Some Comments on Recent Op-Eds Opposing the CFPB Arbitration Rule

by Jeff Sovern I wanted to comment on a couple of op-eds opposing the CFPB arbitration rule.  One is Joseph Cioffi's piece in the American Banker, headlined CFPB arbitration rule will still pose costs to consumers.  Though Cioffi (Chair of the Insolvency, Creditors’ Rights & Financial Products Practice Group at Davis & Gilbert) sees the arbitration rule as […]

Watch this excellent “Sunday Morning” segment on CFPB head Richard Cordray

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau head Richard Cordray was the subject of a story that aired yesterday on CBS's "Sunday Morning" news program. To view it, click here or on the embedded video below. The story depicts Cordray as indefatigable — and "the best friend the consumer has ever had" — in the face of constant harassment […]

Wells Fargo under the gun for new consumer abuses

Politico reports that, one after "regulators fined Wells Fargo $185 million for opening potentially millions of fake accounts, the bank is nowhere close to putting the scandal behind it. Congress is threatening new hearings, and some Democrats have called on regulators to remove the bank's board or for breaking up the lender entirely. In fact, […]

“Equifax Hack Exposes Regulatory Gaps, Leaving Consumers Vulnerable”

The New York Times reports: Equifax warehouses the most intimate details of Americans’ financial lives, from the credit cards in their wallets to the size of their medical bills. But the company doesn’t face the constant monitoring and auditing that help strengthen banks’ systems and data protections. Despite the wealth of sensitive information in its […]

Why I’m Not Signing Up For Equifax’s Free Credit Monitoring Service: The Arbitration Clause Still Worries Me

by Jeff Sovern I'm still trying to make sense of the arbitration situation in connection with the Equifax breach.  Here is how I see it at the moment. Comments welcome. Our story so far: after hackers invaded the Equifax database, Equifax set up a web site (that is the current version of the web site; […]

Am Banker: Equifax breach may kill repeal of CFPB mandatory arbitration rule

Here . Excerpt: The Equifax revelations come at exactly the wrong time for Republicans, who had been hoping as late as Thursday to rapidly push ahead next week on a vote to overturn the rule. * * * * * * The Equifax breach—and its controversial mandatory arbitration clause—could push some . . . Republicans […]

Signing up for Equifax May Cost You Your Legal Rights.

Worried you may be affected by Equifax's massive data breach? The credit bureau has set up a site, equifaxsecurity2017.com, that allows you to check whether your personal information was exposed and sign up for credit monitoring. But regulators and lawyers are becoming concerned that the site could pose risks to consumers. As a result, you […]

Equifax and Arbitration

by Scott Nelson     As Jeff noted earlier this morning, Equifax's offer of "complimentary" enrollment in "TrustedID Premier" to people potentially affected (and even people that it doesn't identify as potentially affected) by its data breach came with a catch: The TrustedID Premier terms and conditions include an arbitration clause and class action ban. The terms […]

The Equifax Data Breach and How Equifax is Stealthily Using Arbitration to Defeat Claims by Injured Consumers

by Jeff Sovern Scott posted yesterday about the Equifax data breach, which may end up being as significant a consumer scandal as the Wells Fargo unauthorized account fiasco.  As has been pointed out elsewhere, the disclosure of the Equifax announcement is extraordinary, coming on the same day Congress considered a bill to limit damages against […]