Sure, the idea of sitting on your couch in your boxers and picking a loan from a list of preselected lenders seems like an easy and fairly straight-forward process. But federal officials say the relatively new online lending industry is rife with potential risks and should be subjected to additional oversight. [More]
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Online Payday Lenders Could Be Worse Than Traditional Payday Lenders
By 4.20.16
The typical outsider’s view of payday lending involves seedy looking storefront shops in strip malls near pawn shops and bail bonds, so the idea of going to a short-term lender with a cleanly designed, professional website might seem more appealing (not to mention convenient). However, a new report finds that online payday loans may wreak more financial havoc than their bricks-and-mortar counterparts. [More]
Feds Will Notify Disabled Borrowers Eligible For Student Loan Discharge
By 4.13.16
Under the law, borrowers who are permanently disabled are eligible to have their federal student loans discharged. While the government has taken steps in the past to make the process more streamlined for consumers, the Department of Education will now proactively seek out eligible borrowers. [More]
Pennsylvania Man Charged With Racketeering For $688M Payday Loan Operation
By 4.7.16
A Pennsylvania man, known for helping to usher in the payday loan movement, has been charged with racketeering for his alleged part in a scheme that bilked more than $688 million from consumers and defrauded 1,400 others from a million-dollar settlement. [More]
Feds Arrest Heads Of Two Massive Online Payday Loan Operations
By 2.10.16
Back in June 2014, Consumerist showed readers what might have been the scammiest payday loan we’d ever seen. Today, federal authorities arrested the man behind the company, AMG Services — along with his lawyer and another, unrelated, payday lender — for allegedly running online payday lending operations that exploited more than 5 million consumers. [More]
Toyota Must Pay $22M For Charging Higher Interest To Non-White Borrowers
By 2.2.16
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]
“Buy Here, Pay Here” Dealer To Return $700K To Consumers Over Deceptive Lending Practices
By 1.21.16
Federal regulators continued their crackdown on not-so-upfront “buy-here, pay-here” auto dealers today, ordering a Colorado-based dealer to pay nearly $1 million in restitution and fines for operating an abusive financing scheme. [More]
Two Payday Lenders Agree To Pay $4.4M In Fines, Release Borrowers From $68M In Loans, Fees
By 1.5.16
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]
Regulators Take Action Against Fifth Third Bank For Auto-Lending Discrimination, Illegal Credit Card Practices
By 9.28.15
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]
Regulators Sue Pension Advance Companies Over Deceptive Marketing Of Loans
By 8.20.15
Five months after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned that pension advance loans could be the new payday loan – leaving consumers who are already struggling to make ends meet in dire financial situations – the agency announced it had teamed up with the state of New York to shut down two companies that allegedly deceived retirees about the risks and costs associated with the loan products. [More]
Company Offering Deferred-Interest Loans For Dental Work Must Repay $700K To Consumers Over False Claims
By 8.19.15
Getting a root canal, a crown replaced, or even a simple filling at the dentist can really drain your bank account, especially if you don’t have insurance. That’s why a growing number of dental offices are offering third-party financing to patients. But sometimes these loans offer terms that are too good to be true. [More]
Auto Loan Debt Tops $1 Trillion For First Time; All Consumer Debt Nearing $12 Trillion
By 8.13.15
Now that the Great Recession has gone from “is it really over?” to “remember when?” more Americans are buying cars, pushing auto loan debt beyond the $1 trillion mark for the first time in U.S. history. [More]
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Facebook Patent Would Allow Lenders To Determine Creditworthiness By Looking At Your ‘Friends’
By 8.5.15
Earlier this year Facebook announced it would dip its toes into the pool of mobile payments by launching a system that allowed users to send money to friends via the Messenger app. Now it appears the company may take things a bit farther after receiving approval for a patent this week that would allow creditors to determine whether or not someone is worthy of a loan based on their circle of friends on the social networking site. [More]
Honda Finance Unit Must Pay $24 Million For Charging Higher Interest To Non-White Borrowers
By 7.14.15
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 Honda’s financing unit allegedly violated, resulting in thousands of African-American, Hispanic, and Asian and Pacific Islander borrowers paying higher interest rates than white borrowers for their auto loans. Now, as part of a settlement with federal regulators to resolve allegations that the company allowed discriminatory loan pricing, the company must provide $24 million in restitution to borrowers. [More]
Risk Evaluation Report Finds Mobile Banking Leaves Some Banks More Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks
By 7.1.15
While mobile banking is no doubt convenient for customers – and banks – there’s a significant downside to the fact that more and more financial institutions are using the technology: an increased risk that your personal information will fall in the hands of a cyber criminal. [More]
Consumers Can’t Void Second Mortgage In Bankruptcy, SCOTUS Rules
By 6.1.15
Consumers taking out a second mortgage will now have to consider the fact that if they encounter financial difficulties and file for bankruptcy, they won’t be able to strip off the additional loan obligation. [More]
SEC Reportedly Investigating Bank Of America Over Customer-Protection Rule Violations
By 4.28.15
Financial institutions are required under federal law to follow an array of rules that aim to protect consumers’ accounts. Bank of America may not have followed one of those rules over the course of several years, and now reportedly faces an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. [More]
California Orders Corinthian Colleges To Stop Enrollment At WyoTech, Everest Campuses
By 4.22.15
The collapse of for-profit education chain Corinthian Colleges – operator of Everest University, Heald College and WyoTech – continued today after a California regulator issued an order requiring the company to cease enrolling new students at its Everest and WyoTech campuses in the state. [More]
