Here. Here's the beginning of the piece: Bill Doak and his wife, Linda, were preparing to buy a new house this spring when a mortgage broker made an ominous declaration after scanning their credit report: “Oh my God, you’re in trouble.” The couple discovered five late payments on the loan on the home they were selling in […]
by Jeff Sovern Here. Excerpt: The draft bill approved by the House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee on Wednesday included a provision that would change the CFPB from a director-led agency to a bipartisan commission, as well as language that would make funding for the bureau subject to the annual appropriations process. Both measures largely pit […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has taken action against a former Wells Fargo employee for an illegal mortgage fee-shifting scheme. The CFPB found that David Eghbali referred a substantial number of loan closings to a single escrow company, which shifted its fees from some customers to others at Eghbali’s request. Eghbali could then manipulate loan […]
This week, the Federal Trade Commission and the State of Florida fled cases against two operations charged with running phony student loan debt relief schemes, and the FTC settled a case brought earlier this year against a operators of a debt-relief scheme. In the first case, the FTC and the State of Florida allege in […]
The Food and Drug Administration today finalized a new food safety rule under the landmark, bipartisan FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. The rule requires companies in the United States and abroad to take steps to prevent intentional adulteration of the food supply. Although the FDA says that intentional adulteration is unlikely, the new rule advances […]
ThinkProgress reports: Bank of America does not have to pay a $1.3 billion penalty assessed years ago, an appeals court ruled Monday. A jury found the megabank guilty of fraud in 2013, after Department of Justice (DOJ) officials decided not to settle a case involving a program run by its subsidiary Countrywide. Countrywide employees created […]
by Jeff Sovern From a BBC News report: The average Norwegian has 33 apps, the Norwegian Consumer Council says, whose terms and conditions together run longer than the New Testament. To prove the "absurd" length, the council got Norwegians to read each of them out in real time on their website. The reading finished on […]
Here (behind a paywall, unfortunately).
A few weeks ago, we posted an item headed Announcement for Students and Others:Antitrust and Consumer Protection State Legislation Monitoring Initiative. The deadline for submissions has been moved to June 10. For convenience, I've reposted the announcement below the fold.
by Jeff Sovern The House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services has released the draft of a bill it is considering that would hamstring the CFPB and at least temporarily preserve pre-dispute arbitration clauses, among other things. Here is how the Subcommittee describes the CFPB portion of the bill: The bill includes a provision […]