Consumer Protection

The Consumer Financial Protection Agency: It Can Be Done, But Let's Do It Right

Jonathan B. Mintz | Posted 12.14.2009 | New York

Read More: Mayor Bloomberg, Jonathan Mintz, Cfpa, Consumer Financial Protection Agency, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, Department of Consumer Affairs, Consumer Protection, New York City, Predatory Lending, Financial Reform, Financial Regulation, Barney Frank, Obama Financial Reform, New York News
Jonathan B. Mintz

Few realize that America is at a critical moment in the history of consumer protection. Last week Barney Frank led the House to pass landmark legislation that focused on protecting consumers.

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House Financial Regulatory Reform Bill Passes

AP | JIM KUHNHENN | Posted 12.12.2009 | Business

Read More: Wall Street Regulation, Wall Street, Barney Frank, Financial Crisis, Kenneth Feinberg, Consumer Protection, Financial Regulation, House Financial Services Committee, Business News

WASHINGTON — The House passed the most ambitious restructuring of federal financial regulations since the New Deal on Friday, aiming to head off...

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Shahien Nasiripour

House Democrat Ed Perlmutter Has Lots Of Reasons To Support Big Banks

HuffingtonPost.com | Shahien Nasiripour | Posted 12.11.2009 | Business

Read More: Financial Crisis, Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Cfpa, Consumer Protection, Ed Perlmutter, Business News

Rep. Ed Perlmutter pushed and pushed and pushed for an amendment to exempt some of the country's biggest banks from supervision by a new consumer-prot...

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Jobs Obama Can Fill Now, Rehiring Consumer Reps At The White House

Jamie Court | Posted 12.08.2009 | Politics

Read More: John F Kennedy, Jobs, White House Office of Consumer Affairs, President Barack Obama, Special Assistant for Consumer Affairs, Consumer Protection, Politics News
Jamie Court

Every other Democratic president since President Kennedy has hired a Special Assistant for Consumer Affairs. This is a gift Obama should give American consumers for the holidays.

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Keeping Our Children Safe this Holiday Season

Inez Moore Tenenbaum | Posted 11.20.2009 | Business

Read More: Toy Recalls, Mattel Recalls, Product Recalls, China Recalls, Consumer Protection, Lead Recalls, China, Holidays, Holiday Shopping, Holiday Season, Holiday News, Business News
Inez Moore Tenenbaum

Fortunately, this year, you can holiday shop for your child or grandchild with more confidence than ever before. That's because there are new rules on your side and the side of America's children.

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Marketing in Disguise

Sarah O'Leary | Posted 11.16.2009 | Business

Read More: Retailers, Women in Business, Retail, Business, Consumer Spending, Shipping, Rebates, Serving Sizes, Retail Industry, Consumer Confidence, Advertising, Marketing, Consumers, False Advertising, Airlines, Consumer Protection, Business News
Sarah O'Leary

When marketers knowingly play in the darker parts of the gray to drive sales, they're doing a disservice to the consumer and the industry. A good deal not a good deal when it misinforms consumers.

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Overdraft Fees Require Customer Consent, Says The Federal Reserve

AP | CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER | Posted 11.13.2009 | Business

Read More: Overdraft Fees, Federal Reserve, Banks, Consumer Protection, Business News

WASHINGTON — Banks will have to secure their customers' consent before charging large overdraft fees on ATM and debit card transactions, according t...

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Shahien Nasiripour

JPMorgan Chase Says New Credit Card Law To Cost Firm At Least Half A Billion Dollars A Year

HuffingtonPost.com | Shahien Nasiripour | Posted 11.10.2009 | Business

Read More: Transparency, Financial Crisis, JPMorgan Chase, Jamie Dimon, Credit Cards, Consumer Protection, Credit Card Industry, Business News

The nation's second-largest bank said a new law that limits unfair rate hikes and hidden fees will cost it as much as $750 million a year. JPMorgan...

