Posts tagged as:

legislation

Funny or Die on the Need for a Consumer Financial Protection Agency

March 3, 2010

Funny or Die’s Presidential Reunion from Will Ferrell

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Americans for Financial Reform and the Showdown in Chicago

October 22, 2009

The movement for consumer justice has gotten bigger and stronger, and if you’re in Chicago next week you can experience it firsthand. Americans for Financial Reform (AFR), a big coalition of which AFFIL is a member, is organizing a series of demonstrations on October 25 – 27. Over 5,000 people are expected to attend.
And that’s [...]

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Link Roundup, week of 9.21.09

September 25, 2009

Here are an assortment of juicy consumer links I haven’t had time to write about:

Old Debts Under $100 Don’t Matter Under FICO ‘08 | Consumerist
Bank Of America Reaches Out To Angry YouTube Star | Consumerist
Congress Seeks To Move Up Credit Card Act Implementation To December 1st | Consumerist
Fight begins over new consumer protection agency | [...]

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Federal Trade Commission Accepting Public Comments on Debt Collection Litigation

August 27, 2009

On Tuesday, the FTC will hold a free roundtable in San Francisco, open to the public, on debt collection litigation and arbitration. The FTC is seeking public comments in advance of the event, and some of the existing public comments are, well, interesting.
Debt buyers Midland Credit Management, Asset Acceptance, and Portfolio Recovery Associates whine that [...]

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Bankruptcy: The Best Argument For a Public Option

August 21, 2009

A recent study published in the American Journal of Medicine (PDF) reviewing personal bankruptcies found that medical bills contributed to 62.1% of all bankruptcies in 2007; 92% of these debtors had medical debts over $5,000. The rest met criteria for bankruptcy because they had lost significant income due to illness, or mortgaged a home to [...]

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Clunker Problems

August 20, 2009

Under the Cash for Clunkers program, dealers give buyers an instant rebate, then the dealer gets compensated by the government. The government is currently overwhelmed by the number of dealer requests and is having problems processing the requests quickly.
As a result, some dealers have pulled out of the program entirely. But there are plenty of [...]

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New Credit Card Rights For Consumers

August 20, 2009

Starting today, credit card holders have more rights:

More time to pay. Credit card companies have to mail bills 21 days in advance of the billing date.
More time to reject changes. Card holders now have up to 45 days to reject rate increases.
More time to pay off existing balances. Card holders now have the option of [...]

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Consumer Financial Protection Agency must have teeth and be flexible

June 18, 2009

Earlier this week, President Obama announced his plan to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency as part of his financial reform package. It is a great idea, and I hope it will succeed.
Why we need it
If you buy a sports car, you are not likely to accept a station wagon when you go to pick [...]

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Credit card eliminations spike

June 8, 2009

The credit card industry is purging accounts, shutting down just over 19% of their accounts in the past year. As you can see, that is a huge increase over past rates. And this is on top of all the credit limit reductions (not to mention lines of credit). Since the industry is threatening further account [...]

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Credit card companies: they’re finally getting f***ed back

May 29, 2009

Happy Friday!

New Credit Card Laws – watch more funny videos

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Credit card agreements must use 12-point font

May 20, 2009

As someone who reads dozens of credit card agreements every month, this may be the most-welcome part of the new credit card legislation:
(d) Minimum type-size and font requirement for credit card applications and disclosures. -All written information, provisions, and terms in or on any application, solicitation, contract, or agreement for any credit card account under [...]

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Senate Passes Bill to Restrict Credit Card Practices

May 20, 2009

Senate Passes Bill to Restrict Credit Card Practices | New York Times

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Why is Obama silent on bankruptcy reform?

May 19, 2009

The Red Tape Chronicles asks whether Obama is “backing the wrong horse” by championing credit card reform while ignoring bankruptcy reform that would allow bankruptcy judges to reduce mortgage loans in bankruptcy—just like they can do for all other debts. Credit card reform is a great thing, of course, but it will have a tiny [...]

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Midnight hour at the Capitol

May 15, 2009

A summary of legal legislation, with a focus on consumer bills. Midnight hour at the Capitol | Minnesota Lawyer

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Link roundup

May 14, 2009

Time to clean out my Google Reader queue.

How to complain about: credit report errors | The Red Tape Chronicles
Does it make sense to pay “points” upfront to lower your interest rate? Decoding the Mysterious Mortgage Points Game | Alpha Consumer
What’s The New Credit Card Reform Bill All About? | Consumerist
Stop fighting bankruptcy. When bankruptcy is [...]

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Banks spent $42.4 million to kill the cramdown

May 6, 2009

Last week, the Senate put the proposed “cramdown” legislation to rest. That legislation would have saved 1.7 million homes, and $300 billion wasted on the foreclosure process. The banking industry was apparently not interested in $300 billion, though. Instead, it spend $42.4 million lobbying senators to kill the bill.
Figures. The astonishingly bad judgment of those [...]

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Forced Arbitration: You Can’t Sue Us For Discrimination

April 30, 2009

Why you should support the Arbitration Fairness Act. Forced Arbitration: You Can’t Sue Us For Discrimination | Consumerist

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The banking industry hates America

April 30, 2009

Why would bankers oppose legislation that would save millions of homes and $300,000,000,000 of their money? They hate America. This is the only conclusion I can come to.
The “cramdown” legislation would have enabled bankruptcy judges to modify home mortgages, which they used to be able to do, anyway. In doing so, millions of homeowners would [...]

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Today Is Arbitration Fairness Day!

April 29, 2009

Call your representatives and tell them mandatory binding arbitration sucks! Today Is Arbitration Fairness Day! | Consumer Law & Policy Blog

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Payday lenders are corporate loan sharks

April 29, 2009

A big part of the payday lending story that somehow does not get much play is the comparison to the loan sharks of the past and the historical animosity towards usury. The Salt Lake Tribune has a good story of the dangers of predatory lending, but even better is that it brings up these points. [...]

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