Comments on the fifth further notice of proposed rulemaking (CG Dkt. No. 17-59) and fourth further notice of proposed rulemaking (WC Dkt. No. 17-97) by Electronic Privacy Information Center and National Consumer Law Center on behalf of its low-income clients.
Comments in response to Securus’ Petition for Waiver of the Per-Minute Rate Requirement (“Petition”) as a coalition of organizations committed to securing just rates for people who are directly impacted by incarceration. In order to expand its subscriptions program, Securus requested a waiver of FCC rules 64.6030, 64.6080, and 64.6090 that require interstate incarcerated person…
Americans for Financial Reform, the Center for Responsible Lending, Consumer Federation of America, Consumer Reports, National Consumer Law Center, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United For Respect and U.S. PIRG write to urge you to veto S. 3611 (Scutari) regarding earned income access services.
Read More about Letter Opposing NJ Earned Income Access Bill
OVID-19 pandemic has had a severe financial impact on customers’ ability to pay for basic necessities such as utility service. Nearly one million Massachusetts residential customers (824,972) owed a total of $793.8 million in unpaid electric and gas bills at the end of June 2021, $219.1 million (38%) more than was owed at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. The vast majority of those arrears (83%/$660.8 million) were held by customers who were more than 90 days behind on their bills, and thus at imminent risk of termination. By October 1, the two largest utility companies in Massachusetts reported that over 7,000 residential customers had been terminated since the state’s moratorium on residential shutoffs was lifted on July 1. before the moratorium on residential utility shutoffs expired on July 1. As the future remains uncertain, and households continue to financially struggle, millions of customers across the country need assistance immediately to avoid losing access to critical utility service.
State exemption laws, which protect income and property from seizure by creditors, debt buyers, and the debt collectors they hire, are a fundamental safeguard for families. Exemption laws are designed to protect consumers and their families from poverty, and to preserve their ability to be productive members of society and achieve financial rehabilitation. These protections…
Plaintiff Jaimaria Bodor alleges her 2018 tax return was improperly seized by the U.S. government due to a lapse by Defendant Maximus Federal Services, Inc. (“Maximus”), a purported collector of student loan debt, in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
Read More about Memorandum Opinion in Jaimaria Bodor v. Maximus Federal Services
Written Testimony before the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Joint Committee on the Judiciary in support of H.1900: An Act Relative to Telephone Service for Inmates in All Correctional and Other Penal Institutions in the Commonwealth
Read More about Testimony supporting Massachusetts H. 1900, Telephone Service for Inmates
Chi Chi Wu testifies before the Financial Technology Task Force of the US House Financial Services Committee on " Preserving the Right of Consumers to Access Personal Financial Data."
Despite their numerous and intractable problems, the Supreme Court provided an enormous get-out-of-jail-free pass to credit bureaus in a recent case, TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez. The Ramirez decision significantly impacts the ability of consumers to protect themselves and their financial reputations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
Read More about Ramirez, Faux-Federalism, and the Futility of Consumer Disclosure Protections
The undersigned organizations are committed to ensuring access to high-quality postsecondary distance education and believe that one of the primary functions of state oversight of education, including distance education, is to protect students from predatory schools and programs that leave them with unmanageable debt and credentials and degrees of questionable quality. We appreciate the opportunity to provide comments on the 21st Century Guidelines for Distance Education (Guidelines), commissioned by the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) and developed by the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems (NCHEMS).
Read More about Letter to NC-SARA Regarding Proposed 21st Century Guidelines for Distance Education
