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House Committee Takes Actions To Clean Up Credit Bureau Mistakes

Wednesday, July 17, 2019
By | Ed Mierzwinski
Senior Director, Federal Consumer Program

In committee votes this week and last week, the House Financial Services Committee sent a package of credit reporting reforms on to the House floor. It's the first major Congressional action to rein in the so-called Big 3 credit bureaus - Equifax, Experian and Trans Union - and other smaller, specialized bureaus and credit scoring companies, since 2003. The Big 3 national credit bureaus have been the most complained about financial firms to the CFPB for four years running, predating the massive Equifax data breach.

As CFPB Reviews Overdraft Rules, UK Regulator Makes Pro-Consumer Changes

Wednesday, July 3, 2019
By | Ed Mierzwinski
Senior Director, Federal Consumer Program

As the CFPB conducts a ten-year regulatory review of the Overdraft Rule established by the pre-CFPB regulators in 2010, the UK's Financial Conduct Authority has announced sweeping changes to address what it calls a "dysfunctional" overdraft market. The US system prohibits overdraft fees on debit and ATM transactions unless you opt-in to fee-based "standard overdraft protection," but the fees average over $32 per overdraft and CFPB has accused some banks of deceptive marketing of the service. Meanwhile, the UK's FCA is banning fixed fee overdrafts and requiring UK banks to treat overdrafts as loans subject to reasonable interest rates. We've asked CFPB to ban overdrafts on debit and ATM transactions.

Which communities in California have already taken action against Monsanto's RoundUp?

Tuesday, July 2, 2019
By | Emily Rusch
Executive Director

Today, a federal court in San Francisco will be hearing Monsanto’s motion to dismiss plaintiffs for a failure to prosecute in cases regarding their popular pesticide, RoundUp. But more than 40 California communities aren't waiting for the courts or the legislature to take action, but instead passing local ordinances restricting the use of Roundup in their communities. 

Here’s how manufacturers argue against repair.

Monday, July 1, 2019
By | Nathan Proctor
Director, Campaign for the Right to Repair

In March, the FTC announced a new workshop called “Nixing the Fix,” which will investigate how companies “limit repairs by consumers and repair shops and whether those limitations affect consumer protection, including consumers’ rights.” Last week, the FTC posted submitted comments for it's Nixing the Fix workshop, and by reviewing those comments, it's clear that manufacturers and their lobbying associations are doubling down on their arguments.

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