When the National Consumer Law Center published the report Installment Loans: Will States Protect borrowers From a New Wave of Predatory Lending? in July 2015, predatory installment lenders were moving into the states, seeking statutory authority to make consumer installment loans at sky-high interest rates. The report analyzed which states allowed high-cost installment lending and…
The National Consumer Law Center, on behalf of its low income clients, submitted comments on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act Outline of proposed regulations under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA.
Debt collection affects millions of Massachusetts residents. In 2014, the Urban Institute reported that nearly 1 in 4 Massachusetts residents with credit reports had a debt in collection due to nonpayment of a bill and that the average amount of the debt was $4,602.
Debt collection affects millions of Massachusetts residents. In 2014, the Urban Institute reported that nearly 1 in 4 Massachusetts residents with credit reports had a debt in collection due to non-payment of a bill and that the average amount of the debt was $4,602.1
Conventional analysis of auto finance tends to ignore the number of families affected and their demographics. It also tends to obscure the rate at which new car financings are originated in comparison to other consumer debt. While economists, policymakers, and others realize the overall role that auto finance plays in the United States’ financial landscape, the scale of the impact of auto finance on those with low and moderate income, people of color, and younger people has received less attention. This report looks at existing data in new ways to better understand the true scale of auto finance for low- and moderate-income families.
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The undersigned consumer protection, civil rights, and legal services groups write to express our significant concerns with the outline of proposed regulations on debt collection issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on July 28, 2016. The proposal represents a missed opportunity to fundamentally improve protections for consumers victimized by predatory debt collection practices.
A collaborative three-part initiative by the National Consumer Law Center and Harvard Law School’s Criminal Justice Policy Program. *** In July 2016, Philando Castile, an African-American man, was shot and killed by a police officer in Minnesota after being stopped ostensibly for driving with a cracked taillight. The shooting spurred investigation into prior interactions the…
Read More about Confronting Criminal Justice Debt: The Urgent Need for Comprehensive Reform
OVERVIEW In a responsible loan market, the lenders’ profits are closely aligned to the successful repayment of the credit. Yet high-rate installment lending can lead to asymmetrical incentives:As long as the borrower pays long enough before defaulting, a high-rate installment loan will be profitable. If the borrower makes even half the payments on a longer term high-rate installment…
Civil legal aid organizations provide critical front-line services for low-income and elderly people across the country facing debt collection activity. Debt collection is a pervasive part of life in the United States. In 2014, 12 million adults had non-mortgage debts reported as past due on their credit reports and 77 million consumers had nonmortgage debts…
Credit reports and scores reflect stunning racial disparities. Study after study has found that Black and Latino communities have lower credit scores as a group than whites and Asians. The racial disparities in credit scores are due to deep structural factors, created by centuries of intentional and legalized discrimination as well as present-day biases.
