by John Breyault, Vice President, Public Policy, Telecommunications and Fraud, National Consumer League Protect Music and Sports Fans from Ticket Industry Abuses When Beyonce recently announced her highly-anticipated “Mrs. Carter Show” tour, fans waited eagerly for the moment tickets went on sale. But at the magic moment, thousands of fans were disappointed to learn the […]
As Pro Publica explains, "In April 2010, the Department of Labor released a six-point test to help determine whether an internship in the for-profit sector qualifies to be unpaid under federal law. One of the key criteria is that the position must be of more benefit to the intern than of benefit to the company. Companies […]
Here. Excerpt: The current rate for loans from the window is about 0.75 percent, while students are facing rates of 6.8 percent, Warren said. "In other words, the federal government is going to charge students interest rates that are nine times higher than the rates for the biggest banks — the same banks that […]
Check out this article about some revealing data released this week comparing hospital pricing. For the first time, the federal government [released] the prices that hospitals charge for the 100 most common inpatient procedures. Until now, these charges have been closely held by facilities that see a competitive advantage in shielding their fees from competitors. […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today issued this report entitled "Student Loan Affordability–Analysis of Public Input on Impact and Solutions." The report's executive summary appears after the jump. The agency also issued this companion fact sheet. The fact sheet includes what it calls "Student Loan Debt by the Numbers": • $1.1 trillion: Approximate amount of […]
by Paul Alan Levy You can’t live in the DC area and not encounter the pervasive advertising for Hadeed Carpet Cleaning, from mailed coupons and display advertising in the Washington Post that promise unbelievably low prices, to classic rock broadcast from the “Hadeed.com Studios” and advertising during Washington Capitals games. But regular users of pages […]
The main point of this Washington Post column is to describe the looming danger facing retirees with insufficient savings, and to suggest one possible answer (a supplement to Social Security). But I found the column most interesting for its discussion of savings rates among even Americans living above the median income (spoiler alert: they're alarmingly […]
On June 6, the FTC and the CFPB will co-host a joint roundtable event, "Life of a Debt: Data Integrity in Debt Collection," to examine the flow of consumer data throughout the debt collection process. The event, held at the FTC, will bring together consumer advocates, credit issuers, collection industry members, state and federal regulators, […]
by Deepak Gupta The Arbitration Fairness Act of 2013 — legislation that would ban mandatory pre-dispute binding arbitration in consumer and employment contracts — was introduced today in both houses of Congress by Senator Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.). New to this version of the bill–an exclusion for antitrust disputes. The House […]
The Blog of the Legal Times reports that The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today filed suit against two lawyers and two debt relief companies, alleging they charged thousands of consumers illegal advance fees and left some worse off financially. One of the lawyers, Michael Levitis, also faces face mail and wire fraud charges brought by […]