Former Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Richard Cordray has an op-ed in the Washington Post today, expressing concerns about the agency's current path: The CFPB was designed to serve as a tough and independent watchdog for consumers. Yet Trump and White House budget director Mick Mulvaney, the bureau’s putative acting head, have bullied […]
by Jeff Sovern Mike posted earlier today about Berkeley's new Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice, funded by a major gift from Elizabeth Cabraser and to be headed at least for now by Ted Mermin, a terrific choice. Berkeley also has Chris Hoofnagle, a prolific writer on privacy and consumer law. With this gift, Berkeley joins Georgetown […]
With a $3.5 million gift from Elizabeth Cabraser, Berkeley Law is launching the Berkeley Center for Consumer Law and Economic Justice. Additional info is available here. According to the press release, the center will "deliver research and analysis to fuel meaningful policy change. It will produce white papers, file amicus briefs in consumer cases in […]
The decision is Tatis v. Allied Interstate. Applying the "least sophisticated consumer" standard and following decisions of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh circuits, the court summarizes its decision this way: This appeal arises under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act …. The question presented is whether a collection letter sent to collect a time-barred debt that […]
by Jeff Sovern Last month, the Department of Justice issued a policy that as DOJ describes it in its announcement of the policy, "prohibits the Department of Justice from using its civil enforcement authority to convert agency guidance documents into binding rules." Times coverage is here. What implications does this have for consumer law? Strictly speaking, […]
The Associated Press reports that Wells Fargo has made missteps in its efforts to make amends to customers who were forced to buy unneeded auto insurance. A spokeswoman for the bank said that 38,000 customers received a letter they did not need and that contained no refund. She said the error was due to a […]
The Alabama legislature is considering a bill that would give borrowers who take out payday loans additional time to pay them back. The bill reportedly has bipartisan support in the Alabama Legislature. Currently, payday lenders in Alabama can require that loans be paid back anywhere from 10 days to 31 days. The bill would set […]
by Jeff Sovern The CFPB issued a new strategic plan. I haven't had time to go through it myself, but Consumers Union is unhappy with it. Here's a quote from the CU statement: [The plan] signals that [the CFPB] will ease up on enforcement and investigations of the financial industry and identifies deregulation as a […]
by Jeff Sovern The Hill reports that the president's budget would subject the CFPB budget to the congressional appropriations process, which as we have noted in the past, would effectively give lobbyists power over the CFPB, even when the director is not beholden to the industry. I believe the budget is subject to the filibuster, […]
The report is here. This looks bad. This is the Golden Valley case in which the lender charged up to 950%. Here's an excerpt: Mulvaney declined requests for an interview. In an email, his press representative first said the decision to drop the Golden Valley lawsuit was made by "professional career staff" and not Mulvaney. […]