News

2018

August

06

• Upward mobility is a myth. It’s an axiom among many Americans that each future generation will live better than its predecessor. Among many young Americans, however, there is downward mobility. The children aren’t achieving what they

02

• Wells Fargo to pay $2.09 billion to settle probe into mortgage abuses. Ten years after faulty mortgages upended the global financial system, Wells Fargo & Co. agreed to pay $2.09 billion to settle a U.S. investigation into its creation and sale of loans that contributed to the

• The 'Mulvaney discount': Shrinking fines for law-breaking companies. There’s a hot new trend in Donald Trump’s Washington: the “Mulvaney discount.” After pausing enforcement work when Acting Director Mick Mulvaney took over, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has

• As affordable housing crisis grows, HUD sits on the sidelines. The country is in the grips of an escalating housing affordability crisis. Millions of low-income Americans are paying 70 percent or more of their incomes for shelter, while rents continue to rise and construction of affordable

01

• Consumer Action INSIDER - August 2018. This month's INSIDER updates readers on recent events (including Public Citizen's Affordable Medicines Now conference, the Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue’s annual meeting on the impact of technology on consumers, and the Credit Builders Alliance Training Institute); breaks down the pros and cons of a new California data protection law; tells the tale of a consumer who was charged too much for her out-of-country car rental due to "currency conversion" issues; updates readers on the latest happenings at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (which is currently under assault by its own director); gives information on our "coalition efforts" and lists the latest lawsuit settlements from our Class Action Database.

• The top 10 things consumers complained about in 2017. False advertising of new and used cars, shoddy home improvement work, and deceptive retail sales tactics lead the towering list of complaints that consumers submitted last year. A new annual Consumer Federation of America (CFA)

July

26

• FICO, VantageScore stand against FHFA’s delay of new credit score model. The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced Monday it is postponing its search for alternative credit scoring models, but both FICO and VantageScore expressed their disappointment with the agency’s decision. Depending on how the

25

• More than 43% of renters are victims of rent fraud $5.2M lost (Chinese). 近幾年全國租金上漲，有數以百萬房客租房時曾遭詐騙。根據房產網站Apartment List於6月份所做調查，估計有43.1%租客在找房時，遇到可疑的租房廣告，其中超過半數人表示，他們聯繫租房聯絡人，才知道是騙局。

• Closing costs can add considerably to the price of buying a house. In the emotional rush that precedes buying a home—negotiating contract details and price, beating away rival bidders, searching for the best mortgage deal—closing costs often aren’t a pressing concern.

24

• Nebraska: somete a votación problema de inmigrantes. El concejo municipal de una localidad del este de Nebraska ha resuelto que los votantes decidan si permiten emplear y alquilar viviendas a personas que residen sin autorización en Estados Unidos.

19

• CFPB advisory board 2.0: Far fewer members. Just as Mick Mulvaney fired members of a board that advises the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on consumer issues last month, the agency's acting director was also taking steps to re-form the panel with

• Zillow expanding direct homebuyer program. Beginning in the fall of this year, Atlanta homeowners will be able to sell their home directly to Zillow, if they so choose. What makes Zillow’s direct buyer program different from other companies

• Consumer Bureau nominee could face ‘bumpy ride’ over lack of experience. While Ms. Kraninger, an official at the Office of Management and Budget, is expected to take a much more business-friendly approach to consumer protection than many Democrats would like, her nomination presents something of a

18

• Housing values may fall as baby boomers die off or sell off. Will baby boomers turn into party poopers when they unload their homes in large numbers starting in the next decade? Could they create an indigestible oversupply in the market that lowers home prices and frustrates

• Dems call for hearings on Trump’s CFPB nominee to be put on hold. Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee are calling on the panel's chairman, Sen. Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), to delay Thursday’s hearing for President Trump’s nominee to lead the Consumer

17

• Why do Republicans hate consumers?. Why do Republicans hate consumers so much? Seriously. It’s bizarre. Whenever they get the chance, Republican officials seem intent on bleeding consumers dry. Or at least celebrating others’ bloodletting.

• Countdown to retirement: a five-year plan. For most of your working life, it wasn’t exactly a pressing concern. You might have pondered it for a few minutes as you skimmed your company’s benefits handout, checking to see

16

• Protect the CFPB’s critical complaint process. Groups representing consumers, students, seniors, servicemembers, homeowners and underserved Americans joined forces today to tell the temporary leadership of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that consumers need more—not less—access to

• Trump administration's new argument for dismantling the social safety net. The Trump administration is pitching a new message on anti-poverty programs, saying efforts that Republicans had long condemned as ineffective have already worked. The White House in a report late last week declared the War

• Inflation hits 6-year high, wiping out wage gains for the average American. Prices rose at their highest clip since 2012 over the past year, the Labor Department reported late last week. The 2.9 percent inflation for the twelve-month period ending in June is a sign of a growing economy,