COVID and Pandemics Archives

Alys Cohen to Testify at U.S. House Hearing on Mortgage Servicers’ Implementation of the CARES Act

July 15, 2020

Full testimony is available at: https://bit.ly/oversight-svcrs-cares Washington, D.C. – On Thursday, July 16 at 12pm ET, National Consumer Law Center attorney Alys Cohen will testify virtually at the U.S. House Financial Services Oversight Subcommittee hearing: Protecting Homeowners During the Pandemic: Oversight of Mortgage Servicers’ Implementation of the CARES Act. Cohen’s testimony will focus on how…

Report: Student Loan Borrowers Teetering on the Edge of Catastrophe after Having Tax Refunds Seized

July 15, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JULY 15, 2020 Congress Must Act to Stop Snatching of Earned Income Tax Credits Boston – This Tax Day, the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) has released Voices of Despair: How Seizing the EITC Is Leaving Student Loan Borrowers Homeless and Hopeless During a Pandemic. The updated report builds on a 2018…

How to Get Help with Your Mortgage During COVID-19

July 9, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 9, 2020 The following organizations have made this important information available in Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, Bangla, and English: AFR Language Access Task Force, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, Center for Responsible Lending, Consumer Action, Empire Justice Center, National CAPACD, National Consumer Law Center, National Fair Housing Alliance, and UnidosUS.…

Alert: IRS Sending Letters About Unactivated Stimulus Prepaid Cards

July 2, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 2, 2020 WASHINGTON, D.C. – People who have not received their Economic Impact Payments (EIP) should be on the lookout for letters being sent starting today by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) telling them that they may have an unactivated prepaid card. Last month, the IRS sent stimulus payments via the…

Statement of National Consumer Law Center Advocate in Support of The Emergency Broadband Connections Act of 2020

June 29, 2020

Washington, D.C. The National Consumer Law Center commends the leadership of U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, who joined with Senators Richard Blumenthal, Mazie Hirono, and Chuck Schumer to introduce The Emergency Broadband Connections Act of 2020, which would help low-income households afford home broadband service. “Black, Hispanic, American Indians and Alaska Natives have lower broadband subscription…

Advocates Condemn FDIC Rule that Encourages Predatory High-Cost Loans; Call on Congress to Pass Federal 36% Interest Rate Cap Limit

June 25, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JUNE 25, 2020 Media Contacts: National Consumer Law Center: Jan Kruse ([email protected]) Center for Responsible Lending: Matthew Kravitz ([email protected]) Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund: Diop Harris ([email protected]) Washington, D.C. – Consumer advocates criticized the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) for today finalizing a rule that encourages online non-bank lenders to launder…

CFPB Proposal Would Encourage Unaffordable Mortgage Lending and Threaten Access to Credit

June 22, 2020

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released two proposed rules that together will fundamentally reshape the mortgage market at a time when the market is attempting to adjust to the pandemic and recession and access to credit for communities of color is already constrained. “With the country facing the effects of a…

Advocates Praise California Public Utility Commission’s Unanimous Vote to Pass Utility Shut-Off Protections for Residents

June 12, 2020

California adopts rules and programs to reduce residential disconnections from gas and electric service San Francisco – Consumer advocates praised yesterday’s unanimous vote by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to adopt a suite of utility credit and collections rules and programs to reduce residential electric and natural gas disconnections for customers of the large…

Advocates Praise D.C. Attorney General Suit Against Predatory High-Cost Rent-a-Bank Lender

June 5, 2020

Elevate charged 99% to 251% APR despite D.C.’s 6% to 24% rate cap FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JUNE 5, 2020 National Consumer Law Center Contacts: Jan Kruse ([email protected]), Lauren Saunders ([email protected]) Washington, D.C. – Consumer advocates praised today’s announcement by District of Columbia (DC) Attorney General Karl Racine that he has filed a lawsuit against online lender…

Time for Action on Racial Equity

June 4, 2020

June 4, 2020 The tragic death of George Floyd is just the latest in a long and repugnant history of unarmed African American deaths at the hands of police officers. We mourn the loss of his life and the lives of so many others like him in the history of this country. The repetition of…

Consumer Advocates Criticize Credit Card “Relief” from CFPB and Warn Consumers to Avoid Unwanted Electronic Statements

June 4, 2020

Washington, D.C. – Under the guise of allowing “relief” to consumers during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued guidance yesterday that will undermine critical consumer protections in federal law that ensure that consumers receive important disclosures about credit card transactions in writing. The guidance, supposedly issued to provide consumers relief to…

Advocates Condemn Rent-a-Bank Rule that Encourages Predatory High-Cost Loans; Call on Congress to Pass Federal 36% Interest Rate Cap Limit

May 29, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MAY 29, 2020 Media Contacts: National Consumer Law Center: Jan Kruse ([email protected]) Center for Responsible Lending: Matthew Kravitz ([email protected]) Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund: Carter Dougherty ([email protected]) Washington, D.C. – Consumer advocates slammed the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for its final rule issued today that encourages online…

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