fines

Rick Drew

Justice Department Advises Against Throwing Poor People In Jail For Not Paying Fines

While debtor prisons have long been outlawed, failure to pay a court-ordered fine or fee can get you locked up. But in a letter sent yesterday to state court administrators, the Department of Justice advises against using the penal system as a way to collect debts. [More]

Toyota Must Pay $22M For Charging Higher Interest To Non-White Borrowers

Toyota Must Pay $22M For Charging Higher Interest To Non-White Borrowers

Under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, creditors are prohibited from discriminating against loan applicants based on race or national origin. But that was a rule Toyota’s financing unit allegedly violated, resulting in thousands of African-American, Asian and Pacific Islander borrowers paying higher interest rates than their white counterparts. Now, in an effort to resolve charges filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Toyota Motor Credit Corporation must pay $21.9 million to wronged consumers.  [More]

2015 Was Another Record Year For Vehicle Recalls

2015 Was Another Record Year For Vehicle Recalls

Shortly after taking over as head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Mark Rosekind warned carmakers, consumers, and anyone who would listen that 2015 could see more recalls than the recallapalooza that was 2014. Fast forward 12 months, and his prediction has become a reality.  [More]

Uber To Pay $7.6M To California In Order To Keep Drivers On The Road

Uber To Pay $7.6M To California In Order To Keep Drivers On The Road

Uber must pay a $7.6 million fine in order to keep its drivers on the road in California after the state’s Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) voted on Thursday to approve a judge’s months-old recommendation that found the ride-sharing company failed to meet data reporting requirements.  [More]

United Airlines Fined $2.75M For Tarmac Delays, Treatment Of Disabled Passengers

United Airlines Fined $2.75M For Tarmac Delays, Treatment Of Disabled Passengers

In October, United Airlines apologized to a disabled passenger who ended up crawling off the plane after he was told he’d have to wait up to 50 minutes for a wheelchair. This is just one of several complaints related to United’s treatment of disabled passengers. When combined with penalties for stranding passengers on the tarmac for more than three hours, the airline now faces federal fines of $2. 75 million. [More]

Two Payday Lenders Agree To Pay $4.4M In Fines, Release Borrowers From $68M In Loans, Fees

Two Payday Lenders Agree To Pay $4.4M In Fines, Release Borrowers From $68M In Loans, Fees

Federal regulators continued an ongoing crackdown on deceptive payday loan players by reaching a multimillion-dollar agreement with two lenders to settle accusations they illegally charged consumers with undisclosed and inflated fees.  [More]

Southwest Airlines To Pay $2.8M To Settle FAA Lawsuit Over Improper Repairs

Southwest Airlines To Pay $2.8M To Settle FAA Lawsuit Over Improper Repairs

More than a year after the U.S. government sued Southwest Airlines over allegedly improper repairs to more than a dozen aircraft, the airline has agreed to settle the allegations to the tune of $2.8 million.  [More]

CarHop Must Pay $6.4 Million In Penalties For  Jeopardizing Consumers’ Credit With Inaccurate Reports

CarHop Must Pay $6.4 Million In Penalties For Jeopardizing Consumers’ Credit With Inaccurate Reports

CarHop, one of the country’s largest “buy-here, pay-here” auto dealers, promotes itself as a company that offers fast approval for “just about anyone, despite bad or no credit.” While the company prides itself on the ability to help consumers, federal regulators say the dealer and its financing arm often did more harm than good when it came to reporting on customers’ credit behavior. To that end, CarHop must pay $6.4 million in penalties for providing damaging, inaccurate consumer information to credit reporting agencies (CRAs).  [More]

Lender EZCORP Must Pay $10M In Refunds, Fines For Illegal In-Person Debt Collection Practices

Lender EZCORP Must Pay $10M In Refunds, Fines For Illegal In-Person Debt Collection Practices

