predatory lending
Advocacy groups ask FTC to expand Biden administration efforts to rein in junk fees
President Joe Biden devoted 19 sentences of his State of the Union speech to “junk fees,” which includes credit card late fees, service fees for concert tickets and airplane seating preferences that he said strain families’ budgets. Biden did not mention the numerous and opaque fees faced by prisoners and their families every day. But […]
U.S. Supreme Court to review Biden student debt relief plan in February
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court said Thursday it will hear oral arguments in February over a legal challenge by six Republican-led states to the Biden administration student borrower relief plan. Until the arguments are heard and the court issues a ruling, the $400 billion Biden plan is on hold due to a nationwide injunction […]
Student loan repayment pause extended by White House amid legal battles over relief plan
WASHINGTON — The Department of Education announced on Tuesday it is extending the pandemic-era pause on federal student loan repayments until June 30 while legal challenges to the administration’s student debt relief program are fought over in the courts. The agency said if the student debt relief program has not been put in place by June 30, and if litigation is still tied up in the courts, student loan payments will begin 60 days after that.
Biden student debt relief plan thrown out by Texas judge; new applications halted
U.S. Department of Justice is already appealing the Trump appointee’s ruling WASHINGTON — Late Thursday a federal judge in Texas struck down the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan, ruling that the program is unlawful, in a blow to 16 million student debt borrowers already approved for relief. The U.S. Department of Education now is […]
‘Predatory’ loans to buy pets have 189% interest rate, despite state laws
An Iowa couple who unwittingly purchased a seriously ill dog through a loan with an interest rate of 189% now wants lawmakers to protect consumers from a similar experience. Jeff and Jennifer Bowman, whose story was first reported by the Washington Post, purchased a 12-week-old English bulldog in a Petland store in Iowa City three […]
Democrats in Congress press Biden to extend pause on student loans
WASHINGTON — More than 100 congressional Democrats are urging the White House to extend the pause on student loan repayment beyond the Aug. 31 deadline. In a Thursday letter to President Joe Biden and Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, U.S. Senate and House Democrats argue that due to inflation and an ongoing coronavirus pandemic, student […]
Monday numbers: A Memorial Day look at our veteran population (and a predatory lending practice that often targets its members)
Today is Memorial Day – the day on which we remember the military veterans who have died in service to our country and honor all who have served. As the U.S Census recently reported: "Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who died in service to their country.
One big-ticket item Congress failed to tackle in the coronavirus relief bill? Student loan relief.
North Carolinians hoping the $900 billion COVID relief bill passed by Congress would include some help for those with student loans debt will be disappointed. The massive package failed to extend the suspension of student loan interest and payments, which will expire at the end of January. Even before COVID-19, one in four student loan […]
Editorial: Resist Trump’s efforts to let payday loan sharks back into NC
In case you missed it, the Greensboro News & Record hit a home run earlier this week with a powerful editorial condemning the Trump administration’s latest effort to aid the predatory payday lending industry. As the authors put it in “Keep payday loans out of NC”: No time would be a good time to let […]
Federal “regulator” seeks to end NC’s ability to control predatory payday lending
Could it be that Trump administration officials and appointees sense that their time is limited and that they must act quickly to push through their parting final giveaways to bottom-feeder industries before a change in the nation’s political leadership comes in 2021? That’s certainly the impression one gets from the latest remarkable announcement from the […]
Editorial blasts Senate for aiding industry that preys on consumers
Be sure to check out this morning’s lead Capitol Broadcasting Company editorial on WRAL.com: “N.C. Senate-Stop playing games with lobbyists, act to protect consumers.” The editorial weighs in on a topic highlighted in the June 30 Weekly Briefing — namely the North Carolina Senate leadership’s late legislative session decision to quash a bipartisan bill that would […]
Predatory payday lenders hit a new low
They’ll probably outdo themselves again soon. Heck, as you read this, you can bet the owners of some bottom-feeding, high interest loan company in eastern North Carolina are having a meeting in which they’re discussing how to market their “product” to hurricane victims. That said, this story from recent edition of Education Week describes a […]