Consumer Advocates Applaud End of IRS-Provided Service to Refund Anticipation Lenders, August 2010
The Debt Machine: How the Collection Industry Hounds Consumers and Overwhelms the Courts, July 2010
An Agenda for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Challenges for a New Era in Consumer Protection, July 2010
Direct Deposit Push Exposes Social Security Recipients to Bank Payday Loans, July 2010
NCLC Applauds Senate Passage of Wall Street Reform, July 2010
NCLC Lauds House-Senate Agreement on Landmark Consumer Protector, June 2010
Stopping the Payday Loan Trap: Report Exposes Expense and Pitfalls of Some Payday 'Alternatives', June 2010
Small Dollar Loan Products: Scorecard Shows Consumers Pay Steep Rates for Small Loans, May 2010
Protecting Social Security Funds NCLC Hails Rule to Stop Illegal Seizures, April 2010
2009
Full Utility Credit Reporting: Risks to Low Income Consumers, Dec. 2009
Avoidable Foreclosures Continue Despite Servicers "Loan Modifications", Oct. 2009
New Report Describes How Little Noticed Incentives Prompt Banks to Deny Relief to Homeowners
Statement on Cuomo v. Clearing House Supreme Court Fair Lending Preemption Decision, June 29, 2009
Statement of Lauren Saunders, NCLC's Managing Attorney, on Supreme Court’s Cuomo v. Clearing House Association Decision On Discriminatory Mortgage Lending
Using Nontraditional Credit Information: Boon or Bane?, June 2009
Do Alternative Credit Scores and Credit Reports Really Help Low-Income Consumers?
Cell Phone E-Wallets for the Unbanked and Immigrants, June 2009
Nifty New “Bank In Your Pocket” Needs Same Protections Given Banked Consumers
Consumer Statement in Support of President's Proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency, June 2009
Consumer Organizations Urge Fast Action to Create Strong, Independent Regulator
10 Million Americans Unprotected by Fed Credit Card Rules, Apr. 27, 2009
New Analysis Shows Fed Rules Still Allow Onerous Rate Hikes For 80 Million Credit Card Accounts
Threat to Consumer Protections Sparks Opposition to HR 1728, April 23, 2009
A bill backed by leading House Democrats who promise that it will rein in predatory lending and reform the mortgage market would do more harm than good by undermining existing state consumer protection laws and replacing them with unworkable federal mechanisms.
New Technology May Come with Outdated Protection
Consumer Impacts of a Cap-and-Trade Climate Change Policy, Mar. 12, 2009
Principles for Protecting Low- and Moderate- Income Consumers from the Costs of Climate Change Policy and for Re-building Their Communities
Congress, States Need to Better Protect Used-Car Buyers to Help Families Remain Financially Stable, Mar. 5, 2009
Policy reforms needed to protect working families from deception, abusive practices and fraud so that a used car does not become a burden.
2009 Refund Anticipation Loan Report: Big Business, Big Bucks: Quickie Tax Loans Generate Profits for Banks and Tax Preparers While Putting Low-Income Taxpayers At Risk, February 27, 2009
RALs cost consumers hundreds of millions while linked to tax fraud and fringe preparers; Congress urged to take action.
"Antiquated" Laws in Most States Tilted Against Homeowners Are Fueling the U.S. Home Mortgage Foreclosure Crisis, Feb. 26, 2009
"Homeowner Unfriendly" Laws Abound: Three Out of Five States Allow "Fast Track" Foreclosure; 33 States Do Not Require Direct Notification of Homeowners When Foreclosure Process Begins.
Consumer Protection in the States: A 50-State Report on Unfair and Deceptive Acts and Practices Statutes, Feb. 5, 2009
The report analyzes and summarizes the unfair and deceptive acts and practices (UDAP) laws that protect consumers in each state and the District of Columbia, and spotlights limitations in the substance and scope of the laws and in their enforcement.
New Report Reveals Industry-Wide Failures in Handling Errors in Credit Reports, Jan. 27, 2009
The report documents how the three major credit bureaus (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) handle credit reporting
disputes in a perfunctory, formalistic manner.
Consumers Urged to Keep More of Their Tax Refunds by Avoiding Quickie Loans, Jan. 21, 2009
Nearly 9 Million Refund Anticipation Loans Made in 2007; Paystub RAL Lending Returns.
Coalition Letters to House and Senate on TARP and Foreclosure Prevention Legislation, Jan. 13, 2009
Consumer Advocates Decry Use of Bailout Money to Make Predatory Loans to Working Poor Families, Jan. 5, 2009
TARP Funds Being Used to Support Refund Anticipation Lending by Santa Barbara
Bank & Trust
Jury’s Out on Regulators’ New Proposal to Address Abusive Overdraft Loans, Dec. 22, 2008
Banks automatically enroll consumers in the most expensive overdraft option; debit card transactions are the most common trigger of overdraft fees; and lower-income account holders are more likely to pay overdraft fees, stripping what little money they have from their accounts and driving them further into the red.
Consumer Group Letter to President-Elect Obama, December 1, 2008
The groups write to President to state urgent concerns regarding the need to guarantee consumer and marketplace protections as a fundamental principle guiding both President's nominee selections and policy proposals for agencies that deal with housing and credit policy.
Letter Opposing Private Student Loan Bailout, Nov. 19, 2008
Letter to Secretary Paulson from representatives of students, consumers, colleges, administrators, and counselors, to urge him to reconsider the plan to allocate funds from the $700 billion economic rescue package to private student loan providers.
Failed Regulatory Policy, Not Low Income Housing, Cause of Mortgage Crisis, October 13, 2008
Statement from national civil rights, consumer, community development and housing groups regarding attacks on the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).
Scorecard Shows Many States Fail to Protect Consumers From Abusive Lending Practices, August 27, 2008
States urged to provide stronger protections against rate gouging lenders
Fed’s Credit Card Rules: Good First Step, May 2, 2008
Rules take positive first step to rein in unjust interest rate hikes and billing practices; groups call on congress to provide additional consumer protections.
Regulators’ Overdraft Proposal Falls Short: Fails to Protect Consumers from Unwanted Credit, May 2, 2008
New rules on overdraft practices proposed by federal banking regulators represent a significant acknowledgment that something is wrong with the banking system in the U.S.
IRS Takes One Step Forward on RALs, But Takes One Big Step Back On Privacy, January 7, 2008
Consumer group representatives condemned new taxpayer “un-privacy” rules recently issued by the IRS for expanding rather than closing “gaping loopholes” that already allow sharing and marketing based on tax records, but issued cautious support for a separate IRS request for comments on developing new regulations that could rein in the marketing of predatory refund anticipation loans by tax preparers.