While the big headline of this morning’s monthly FCC meeting was the release of the Commission’s final rules on broadband privacy, the agency’s leadership also let it be known that it’s planning to take on one of the industry’s most controversial issues: The right of consumers to have their day in court. [More]
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FCC To Propose Rules That Could Restore Consumers’ Right To Sue Phone, Broadband Providers
By 10.27.16 — Updated: 10.31.16
CFPB Previews Appeal Of Ruling That Its Structure Is Unconstitutional
By 10.19.16
Last week, a split federal appeals panel ruled that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unconstitutional because the Bureau’s sole Director can not be removed from office at the whim of the President. While the CFPB has yet to appeal this decision, a filing in a separate lawsuit provides a preview of the argument the Bureau could eventually make to try to overturn the ruling. [More]
Appeals Court Calls CFPB Structure Unconstitutional; Throws Out $109M Penalty Over Alleged Mortgage Kickbacks
By 10.11.16
Since its creation as part of the sweeping financial reforms of 2010, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has, through settlements and enforcement actions, returned billions of dollars to Americans who were wronged by financial institutions. But consumer advocates say a new ruling from a federal appeals court threatens to undercut the Bureau’s independence and its ability to hold banks, credit card companies, mortgage lenders, and others accountable. [More]
Senators To Wells Fargo CEO: Don’t Strip Wronged Customers Of Their Day In Court
By 9.23.16 — Updated: 9.30.16
Now that Wells Fargo is in the hot seat for allegedly pushing its employees to meet sales goals and quotas by opening millions of bogus accounts in customers’ names, will the bank use the anti-consumer terms of its customer contracts to get out of the inevitable class action lawsuits? A coalition of U.S. senators have written the bank’s CEO asking him to please not strip customers’ of their day in court. [More]
What Can I Do If I Keep Getting Auto-Billed For A Thing I Don’t Want?
By 9.12.16
Subscriptions and recurring payments are the hot thing these days. From political donations to arts patronage, from subscription boxes to student loans, everyone wants a scheduled monthly slice of your money. And that’s all well and good, as long as you actually want what they’re selling. But what happens if you change your mind? [More]
Lawyer: Employers Should Take Away Workers’ Right To Sue; Arbitrators “Know Where Their Bread & Butter Comes From”
By 9.6.16
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is currently working on rules to stop banks, credit card issuers, and others from forcing customers to sign away their right to a jury trial. Opponents claim that this change will only benefit trial lawyers, but some candid advice from one lawyer shows exactly why these protections are needed — and who really stands to benefit. [More]
Nation’s Largest Privately-Owned Bank Must Return $28M To Credit Card Customers
By 8.25.16
The nation’s largest privately held bank sold its credit card customers on add-on programs intended to help cover their accounts when they faced unexpected hardships. However, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says the bank deceived customers about the reality of these and other programs and has ordered it to provide nearly $28 million in relief to hundreds of thousands of affected cardholders. [More]
9-In-10 Big Banks Strip Customers Of Their Right To Jury Trial
By 8.17.16
If you ask someone on the street if they should have the right to sue their bank over something like an illegal overdraft fee, nearly everyone you speak to will invariably say yes. But a new report confirms that nearly all big banks are forcing customers to give up their right to a jury trial. [More]
103 Lawmakers Come Out In Favor Of Revoking Banks’ “Get Out Of Jail Free” Card
By 8.3.16
In May, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed new rules for financial services companies that could severely limit their ability to sidestep legal liability by forcing wronged customers out of the courtroom and into the byzantine, unfair world of binding arbitration. Some in Congress recently tacked on some legislative pork to an appropriations bill that would prevent the CFPB from moving forward on these rules, but today more than 100 federal lawmakers came out to commend the Bureau for its efforts. [More]
From Credit Cards To Mail-Order Steaks: 87 Companies That Are Taking Away Your Right To Sue
By 8.3.16
A recent study by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that even though most Americans have at least one financial product — checking accounts, credit cards, loans, investment accounts — that use forced arbitration clauses to strip the account-holder of their right to sue, very few of us know about these restrictions or understand what they mean. And as the list we’ve compiled shows, it’s not just banks that are playing the “get out of jail free” card with arbitration. [More]
New Rules Would Require Debt Collectors Have Proof You Actually Owe Money
By 7.28.16
One of the most common complaints about debt collectors is that they harass people over debts that are either no longer owed, or weren’t owed in the first place. Federal regulators are now proposing rules that — among other protections — would cut down on these annoying, bogus collections actions by requiring that debt collectors have some sort of evidence that the person they are calling actually owes money. [More]
House Passes Bill Allowing Banks To Continue Using “Get Out Of Jail Free” Card
By 7.8.16
A few months back, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed new rules that would limit how banks, credit card companies, and other financial services could shield themselves from legitimate lawsuits by forcing customers to sign away their constitutional rights. Now, the House of Representatives has passed an appropriations bill that, if signed, would stop the CFPB from enforcing these rules and give banks back their “get out of jail free” cards. [More]
Payment Processor Ignored Red Flags, Allowed Clients To Withdraw Funds Illegally
By 6.6.16
If you’re in the business of processing payments, you have a certain obligation to look into any sort of signs that your clients may be abusing the system or illegally taking funds from customers’ bank accounts. Failing to do so can land you in some pretty hot water with federal regulators. [More]
DNC Chair Walks Back Her Opposition To Payday Lending Reform
By 6.3.16
Only three months ago, Florida Congresswoman and chair of the Democratic National Committee Debbie Wasserman-Schultz was actively lobbying her fellow lawmakers in opposition to pending reforms for the payday loan industry, finding nothing wrong with lenders who charge interest rates in the range of 300% to people in dire need of cash. Now that the actual rules have been announced, the legislator has had a sudden change of heart. [More]
210 Law Professors Agree: Banks Should Not Be Able To Sidestep Legal System When They Break The Law
By 5.24.16
Earlier this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed rules that would make it more difficult for banks, credit card companies, and other financial services to stripping customers of their constitutional right to file lawsuits against these companies. The 90-day public comment period has finally opened on this rule, and the first one comes from a chorus of 210 law professors who all agree that consumers deserve the right to their day in court. [More]
The 3 Myths Banks Are Using To Defend Their “Get Out Of Jail Free” Cards
By 5.18.16
Earlier this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed rules intended to restore some of those constitutionally granted rights that the Supreme Court has stripped away in recent decades. Faced with the possibility of having to be held responsible for their bad actions, some industry groups are coming out in force against the rules, presenting the same laughably thin argument that consumers ultimately benefit by not being able to sue the companies they do business with. [More]
RushCard To Pay $19M To Customers After Weeks-Long Glitch Last year
By 5.13.16
Last October, thousands of unbanked consumers who rely on prepaid RushCards were unable to access their funds because of a technical glitch. After toying with the idea of creating a compensation fund for those customers, RushCard announced Thursday that it will pay at least $19 million to card users affected by the weeks-long outage. [More]
Payday Loan, Check Cashing Operation Trained Employees To “Never Tell Customer The Fee”
By 5.11.16
All American Check Cashing collects approximately $1 million in check-cashing fees each year. But according to federal regulators, the company, which also provides payday loans, obtains those fees through deceptive means, including refusing to tell customers what they will be charged and lying to prevent consumers from backing out of transactions. [More]