A small-dollar lender has been slammed with a top-dollar penalty by federal regulators who say that the company’s debt collection practices violated the law.  [More]

Fiat Chrysler To Pay $70M For Allegedly Failing To Disclose Crash Deaths & Injuries

Fiat Chrysler To Pay $70M For Allegedly Failing To Disclose Crash Deaths & Injuries

Fiat Chrysler will pay a $70 million fine to federal regulators over allegations it under-reported injuries and deaths related to vehicle crashes.  [More]

Wells Fargo Reportedly Under Federal Investigation Related To Student Loan Servicing

Wells Fargo Reportedly Under Federal Investigation Related To Student Loan Servicing

According to a new report, Wells Fargo is the latest big-name bank to be scrutinized as part of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s ongoing investigation into student loan servicing practices.
[More]

Regulators Take Action Against Fifth Third Bank For Auto-Lending Discrimination, Illegal Credit Card Practices

Regulators Take Action Against Fifth Third Bank For Auto-Lending Discrimination, Illegal Credit Card Practices

Federal regulators dished out a double dose of enforcement today by taking action against Fifth Third Bank for allegedly charging higher interest rates to minority borrowers for car loans and deceptively marketing credit card add-on products to bank customers.  [More]

NJ-Based Bank Must Pay $33M To Settle Discriminatory Lending Charges

NJ-Based Bank Must Pay $33M To Settle Discriminatory Lending Charges

“Redlining” is the act of denying services, either directly or through selectively raising prices, to residents of a certain area based on race or ethnicity. Federal law prohibits creditors from this type of discrimination, but New Jersey-based Hudson City Savings Bank is now on the hook for a total of nearly $33 million for allegedly providing unequal access to credit in parts of four states. [More]

American Airlines Fined $20K For Failing To Adequately Compensate Bumped Passengers

American Airlines Fined $20K For Failing To Adequately Compensate Bumped Passengers

If you get bumped from a flight because the airline overbooked the plane, you usually get some sort of compensation — money or vouchers for future flights — in exchange for having to change your travel plans. But federal regulators say American Airlines screwed up when it bumped nearly a dozen passengers from a Miami-to-London flight and failed to tell them why or offer them anything for their troubles. [More]

Police Put Up Signs To Remind Motorists How Stop Signs Work

Police Put Up Signs To Remind Motorists How Stop Signs Work

Can a financial incentive make people change their driving habits? One police department in Pennsylvania is taking a slightly passive-aggressive approach to preventing accidents with signs that remind motorists how stop signs work. “Complete Stops: FREE,” the signs say. “Rolling Stops: $128.50. Your choice.” Police in neighboring towns are interested in the signs now, too. [More]

Philadelphia Sues, Fines Uber $300K Over Allegations Of Operating Illegally

Philadelphia Sues, Fines Uber $300K Over Allegations Of Operating Illegally

After 10 months of driving the streets in Philadelphia, Uber now faces a lawsuit and $300,000 fine for providing ride-hailing services in violation of city regulations.   [More]

Court Sides With Consumer In Suit Against Retailer That Charges $250 When Customers Threaten To Complain

Court Sides With Consumer In Suit Against Retailer That Charges $250 When Customers Threaten To Complain

Last summer, a consumer in Wisconsin filed a lawsuit against online retailer Accessory Outlet over what she called a bogus $250 fine the company imposed, claiming she breached the terms of sale when she threatened to have the charge canceled after the iPhone case she ordered never shipped. Today, a New York court sided with the consumer by granting a default judgement in the case, essentially agreeing that Accessory Outlet’s “terms of sale” and the debt it alleged the woman owed were void.  [More]

Southwest Airlines Receives Yet Another Fine Related To Aircraft Repairs

Southwest Airlines Receives Yet Another Fine Related To Aircraft Repairs

Southwest Airlines faces yet another aircraft repair related fine — this time for $325,000 — from federal regulators after flying an airplane too long after it had received temporary repairs. [More]