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Key PIRG Sites • Credit Cards • Media Reform • Identity Theft • Stronger State Laws • Drug Safety • U.S. PIRG CONSUMER BLOGROLL Consumer Protection Consumer Affairs Consumers Union Scribbler Consumer World Credit Slips Consumers Union Daily Dollar Red Tape Chronicles: MSNBC San Jose Mercury News The Checkout: Washington Post Wal-Mart Watch Consumer Law & Policy Blog Sheryl Harris-Plain Dealing The Pop Tort Media, Democracy, Law & Culture James Love Jeff Chester's Digital Destiny Harold Feld's Sausage Factory Larry Lessig On The Commons		U.S. PIRG Consumer Blog October 31, 2009: Banks oppose reform of unfair bounced overdraft fees, your calls needed If you've ever paid a $35 debit overdraft fee for a $4 latte and would have preferred that your bank reject the transaction, it's time to call Congress. If you didn't know that without your permission your bank signed you up for fee-laden "courtesy" overdraft instead of asking you whether you wanted the much better deal of an overdraft line of credit, it's time to call Congress. Put down the coffee and pick up the phone. Call 202-224-3121, that's the switchboard, and ask your Representative to support Rep. Carolyn Maloney's HR 3904, The Overdraft Protection Act of 2009. Then, call back and ask your two Senators to support the Senate version, S. 1799, the FAIR Overdraft bill from Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT). Ask your friends to do the same. Here's why. Despite an overwhelming slam-dunk policy victory by outnumbered consumer witnesses at yesterday's House hearing on reform of overdraft "protection" schemes that could earn banks and some credit unions up to $38 billion this year, passage of Rep. Carolyn Maloney's (D-NY) tough reform legislation is not guaranteed. Big banks, small banks (and those credit unions that have lost their way and no longer place their members first), backed by their well-heeled cadres of in-house, association and outside hired-gun lobbyists and consultants, have mounted a last-ditch assault to defeat the widely-supported HR 3904, The Overdraft Protection Act of 2009. While the Associated Press reported that the phalanx of bank and other pro-fee witnesses all claimed that "customers want the protection," the LA Times reported: "Don't do people favors without asking them," Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, warned industry representatives. At the hearing, our colleague Jean Ann Fox of the Consumer Federation of America reported in PIRG-backed testimony (see page 9 of testimony)that consumers don't want the fees: CFA polled a representative sample of adult Americans in July 2009 and learned that 71 percent support requiring banks to gain the permission of customers before routinely providing loans to cover overdrafts. Continue reading "Banks oppose reform of unfair bounced overdraft fees, your calls needed" Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 06:34 AM \| Comments (0) Safe toys, no matter where purchased Small toymakers continue to complain about the new Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, passed into law after millions of lead-laden and other hazardous toys from Mattel and others but made in China washed onto our shores in waves in 2007 and 2008. The innumerable dangerous toy recalls galvanized decades of previously unsuccessful efforts to restore the tiny, embattled CPSC's ability to protect the public from the 15,000 separate hazards it regulates (including toys). Yet, as our colleague Nancy Cowles of Kids In Danger told Leslie Wayne of the New York Times for the story Burden of Safety Law Imperils Small Toymakers, powerful multi-national toy companies are using the ma-and-pa firms as cover in their efforts to weaken the law: “These groups are not above using the small crafters to reopen the legislation and get the changes they want.” Ms. Cowles also said parents needed to be assured that their children’s toys were safe, regardless of who made or sold them. “From a product safety standpoint, it doesn’t make a difference whether the toy comes from a local store or a national chain,” said Ms. Cowles. “A child doesn’t know the difference and parents have the right to expect a safe product.” Expect PIRG's annual Trouble In Toyland report sometime around Thanksgiving. Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 05:27 AM \| Comments (0) October 30, 2009: $35 overdraft fee with that $4 latte? Hearing today. We've signed onto testimony by Jean Ann Fox of the Consumer Federation of America, to be delivered this morning at a hearing (other testimony is here) of the House Financial Services Committee. A markup vote will occur next week. Several of our consumer colleagues, from CRL and Consumers Union, will testify and are joined by a witness from the North Carolina State Employees Credit Union -- one of the good credit unions that doesn't copycat the banks and gouge its member-customers with unfair overdraft protection fees. In addition to these witnesses, a veritable parade of industry witnesses will attempt to answer the questions: Why do banks impose overdraft protection fees without asking consumers to apply and consent to it? Why have banks and credit unions switched the default to allow debit overdrafts in online point of sale transactions, when they could reject them instead and save consumers $35 on a $4 latte? Why do some regulators allow banks and credit unions to mislead consumers about their actual balances by including the amount they are allowed to overdraft in ATM machine balance inquiries? Why do some banks and credit unions change the order that they clear checks and debits, so more will bounce? Why do banks call this a customer benefit, not a penalty fee? Our most recent testimony on overdraft fees is here. Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 08:28 AM \| Comments (0) October 29, 2009: PIRG: A dirty dozen powerful interests slowing tax reform A new U.S. PIRG report called Who Slows the Pace of Tax Reforms? profiles a dozen powerful corporations that have signed onto one or more letters from the PACE coalition, a group that stridently opposes international tax reform. The report shows how this “dirty dozen” benefits from lucrative federal contracts, yet do not pay their fair share of taxes and spend heavily to block tax reform. (Here is the release) Highlights include these facts: • The corporations profiled are twelve of the 100 largest publicly traded U.S. contractors and they received over $10 billion in government contracts in 2008 alone. • The “dirty dozen” maintain over 440 subsidiaries in tax haven countries or financial privacy jurisdictions. • The same dozen corporations spent a collective $37 million for 2008, over $100,000 a day, and over $33 million so far for 2009, on lobbying, while also spending over $6 million (in 2008) in campaign contributions from their political action committees to candidates and parties. The report is by Nicole Tichon, our tax reform advocate, and Lisa Gilbert, our democracy advocate. Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 11:46 AM \| Comments (0) October 28, 2009: Don't click on phish-y emails claiming to be from FDIC Because, they are phishing scams seeking to take your information, then take your money. The FDIC says: E-mail Claiming to Be From the FDIC – October 26, 2009 The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has received numerous reports of a fraudulent e-mail that has the appearance of being sent from the FDIC. The subject line of the e-mail states: “check your Bank Deposit Insurance Coverage.” [...]This e-mail and associated Web site are fraudulent. FULL RELEASE, after the jump. Continue reading "Don't click on phish-y emails claiming to be from FDIC " Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 05:52 PM \| Comments (0) Privacy-intrusive K-12 data collection may be extended to college students Privacy experts Joel Reidenberg and Jamela Debelak at Fordham Law School's Center on Law and Information Policy have released (their release, their report) an important new study. From Nick Anderson's Washington Post lede in his story States mismanage student information, study concludes: States often collect far more information about students than necessary and fail to take adequate steps to protect their privacy, a national study concludes. The dossiers go far beyond test scores, including Social Security numbers, poverty data, health information and disciplinary incidents. Reidenberg and Debelek note in their release the troubling finding that the K-12 database may be linked to a new student loan database proposed for college students. "Even so, House Bill 3221, or the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, contains a section that calls for the expansion and further integration of these databases without addressing these privacy concerns. A Senate version of the bill is expected to be released from committee shortly." The release goes on to quote a leading student loan expert on his concerns: “The CLIP study meticulously documents the states’ disregard for safeguarding children’s most personal data,” said Barmak Nassirian, Associate Executive Director, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. “And yet Congress is poised to fund an ill-thought-through expansion of these systems to include data ranging from pre-birth medical information to education, employment, military, and criminal records.” U.S. PIRG experts share the concerns expressed in the report and by Nassirian. Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 04:38 PM \| Comments (0) New bill on tax dodgers offered Top House and Senate Democrats have offered new legislation on tax dodges (AP via New York Times). Statement from U.S. PIRG Tax and Budget Reform Advocate Nicole Tichon: New Tax Reform Legislation is a Good First Step Toward Ending Bank Secrecy That Hurts Taxpayers “The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 is a step in the right direction to reform a broken system where tax dodging individuals and corporations offload their burden on ordinary taxpayers. “Holding foreign banks and corporations accountable for their clients can only help the process of ending bank secrecy. However, the bill can certainly be improved by giving the U.S. government even stronger enforcement mechanisms and by taking bold action against offshore shell companies.” Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 06:34 AM \| Comments (0) House Energy and Commerce to consider consumer agency tomorrow Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) has announced a markup vote on the Consumer Financial Protection Agency for Thursday at 10 am. The committee has not released a base text or proposed amendments yet. E&C has the right to consider FTC-related matters and matters related to governance of the new agency. Industry opponents are seeking members to offer amendments to weaken both the CFPA and FTC's authority to conduct rulemakings and -- of course -- to preempt stronger state laws. Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 06:27 AM \| Comments (0) October 26, 2009: Credit scoring models may deny consumers who take advantage of legal rights We're asking Congress and the FTC to investigate reports first broken by Evan Hendricks and his Privacy Times newsletter that, as professor Brian Wolfman notes in his Public Citizen Law and Policy blog entry, "the fact that a consumer has disputed her credit report can undermine her ability to get a home loan, even when the consumer was correct in the dispute." Continue reading "Credit scoring models may deny consumers who take advantage of legal rights" Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 05:56 PM \| Comments (0) Dodd: Freeze credit card rate increases now! From Senator Chris Dodd, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee: Today Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) will introduce a bill to immediately freeze credit card interest rates, fees and finance charges on existing balances. The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act enacted in May prevents arbitrary interest rate, fee and finance charge increases on a customer’s existing balance. Unfortunately, credit card companies have been jacking up rates in a last ditch effort to squeeze customers before all of the bill’s provisions can take effect. Dodd's action follows passage last Thursday by the House Financial Services committee of legislation that would implement all remaining sections of the CARD Act on December 1, instead of next year. We support the strongest versions of both bills; we urge that the House bill's unfortunate loopholes in its new timetable that may allow some smaller predatory lenders to avoid the new deadline be eliminated from any final law. Posted by Ed Mierzwinski at 05:44 PM \| Comments (0)		Ed Mierzwinski, U.S. PIRG Consumer Program Director Search this site: Categories • 1. Reports & News Releases • 2. Testimony, Hill Letters, Reg Comments • 3. Fact Sheets For Consumers • 4. Legislative Fact Sheets • 5. 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Hearing today. • PIRG: A dirty dozen powerful interests slowing tax reform • Don't click on phish-y emails claiming to be from FDIC • Privacy-intrusive K-12 data collection may be extended to college students • New bill on tax dodgers offered • House Energy and Commerce to consider consumer agency tomorrow • Credit scoring models may deny consumers who take advantage of legal rights • Dodd: Freeze credit card rate increases now! • Consumer Project Archives Feeds RSS 1.0 \| RSS 2.0 \| Atom This weblog is licensed under a Creative Commons License. Powered by Movable Type 3.17

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