CFPB reports on risks to workers from employer-driven debt

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published today “a report highlighting the risks employer-driven debt poses to workers. After a review of responses to the CFPB’s public inquiry, the analysis describes the growing prevalence of employer-driven debt and challenges workers and consumers face when they become indebted to an employer or an employer’s affiliate as a […]

Study finds CFPB complaint database affects mortgage approval rates–of rival banks

Yiwei Dou of NYU’s Department of Accounting, Mingyi Hung of the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology, Guoman She, and Lynn Linghuan Wang, both of the University of Hong Kong – Faculty of Business and Economics, have written Learning from Peers: Evidence from Disclosure of Consumer Complaints, 77 Journal of Accounting & Economics (Forthcoming […]

Diversion of Resources Enough for UCL Standing, Holds California Supreme Court

In 2004, California amended its unfair competition law to eliminate associational standing–that is, membership organizations could no longer bring claims based on injuries to their members. Only claims based on injuries to the organizations themselves could serve as a basis for suit. Yesterday, in California Medical Association v. Aetna Health of California, the California Supreme […]

FTC, partners attack the root of robocall schemes

“You don’t need much agricultural expertise to know that every weed is supported by an extensive underground root structure.” What an A+ quote from the Federal Trade Commission’s business blog (Lesley Fair), which gives a visual description of the government’s latest effort to combat pervasive robocalls, this time tackling robocalls’ root structure: third-party lead generators. […]

Second Circuit Rejects “Legal” v. “Fact” Standard for FCRA Inaccuracies

Section 1681e(b) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires credit reporting agencies to “follow reasonable procedures to assure maximum possible accuracy of the information” reported. In 2021, a district court held that a plaintiff cannot bring a claim for violating that provision when “the accuracy at issue requires a legal determination as to the […]

Several states and CFPB sue Prehired for illegal student lending practices

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau joined with 10 state attorneys general and a California regulator to take action against Prehired for deceptive marketing and debt collection practices. The CFPB explains: “Prehired operated a 12-week online training program claiming to prepare consumers for entry-level positions as software sales development representatives with “six-figure salaries” and a “job […]

Becher Essay: Ex Ante Access to Justice

Samuel Becher of Victoria University of Wellington has written Ex ante Access to Justice 30 Competition and Consumer Law Journal, issue 2 (2023 Forthcoming). Here is the abstract: Access to justice is a key challenge in the consumer protection landscape. Scholars and policymakers acknowledge this challenge and have devised various means to increase consumers’ access […]

Chamber and bank groups that say discrimination is not unfair have used “fair lending” to refer to non-discriminatory lending

I have blogged before about the suit brought by the Chamber of Commerce and various banking groups against the CFPB in which the plaintiffs argue that the CFPB is wrong to describe discrimination as unfair. But when I asked a research assistant to see if the plaintiffs themselves use the phrase “fair lending” laws to […]

CAFA doesn’t displace MMWA jurisdictional requirements, 3rd Circuit holds

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act provides for federal district court jurisdiction in cases alleging violations of that statute except where (1) any one claim is less than $25, (2) the total amount in controversy is less than $50,000, or (3) it is a class action with less than 100 named plaintiffs. Several MMWA defendants have removed […]

CFPB, FTC riders in U.S. House appropriations bills

The U.S. Congress is considering FY24 funding for the entire government, and normally it should involve just that, funding. Yet the U.S. House Appropriations Committee recently dropped its Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) bill, which includes proposals that would impact consumer protection policy. These riders take aim at the substantive work of a number […]