Morgan Drexen Case Illustrates Harm to Consumers In the past, debt settlement companies typically charged hefty fees upon enrollment, before settling any debts. This practice created heavy incentives for companies to sign up as many people as possible, collect fees, and not settle any debts. In light of these problems, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued rules regulating debt relief in 2010. Among the most significant of these provisions is an "advance fee ban," which allows firms to collect fees on accounts only when a settlement agreement has been reached and at least one settlement...
More than 4 million Americans are subject to wage garnishments for outstanding consumer debts and over 64 million people are being pursued by debt collectors, making them vulnerable to being sued for the wrong debt or the wrong amount of debt, among other predatory debt collection practices. People of color are more likely to be contacted by collectors and to be impacted by lawsuits resulting in wage garnishment and bank levies. CRL advocates for the protection of $1,000 per week in take home pay from wage garnishment and works to expose abusive debt collection and settlement practices.
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This chapter in the State of Lending report series presents a picture of the overall financial status of U.S. consumers today. It is based on data from the Consumer Expenditure survey, the Survey of Consumer Finances, and other national data sources. These sources reveal that, since 2000, American families have faced declining real incomes,a higher cost of living, greater debt levels, and declining asset values and wealth. Rebuilding the tenuous balance sheets of American households will require access to safe and affordable credit, along with strong protections to prevent predatory lending...
HB 484 transfers the authority of the State Home Foreclosure Prevention Project (SHFPP), a very important program for NC homeowners at risk of foreclosure, from the NC Commissioner of Banks (NCCOB) to the NC Housing Finance Agency (NCHFA). Since the NCHFA was already administering a number of foreclosure prevention programs, most notably the NC Foreclosure Prevention Fund , this new law is designed to consolidate and streamline these state foreclosure prevention efforts. Both agencies agreed. The transfer preserves all the programs and protections included under the SHFPP. This new law became...
CRL and the National Consumer Law Center filed an amicus brief supporting appellant Donna Epps in regards to the improper repossession of the appellant's vehicle.
The Comments of Michael Calhoun, President, of the Center for Responsible Lending to the Federal Trade Commission regarding the Notice of Proposed Rule-Making: Telemarketing Sales Rule Debt Relief Amendments Matter No. R4110011.
Debt settlement is a rapidly growing industry in which companies advertise that they can eliminate consumer debt by negotiating reduced debt payoffs with a consumer's creditors, usually for unsecured debt such as credit card debt and medical bills. What's the Problem? Flawed model: The debt settlement model is an inherently flawed one, in that it requires consumers who are deep in debt (typically $20,000-$30,000 worth, if not more) to save significant sums of money to settle each individual debt, but requires them to pay hefty up-front fees and monthly fees that leave the consumer with little...
SB 974 , SB 974, which had the strong support of Attorney General Roy Cooper, includes important new consumer protections in two distinct areas: Greater protections for homeowners during the foreclosure process; and greater protections for consumers against abusive debt buying activities. Foreclosure protections: This new law allows a clerk of court to continue (delay) a foreclosure hearing for up to 60 days for owner-occupied residential property if the clerk believes that additional time will increase the likelihood of resolving the delinquency without foreclosure. This delay gives...