Massachusetts Consumers Could Lose Millions as Trump Appointee Jeopardizes Consumer Bureau Actions
Uncertainty Over 38 “Open” or “Active” Enforcement Actions Including 3 Cases on Behalf of Massachusetts Consumers
Washington, D.C. – While courts consider the fate of Mick Mulvaney’s attempted “illegal,” “lawless” “coup” at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), his directive that important work be frozen could have a disastrous impact on consumers awaiting relief after being screwed over by big banks, credit card companies, debt collections, payday lenders, and other financial predators. In Massachusetts, the bureau is suing a bank for charging “illegal overdraft fees” as well as a company that charged consumers for cell phone debts they had already paid.
According to an Allied Progress analysis, there are currently 38 “open” or “active” CFPB enforcement actions nationally covering a broad range of consumer issues from illegal foreclosures and debt collection practices to deceiving payday loan borrowers about the cost of loans and charging students for financial aid that was never delivered. In one case, the CFPB has sued a company for scamming 9/11 first responders out of court awarded settlements.
“The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has returned millions to consumers who have been taken advantage of by big banks and predatory financial institutions. But now that Trump appointee Mick Mulvaney has taken over, these bad actors may get a pass and Massachusetts consumers could be denied the settlements they are owed. Thanks to Mulvaney, the fate of Massachusetts consumers wronged by scammers, payday lenders, and other financial bad actors is now in limbo,” said Karl Frisch, executive director of the consumer watchdog organization Allied Progress.
He continued, “Breaking every promise Trump made to voters, his administration has wasted no time going to bat for big banks, debt collectors, payday lenders, and other financial predators. Putting a ‘freeze’ on the important work of the CFPB may be popular with Wall Street, but it is consumers that have been put on ice. They are the ones who will pay the price for his callous abdication of responsibility.”
To speak with Karl Frisch about Mulvaney and the CFPB, please contact Annette McDermott at 202-697-4804 or annette@alliedprogress.org.
PENDING CFPB ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS IN MASSACHUSETTS
The below represent “open” or “active” CFPB enforcement actions in Massachusetts. They are sorted by date with those started most recently appearing first. The designations come from the CFPB’s enforcement actions website. Each action is also tracked on Allied Progress’ CFPB Action Tracker: CFPBactiontracker.com
- MASSACHUSETTS: The CFPB has fined Santander Bank for charging “illegal overdraft fees” when Santander’s telemarketers enrolled customers in an overdraft program “without their consent.” [“CFPB – Santander Bank,” CFPB Action Tracker, accessed 11/28/17]
- MASSACHUSETTS: The CFPB has fined Collecto Inc. for collecting cell phone debts consumers had already paid as well as debts that they could not verify that consumers owed. [“CFPB v. EOS-CCA,” CFPB Action Tracker, accessed 11/28/17]
- ARIZONA and ARKANSAS and COLORADO and INDIANA and MASSACHUSETTS and NEW HAMPSHIRE and NEW YORK and NORTH CAROLINA: The CFPB has sued CashCall and its subsidiaries for “engaging in ‘unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices,'” including violating “federal law by seeking to collect on loans that were completely void or partially nullified.” [“CFPB v. CashCall, Inc., WS Funding, LLC, Delbert Services Corporation, J. Paul Reddam,” CFPB Action Tracker, accessed 11/28/17]
>> Click Here for a Complete List of Pending Enforcement Actions <<