by Jeff Sovern So says an indentified financial services lobbyist, quoted in Neil Haggerty's article in The American Banker, Will Senate vote on CFPB chief come down to tiebreaker? (behind paywall but available on Lexis). Here's the relevant excerpt: A financial services lobbyist added that most Republicans likely won't vote to confirm any person nominated by […]
Here, in Facebook v. Duguid. In other words, if all the device does is call numbers that you specificaly tell it to call, it's not an ATDS within the meaning of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
by Jeff Sovern Yesterday, Acting CFPB Director Dave Uejio posted an item to the CFPPB Blog that suggests that the Bureau may rekindle its former payday lending rule in some form. Here's the post in full: The CFPB is acutely aware of consumer harms in the small dollar lending market, and is particularly concerned with […]
Mike Saunders, director of military and consumer policy at Veterans Education Success, warns in Millitary.com today that service members and veterans need to be wary of new forms of credit-like products that have popped up in recent years, especially "paycheck advance" products and Income Share Agreements. He explains that current legal protections may not cover […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released the 2020 annual report to Congress on administration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. According to the CFPB press release, "the report highlights efforts by the CFPB and the Federal Trade Commission to protect consumers, particularly those who have suffered profound financial impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic." […]
by Jeff Sovern Consumer law is filled with illusory consumer protections, and one form they take is the supposed obligation to give serious consideration to the possiblity that the provider is wrong in its claims. Examples include credit bureaus' obligations to conduct a reasonable investigation of consumer disputes–an obligation which has historically been discharged in […]
Here. It might be behind a paywall, but you can find it on Lexis. I enjoyed and recommend the whole column, but here's an excerpt: Jim Kimberly, an AT&T spokesman, told me that "arbitration is a faster, less expensive, easier means of resolving disputes." * * * For businesses, arbitration is indeed faster, cheaper and […]
Department of Education has announced that it will forgive the student-loan debt of borrowers whose borrower-defense claims have already been approved. The announcement is here. Under the law, students who attended schools that misled them or engaged in other misconduct in violation of certain state laws are eligible for borrower defense to loan repayment forgiveness, […]
Regulation of lawyers is supposed to protect the public. So, then, with the bar exam, which is supposed to protect consumers by keeping unskilled lawyers out of the market. Does it work? That's the topic of Safeguard or Barrier: An Empirical Examination of Bar Exam Cut Scores by Michael Frisby, Sam Erman, and Victor Quintanilla. […]
by Jeff Sovern The recording is here. More information here. I have started listening to the recording and am finding it excellent so far. Very instructive.