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Gaming the System

Sen. Mark Udall | Posted 11.06.2009 | Politics

Read More: Credit Cards, Consumer Protection, Financial Crisis, Politics News
Sen. Mark Udall

Families and small businesses are hurting during these tough times, and I find it unconscionable for credit card companies to game the system and jack up already high interest rates even higher.

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Jason Linkins

Bank Lobby Bloodied But Unbowed In Fight Against Consumer Protection

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 11.05.2009 | Business

Read More: Lobbyblog, Lobbying, Banking Lobby, Consumer Protection, Wall Street, Lobbyists, Consumer Financial Protection Act, Business News

Bloomberg's Yalman Onaran takes a glance at the state of play on the consumer protection front, and sizes up the influence that the banking lobby has ...

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Sarbanes-Oxley Act: Amendment To Exempt Small Firms Passes House Committee

Rolfe Winkler | Posted 11.04.2009 | Business

Read More: John Adler, Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Enron, Regulation, Worldcom, Securities and Exchange Commission, Consumer Protection, House Financial Services Committee, Business News

An amendment that would permanently exempt small public companies from complying with a key provision of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act advanced in Congress t...

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FTC Takes On Ads From Credit Monitoring Service Freecreditreport.com

New York Times | RON LIEBER | Posted 11.02.2009 | Business

Read More: Experian, Identity Theft, Credit Report, Free Credit Report, Transunion, Free, Ftc, Consumer Protection, Credit Monitoring Services, Consumer Credit, Equifax, Business News

The Federal Trade Commission is not amused. It has long believed that the company that owns freecreditreport.com is deliberately diverting people from...

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AP: Obama's New Consumer Agency Is Far From A Sure Deal

AP | JIM KUHNHENN | Posted 10.24.2009 | Business

Read More: Consumer Protection Agency, Consumers, Business, Consumer Protection, Barack Obama, Business News

WASHINGTON — Take a hard look now. A new agency that consumers were promised would make bankers, credit card companies and mortgage lenders trea...

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Congressional Fail: Don't Let Congress Take Credit

Harry Moroz | Posted 10.23.2009 | Politics

Read More: Consumer Protection, Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights, Congress, Senator Dodd, Credit Cards, Rep. Maloney, Credit Card Accountability Responsbility and Disclosure Act, Financial Regulation, Politics News
Harry Moroz

Even as consumers suffer the housing crisis and an abysmal job market, they face the prospect of hundreds or even thousands more dollars of credit card debt because of Congress.

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Jason Linkins

GOP Rep. Tells House Finance Committee That Banks Should "Trump" Consumers

HuffingtonPost.com | Jason Linkins | Posted 10.21.2009 | Business

Read More: Bank Regulation, CFPA Legislation, Jeb Hansarling, Video, Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Derivatives Reform, Financial Crisis, Consumer Protection, Financial Regulation, Business News

Over at the Wonk Room, Pat Garofalo pulls video of Representative Jeb Hansarling (R-Tex.) sitting on the House Financial Services Committee as they ma...

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House Panel Exempts Over 8,000 Banks From Oversight

New York Times | Stephen Labaton | Posted 10.15.2009 | Business

Read More: Oversight, Mortgages, Credit Cards, Banks, Loans, Consumers, Consumer Protection, Business News

Bowing to political pressure from community bankers, the House Financial Services Committee approved an exemption on Thursday for more than 98 percen...

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Will Obama Save America From Capitalism?

David A. Love | Posted 10.15.2009 | Politics

Read More: Wall Street Bailout, Capitalism: A Love Story, Wall Street Crisis, Capitalism, Michael Moore, Economic Stimulus Package, Economic Crisis, Business News, Financial Crisis, Timothy Geithner, Tarp, Elizabeth Warren, Joseph Stiglitz, Citibank, Paul Krugman, Simon Johnson, Plutonomy, Bill Moyers, Citigroup, Income Inequality, Larry Summers, Wealth, Consumer Protection, Banking Crisis, Banks, Bank Bailout, Foreclosure, Health Care, Mortgage Crisis, Politics News
David A. Love

American-style capitalism is the system that gives you pilots buying groceries with food stamps and sheriffs throwing families out of their homes. President Obama, it's time for a "new" New Deal.

