Ever since Richard Cordray was appointed head of the very first Consumer Financial Protection Bureau back in January 2012, he’s rolled up his sleeves as the director and dug into the task of making the financial industry less confusing to consumers. He and the CFPB have addressed credit card companies, credit bureaus, debt collectors, mortgage applications, big banks and their myriad of fees and all matter of consumer complaints. And now he gets to do it again this year! [More]
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CFPB Rules Aim To Protect Homeowners From Inept & Foreclosure-Happy Mortgage Servicers
By 1.17.13
One week after it announced a new set of rules that require mortgage lenders to prove that borrowers will actually be able to pay back their loans, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unveiling a slew of new rules for mortgage servicers intended to curb some questionable practices and provide more safeguards for all borrowers. [More]
New Rule Means Banks Will Have To Make Sure Borrowers Can Actually Repay Mortgages
By 1.10.13
When the housing market collapsed five years ago, it was due in no small part to mortgage lenders who handed out loans without really considering whether or not the borrower could ultimately pay that money back. Hoping to minimize the chances of this happening again, regulators have introduced a new rule today. [More]
Chase Damages Woman’s Credit Report With $16,159 Error, Doesn’t Really Care
By 12.13.12
Imagine waking up one day and finding out that you can’t get a credit card because someone at the bank screwed up and told the credit reporting agencies that you owed more than $16,000 to Chase. You’d think that this could be easily resolved — but apparently not without getting the local news involved. [More]
CFPB Warns Specialty Credit Reporting Agencies: You’ve Gotta Issue Free Annual Reports, Too
By 11.29.12
Oh, hey, specialty credit reporting companies. Whatcha doing? Just hanging out? That’s great. Listen, just an FYI, you need to be issuing free credit reports to your customers, too. Nope, it’s not just the three largest credit reporting companies, you’re all in the same boat. Our pals at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are here to remind you, in case you’d conveniently forgotten. [More]
Regulators Ask Mortgage Marketers To Please Cut Down On The Lying In Their Ads
By 11.19.12
The 2011 Mortgage Acts and Practices Advertising Rule prohibit mortgage lenders and brokers from making misleading claims about government affiliation, interest rates, fees, costs, associated payments, and the amount of cash or credit available to the consumer. Shockingly, some folks just didn’t listen. [More]
Sallie Mae The Subject Of Nearly Half Of Student Loan-Related Complaints
By 10.24.12
The recently released annual report by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Student Loan Ombudsman looks at the variety and nature of complaints filed with the CFPB’s student loan complaint portal since it launched earlier this year. Not surprisingly to many people with these loans, Sallie Mae’s name comes up in almost half the complaints. [More]
CFPB Gives You Place To File Complaints About Credit Bureaus
By 10.22.12
Credit reporting agencies like TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax, provide reports and credit scores that effectively tell lenders what sort of human being you are. The amount of authority they have in a consumer’s life is astounding, especially when you consider the lack of oversight they’ve enjoyed. At least now the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is looking over their shoulder, and giving consumers a way to file complaints. [More]
Data Shows Bank Of America Is Also Bad At Dealing With Credit Card Complaints
By 10.12.12
Earlier this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launched a complaint portal for people with credit card-related issues. Banks and card companies are not obliged to provide a happy ending to the complainant, but they are obliged to reply in a timely manner. And even with the bar lowered that much, Bank of America still manages to disappoint. [More]
American Express To Pay Out $85 Million To Customers For Variety Of Consumer Violations
By 10.1.12
American Express is feeling the sting of an $112.5 million spanking from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, following an investigation that found that three subsidiaries of the credit card company had violated several consumer rights, from misleading ads to age discrimination to unlawful late fees. [More]
One-In-Five Consumers Seeing Significantly Different Credit Scores Than Creditors
By 9.26.12
Much is made about how much impact your credit scores has on your ability to get a loan, live a happy life and be a good human being. But a new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau claims that one-in-five consumers are seeing scores that are significantly different from what lenders see. [More]
Advocates: Now Is The Time To Reform Reverse Mortgages
By 9.4.12
A large chunk of the U.S. population is heading into what are supposed to be their golden years. But between financial hardship and shortsighted financial planning, many of these people are not able to retire comfortably, if at all. A reverse mortgage that allows homeowners who are at least 62 years old to borrow against the equity of their property may seem like a more appealing alternative to working into one’s 80s, but there are pitfalls involved — some of which can be fixed by a bit of reform. [More]
CFPB Devises New Simple Forms For Mortgages That Won't Boggle Your Eyeballs
By 8.10.12
If mortgage disclosure forms actually told homeowners exactly what they were getting into, in the simplest of terms, perhaps everyone could catch a break — from the lenders to the often confused consumers who have to deal with the current system and its four complicated documents from two separate government agencies. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is on the march once again, and this time its director Richard Cordray is proposing one simple mortgage disclosure form. [More]
Shouldn't We Be Able To Negotiate On College Tuition?
By 8.2.12
If someone offers to sell you a life-changing product ranging in price anywhere from $10,000 to $250,000 — maybe more — chances are that most of you will at least attempt to negotiate that price down; only suckers pay sticker price. And yet, when it comes to a college education, it’s unheard of to call up competing institutes of higher learning to see if you can knock a few bucks off the MSRP. [More]
Capital One To Refund $140 Million To Customers Misled Into Buying Unwanted Add-Ons
By 7.18.12
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the barbarians and/or vikings at Capital One went too far in pressuring and misleading the bank’s credit card customers into paying for add-on products like payment protection and credit monitoring. Thus, around two million Cap One customers will be sharing in a refund of $140 million. [More]
Large Credit Reporting Companies Will Now Be Under The CFPB’s Watchful Eye
By 7.16.12
The 30 largest credit reporting companies are about to have a brand new babysitter on the case — the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says it will be begin to supervise those companies starting this fall. Together, they account for 94% of the market’s annual receipts. [More]
CFPB Naming Names With Release Of Complaints Against Credit Card Companies
By 6.19.12
Credit card companies are probably shaking in their various fee-laden boots, as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is making good on a big promise today with the release of its database of consumer complaints leveled against those companies. [More]
Consumers Union Urges CFPB To Regulate Prepaid Credit Cards More Closely
By 5.23.12
Using a prepaid credit card and reloading at your convenience sounds like a great idea in theory, but there are many hidden fees and dangers involved. That’s why the Consumers Union, the policy and advocacy arm of Consumer Reports, is urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today to adopt new rules to protect consumers who rely on prepaid cards. [More]
