Press Release Archives

Report: Which States Put Families at Risk of Poverty During the Covid Crisis?

October 29, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCTOBER 29, 2020 Boston – As millions of families suffer job loss or struggle to pay bills during COVID-19, states have an important role in protecting them from seizure of essential wages and property to pay old debts. A new state survey from the National Consumer Law Center finds that not one jurisdiction’s laws…

New OCC Rule Protecting Predatory Lenders Could Face Legal Challenge

October 27, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 27, 2020 Rule that evades state interest rate laws will severely impact low-income and communities of color WASHINGTON, D.C. – The regulator of the nation’s largest banks has finalized a rule that allows predatory lenders to do an end-run around state interest rate caps, exposing people to loans in excess of…

Consumer Groups Take on Facebook at the U.S. Supreme Court to Stop Deluge of Robocalls

October 26, 2020

National Consumer Law Center, Consumer Federation of America, and Consumer Reports submit amicus in Duguid v. Facebook WASHINGTON, D.C. — Unwanted robocalls invade the privacy of Americans, diminish the usefulness of cell phones, and can threaten public safety. Yet Facebook wants the U.S. Supreme Court to so narrowly define prohibitions on calls made to cell…

Consumer Advocates Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Fair Credit Reporting Act

October 26, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 26, 2020 Washington, D.C. – Today marks the fiftieth anniversary of passage of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The following is the statement of National Consumer Law Center attorneys Chi Chi Wu, Ariel Nelson and Sarah Bolling Mancini. “The FCRA was a landmark law for its time and the first…

New Report: Using Bankruptcy to Discharge Criminal Justice Debt

October 8, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 8, 2020 Boston – A major barrier that keeps people in the United States from successfully reentering society long after an encounter with the criminal justice system is the burden of paying fines and fees. To help knock down this barrier, a new primer from the National Consumer Law Center guides…

LDF, ACLU of Michigan, National Consumer Law Center, and Michigan Poverty Law Program File Class Action Fair Housing Lawsuit Against Vision Property Management for Targeting Black Homebuyers in Home Purchase Scheme

September 29, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 29, 2020 Detroit – Today, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF), the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan (ACLU), the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), and the Michigan Poverty Law Program filed a federal class action lawsuit against Vision Property Management (Vision). The lawsuit was filed on behalf…

Consumer and Faith Groups to CFPB Director: Stop Letting Industry Violate the Fair Credit Reporting Act

September 24, 2020

For Immediate Release: September 24, 2020 550% increase in credit reporting complaints to CFPB in the past six months Washington, D.C. – A coalition of 21 consumer, faith, and advocacy groups sent a letter today to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Kathy Kraninger urging her to revoke the permission that the Bureau granted the credit…

NCLC Advocates Applaud Schumer/Warren Senate Resolution Calling for $50,000 in Debt Cancellation for 43 Million Student Loan Borrowers

September 17, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 17, 2020 Boston – Today, Senators Schumer and Warren announced they are introducing a Resolution calling on the President of the United States to take executive action to broadly cancel up to $50,000 in federal student loan debt for 43 million Americans. The following is a statement by Persis Yu, National…

HUD Guts Civil Rights Rule Used to Address Systemic Discrimination in the Housing Market on the Dawn of an Eviction and Foreclosure Crisis

September 8, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 8, 2020 National Consumer Law Center contacts: Jan Kruse ([email protected]) or Odette Williamson ([email protected]) National Consumer Law Center Advocates Urge HUD to Reverse Course and Restore Key Civil Rights Protections Washington, D.C. – In a continuing campaign to weaken civil rights protections, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)…

“True Lender” Rule Would Help Fraudulent, Predatory Lenders Evade State Interest Rate Laws that Protect Families

September 3, 2020

The timing of the OCC’s embrace of predatory lenders could not be worse We are in the midst of an unprecedented health crisis and a severe economic crisis, with both crises impacting communities of color more heavily than white communities WASHINGTON, D.C. – A proposal by the regulator of the nation’s largest banks would…

FHFA’s Delay of Fannie & Freddie Mortgage Refinancing Fee is a Necessary Yet Utterly Insufficient Step for Struggling Homeowners

August 26, 2020

Washington, D.C. – The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced yesterday that a fee from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which FHFA previously approved and which makes refinancing more expensive for mortgages backed by those companies, will be delayed until December 1. FHFA also said the fee will not apply to refinance loans with balances…

CFPB Issues Proposal to Permit Mortgage Lenders to Make Unaffordable Loans Without Consequences

August 18, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 18, 2020 National Consumer Law Center Statement: Proposal May be Challenged Washington, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’(CFPB) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking regarding the Dodd-Frank Act ability to repay and qualified mortgage rules. The following statement is by National Consumer Law Center Staff Attorney Alys Cohen: “The…

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