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Invite Regular Folks to the White House

Trey Ellis | Posted 10.15.2009 | Politics

Read More: Gop, Consumer Protection, Barack Obama, Cfpa, Obama CFPA, Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Politics News
Trey Ellis

To re-energize the angry many that elected him, Obama needs to publicly bar representatives of the powerful few from the White House until they agree, concretely, to better serve the angry many.

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Bye-Bye Baubles

Lita Smith-Mines | Posted 10.16.2009 | Living

Read More: Friends, Social Responsibility, Ecnomic Meltdown, Party, Economy, Selling, Economic Crisis, Mortgage Crisis, Gold, Poor, Consumer Protection, Financial Crisis, Living News
Lita Smith-Mines

I was encouraged to "bring my useless or broken gold" to an acquaintance's home, where I could "sell it all and take home cash." This was a new one for me, I've never left a social gathering richer than when I came in.

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What Consumers Can Do About Overdraft Fees

Christine Escobar | Posted 10.14.2009 | Business

Read More: U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo Bank, Banks Overdraft Fees, Consumer Spending, Bank of America, Overdraft Protection, Harris Bank, JPMorgan Chase, The Center for Responsible Lending, Banks vs Credit Unions, Consumer Financial Protection, Overdraft Fees, Banks, Consumer Protection, Consumers Fighting Back, Christine Escobar, Business News
Christine Escobar

Even if you're embarrassed to admit it, you're very likely among the estimated 50 million Americans who have been overdrawn on their checking account in the course of any given year.

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Nader: Federal Reserve "Doesn't Even Know How To Spell Consumer Protection" (VIDEO)

Yahoo Finance | Posted 10.13.2009 | Business

Read More: Consumer, Elizabeth Warren, Regulatory Reform, Federal Reserve, US Chamber of Commerce, Consumer Protection, Ralph Nader, Business News

Consumer advocate and former presidential candidate Ralph Nader appeared on Yahoo Tech Ticker today to discuss President Obama's plan for a consumer f...

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Obama Slaps Congress, Lobbyists In Push For Consumer Protection Agency (VIDEO, REMARKS)

Posted 10.09.2009 | Business

Read More: Lobbyists, Consumer Financial Protection Agency, Financial Crisis, Special Interests, Chamber of Commerce, US Chamber of Commerce, Consumer Protection, Barack Obama, Inside DC, Business News

The White House on Friday renewed its push for a consumer financial protection agency with President Obama and a senior economic official warning Cong...

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Thanks, Mr. Banker, for My Overdraft Protection!

Fortune's Stanley Bing | Posted 10.08.2009 | Business

Read More: Bankers, Overdraft Protection, Debit Cards, Scams, Credit Cards, Banking, Overdraft Fees, Banks, Consumer Protection, Business News
<i>Fortune</i>'s Stanley Bing

I wonder what new things the bankers will think of next to help and protect us. One thing's for sure. I know they're thinking of something.

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Shahien Nasiripour

As Economy Crashed, Banks Made A Killing On Overdraft Fees

HuffingtonPost.com | Shahien Nasiripour | Posted 10.07.2009 | Business

Read More: Excessive Overdraft Fees, Bailout, Center for Responsible Lending, Banks Overdraft Fees, Bank of America, Overdraft Fees, Financial Crisis, Overdraft Protection, Consumers, Consumer Protection, Business News

Talk about kicking people when they're down. Banks and credit unions made an eye-popping $24 billion in overdraft fees in 2008, according to a rep...

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Congress Has a Responsibility to Establish Strong Consumer Financial Protection

Janis Bowdler | Posted 11.30.2009 | Business

Read More: Consumer Protection, Consumer Financial Protection Agency, House Financial Services Committee, Barney Frank, Business News
Janis Bowdler

Congress has a responsibility to plug the holes in a broken financial system that allowed millions of families to watch their savings and wealth evaporate and their debt skyrocket

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