 2010 for safety reasons. Four of the five weight loss supplements — Black Mamba Hyperrush, Diablos ECA Fir Caps, […]
The Federal Trade Commission and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have reauthorized their memorandum of understanding. The memorandum outlines the working relationship between the two agencies and is designed to coordinate efforts to protect consumers and avoid duplication of enforcement and regulatory efforts.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau yesterday released a report on legal violations it has uncovered. The CFPB "found deceptive student loan debt collection practices, unfair and deceptive overdraft practices, mortgage origination violations, fair lending violations, and mishandled disputes by consumer reporting agencies." According to the report, "CFPB supervisory resolutions resulted in remediation of $19.4 million […]