by Jeff Sovern I am working on a survey designed to determine consumer awareness of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act validation notice. The plan is to show respondents a debt collection letter that includes a standard validation notice, and then ask questions to see how aware they are of the notice and how they […]
A recent Washington Post article focuses on something many of you probably know: lotteries are terrible for poor people, because lottery participants are disproportionately poor and (of course) the odds against winning are astronomically high. The Post story also makes another, more subtle point about the problem with lotteries: many people write off the deleterious […]
The agencies' joint press release explains: Section 342 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank Act) required the Federal Reserve Board, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the National Credit Union Administration, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Securities and Exchange […]
The Federal Trade Commission yesterday issued its Annual Financial Acts Enforcement Report to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The report discusses the FTC's enforcement-related activities regarding Regulation Z (Truth in Lending Act), Regulation M (Consumer Leasing Act), and Regulation E (Electronic Fund Transfer Act). The FTC's press release explains: The report addresses, among other things, […]
A new Public Citizen report, “The Healthcare Industry’s Castoffs,” documents the nature and repercussions of injuries suffered by nurses. This report is the first in a five-part series spotlighting injuries to health care workers, potential methods to reduce these injuries, the policy positions of stakeholders and the implementation of solutions. As Public Citizen reported in 2013, […]
Here. (HT: Matt Bruckner). Excerpt: After studying overdraft fees for more than three years, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is leaning against subjecting banks to tough new rules that would cap the size of charges or limit how frequently they can be imposed on consumers, said two people briefed on the agency’s work. More likely, […]
Two internal reports released by the Department of Transportation identify a series of failings by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (a part of the Department) that allowed millions of defective GM cars to go unrepaired for more than a decade. The ignition switch could suddenly turn off, stalling the engine and disabling the airbags. […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reporting on its just-completed study of advertisements for reverse mortgages: Ads for reverse mortgages are found on television, radio, in print, and on the internet, and many ads feature celebrity spokespeople discussing the benefits of reverse mortgages without mentioning risks. We looked closely at many ads and found incomplete […]
"As the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) considers new rules to rein in predatory practices in payday and similar types of lending, Senator Merkley and 31 of his Senate colleagues expressed their support today for the initial steps the agency has taken and urged the agency to issue the strongest possible rules to combat the […]
Proving yet again that proposed "free trade" deals are about a lot more than trade, Wikileaks has released a set of documents showing how the proposed "Trade in Services Agreement," or TISA, "would take a major step towards deregulating financial industries, and could affect everything from local maritime and air traffic rules to domestic regulations […]