Washington Post columnist Michelle Singletary has this advice: Just say “no.” That’s the simple reply to a request from a relative or friend to co-sign on a loan. It’s one of my absolute money rules. I will not be linked financially to a loan for anyone other than my husband. Her full column on this […]
The defendants behind Vast Tech Support have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission and State of Florida charges that they scammed thousands of consumers out of millions of dollars by selling them bogus technical support services. Under the settlement, Vast Tech Support, LLC and OMG Tech Help, LLC and their chief operating officer, Mark Donohue […]
Oren Bar-Gill of Harvard and Omri Ben-Shahar of Chicago have written Optimal Defaults in Consumer Markets. Here's the abstract: The design of default provisions in consumer contracts involves an aspect that does not normally arise in other contexts. Unlike commercial parties, consumers have only limited information about the content of the default rule and how […]
Amy Schmitz of Missouri has written Remedy Realities in Business-to-Consumer Contracting, 58 Arizona Law Review 213 (2016). Here is the abstract: Professor Jean Braucher greatly contributed to the exploration of consumer and contract law by questioning how the law operates in the real world and highlighting the importance of “law in action.” In recognition of that […]
The Democratic staff of the House Financial Services Committee issued a report yesterday on compliance with state payday lending laws. Entitled “Skirting the Law: Five Tactics Payday Lenders Use to Evade State Consumer Protection Laws,” the report finds that state-level regulation of the payday lending industry is insufficient and concludes that strong federal consumer protections […]
Philadelphia becomes the first major city to pass a tax on sugary drinks.
Martha T. McCluskey of SUNY Buffalo, Thomas Owen McGarity of Texas, Sidney A. Shapiro of Wake Forest, and James Goodwin and Mollie Rosenzweig, both of the Center for Progressive Reform, have written Regulating Forced Arbitration in Consumer Financial Services: Re-Opening the Courthouse Doors to Victimized Consumers. Here's the abstract: Forced arbitration clauses have become almost unavoidable […]
Here (behind paywall). The CFPB is one of the agencies that House Financial Services Chair Jeb Hensarling's bill would ubject to the appropriation process. Excerpt from the article: "There are many things to like about Chairman Hensarling's bill, particularly its tough capital requirements," [former FDCIC head Sheila] Bair said. "However, subjecting the banking agencies to congressional appropriations […]
I blogged a couple of weeks ago about a "country hip-hop" musician who had part of his lawsuit against Facebook, for hosting pages that denigrate him, dismissed under California's anti-SLAPP law but managed to hang onto his claims that Facebook had violated his right of publicity by hosting such pages while serving ads on them. […]
The New York Times applauds the decision and explains why it benefits consumers, here. Politico adds some political perspective, here. The Washington Post explains the net neutrality rule and why it matters, here. Wired reports that AT&T plans to seek Supreme Court review and that congressional Republicans want to block the rule, here.