COVID Relief Archives

Letter to Ohio Attorney General

April 10, 2020

Letter from the Ohio Poverty Law Center in appreciation of the leadership of Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Health Director Amy Acton in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Letter to CA Governor Newsom Regarding Prohibiting Garnishment of Stimulus Payments

April 10, 2020

Advocates' letter to California governor urging a halt to bank account garnishments and/or debt collection.

Consumer Groups Support FCC Allowing Limited Automated Calls Related to COVID-19 from Lenders to Customers

April 10, 2020

Washington, D.C. – Six national consumer groups, including the National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low income client), filed comments with the FCC supporting part of the petition by the American Bankers Association and other lenders petition to make automated calls from the institutions to alert their customers to callers’ offers related to the…

COVID-19 Crisis: Advocates Urge FHFA to Help Ensure Fair Treatment for All Borrowers, Especially Limited English Proficient Borrowers

April 9, 2020

Washington, D.C. – The National Consumer Law Center, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, the National Fair Housing Alliance and 33 other consumer, civil rights, and housing counseling groups sent a letter today calling on the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA) to step up its efforts to translate key mortgage notices needed by borrowers hit…

New CFPB Mortgage Guidance Does More for Servicers than Consumers

April 6, 2020

Millions of Families Could Lose Homes from Job Loss Due to COVID-19 Washington, D.C. – Late last Friday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a one-sided policy guidance providing enormous flexibility to mortgage servicers while failing to ensure that distressed consumers can get access to crucial information and foreclosure-avoidance procedures. Although styled as a…

National Consumer Law Center Advocate Slams Trump Administration Credit Reporting Guidance for Giving Relief to Creditors and Credit Bureaus But Not Consumers During COVID-19 Pandemic

April 1, 2020

Boston – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a policy guidance outlining the “responsibilities” of credit bureaus and furnishers (i.e., creditors and debt collectors) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The following is a statement in response from Chi Chi Wu, staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center: “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) utterly…

U.S. Treasury Must Protect Stimulus Payments From Garnishment by Debt Collectors

April 1, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: APRIL 1, 2020 National Consumer Law Center contact: Jan Kruse ([email protected]) Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Department of the Treasury must act immediately to ensure that the stimulus payments about to go out to millions of Americans are available for food and necessities and are not grabbed by debt collectors, according to…

Senate COVID-19 Stimulus Bill is a Start but Falls Far Short for Families, Students, and the Nation’s Most Vulnerable

March 26, 2020

Washington, D.C. – Late yesterday, the U.S. Senate passed a $2 trillion stimulus bill to assist businesses and families in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. The package includes some helpful aid but it falls short in several critical consumer protection areas. “While the Senate package contains some first steps to relieve the economic crisis,…

Letter from the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities to Competitive Suppliers and Licensed Competitive Supply Brokers

March 24, 2020

Legal Aid Request for Temporary COVID-19 Stay of Post-Judgment Writs of Garnishment, Execution, and Receiverships, and Stay of Entry of Default Judgments

March 3, 2020

Trump Administration’s plan to pause student loan payments is woefully insufficient

March 20, 2020

BOSTON―Today, advocates warn that the plan announced by the U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to allow borrowers with federally held student loans the option to suspend their payments falls far short of what is needed in this national crisis. Statement by Persis Yu, director of the National Consumer Law Center’s Student Loan Borrower Assistance…

Advocates Praise Senators for Bold Student Loan Principles

March 19, 2020

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 19, 2020 National Consumer Law Center Contact: Jan Kruse at [email protected] Boston – Today, U.S. Senators Schumer, Murray, Brown, and Warren introduced a proposal outlining their plan to protect the financial interests of millions of student loan borrowers during the COVID-19 pandemic by cancelling borrowers’ student loan payments and protecting defaulted…