Category Archives: Uncategorized

Debt collectors and CARES Act payments

This week, the Treasury Department will begin to send out the $1,200 CARES Act payments that Congress approved in response to the coronavirus crisis. The money will be wired to eligible recipients who previously authorized the IRS to post their refunds through direct deposit. The American Prospect reports, though that "Congress did not exempt CARES […]

Settlement in suit over student-loan relief program

The Washington Post reports: "The U.S. Education Department is promising to process student loan forgiveness claims for nearly 170,000 borrowers within 18 months as part of a proposed settlement announced Friday in a federal lawsuit. The suit alleges that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos illegally stalled a program known as borrower defense to repayment, which promises […]

Some comments on our American Prospect essay about having the government pay consumers’ credit card interest

by Norman I . Silber and Jeff Sovern The American Prospect recently published a short essay we wrote suggesting that the federal government pick up the tab for part of consumers’ credit card interest rate payments while the coronavirus rages.  Some very knowledgeable consumer law experts have generously taken the time to give us their […]

Kamala Harris proposes suspension of credit card interest, fees, penalties

by Jeff Sovern Here in Medium. This is different from Norm Silber's and my proposal in The American Prospect to have the government pick up some of the interest payments. I'm not sure from the piece whether Harris is urging credit card issuers to do this voluntarily or is calling for legislation. If the latter, […]

Placing Consumers at the Forefront of Relief Efforts

in The American Prospect, my latest op-ed, with Norm Silber. Excerpt: For the next stimulus package, rather than sending tens of millions of checks to consumers, Congress would do better to strike at the economic crisis by using the existing lending mechanism, right in front of us, that more than three-quarters of us already possess: credit […]

Do consumers have refund rights against gyms that have closed because of the coronavirus?

Guest Post by Dee Pridgen: Consumers who have ongoing memberships at gym or fitness centers may wonder what their rights are when these facilities are shut down by government order during the corona virus pandemic.  While these clubs have contracts with provisions that probably favor the provider, there are some things consumers can do.  Some […]

NCLC: How to ensure that COVID-19 stimulus checks aren’t grabbed by debt collectors

Read U.S. Treasury Must Protect Stimulus Payments From Garnishment by Debt Collectors from the National Consumer Law Center. Here's an excerpt: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides for payments to individuals up to $1,200 so that people can pay for food, rent, utilities, medicine, and other basic necessities.  The CARES Act protects stimulus checks […]