American Banker’s Kate Berry reports in an article titled Could credit card late fees drop to $10? (behind paywall but probably available on Lexis) that the CFPB is expected to issue a proposal soon that would cut credit card late fees sharply. Under the Credit CARD Act of 2009, credit card late fees must be […]
My latest, co-authored with Nahal Heydari. It may be behind a paywall, but should soon be available on Lexis. It’s based on our article, Not-So-Smartphone Disclosures, which reports on the results of a survey of consumer understanding of credit card disclosures on smartphones and other computers. Here’s an excerpt: If we had graded the consumers by […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission are teaming up to fight “dark patterns” and “negative option” subscription charges. The regulators are concerned about deceptive practices that mislead people into subscriptions or other recurring payments for products and services they do not want. In a “circular” released this week, the CFPB described […]
From Bloomberg: When a commissioner from the US Consumer Product Safety Commission said earlier this month it would consider a ban on gas stoves to beat back greenhouse emissions and health hazards, the backlash was swift. Enraged Americans and conservative politicians were adamant about keeping their beloved appliance, and the agency renounced the possibility of a […]
Writing for the Maine Monitor, Marina Schauffler observes: Going back in time can reveal how far we still have to progress. In researching per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) for a recent article series, I found myself ricocheting between the present and the 1950s and 1960s. That was when the vast class of fluorinated compounds commonly […]
A few interesting updates concerning student-loan forgiveness or discharge care of Politico this morning: An Education Department judge plans to hold a hearing next week on DeVry University’s appeal of a $23 million penalty stemming from fraud-related loan discharges for its former students. Two for-profit education companies and a non-profit college are appealing a settlement, […]
The Supreme Court on Friday granted review of a case that arises from a payday loan to a consumer from a corporate entity owned by a Native American tribe. The issue in the case is whether the Bankruptcy Code abrogates tribal sovereign immunity. Given the prevalence of internet-based payday lending affiliated with tribal lenders, the […]
The New York Times carries this story about the use of facial recognition technology to bar any lawyers working at firms who handle litigation against MSG Entertainment from attending sporting events, or even holiday shows, at Madison Square Garden. New York’s old law protecting theatre critics from being excluded after they panned a show has […]
by Jeff Sovern As Allison posted on Wednesday, the CFPB has proposed a rule obliging nonbanks that it supervises to register the contractual standard terms they use that waive or limit consumer rights. The Bureau would then make the terms public. I think this is a great idea for several reasons. We all know that […]
After taking his sweet time to do so, my old and good friend Rich Cleland retired from the FTC at the end of 2022. I first met Rich about 40 years ago, when he ran the great Iowa AG Tom Miller’s Consumer Protection Division and I was working for the late great Texas AG Jim […]