CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
A federal judge, at the request of the FTC, recently ordered Cliq Inc., a payment processing company, and its operators to pay $6.5 million for violating a 2015 federal court order intended to prevent the company from assisting in consumer fraud.
U.S. District Court in Nevada entered the order finding Cliq Inc, formerly known as Cardflex Inc.,… Continue Reading
The FTC has continued to crackdown on subscription billing and cancellation practices it considers unlawful.
Recently, at the urging of the FTC, a federal court agreed to temporarily stop a large business enterprise allegedly built on deceptive subscription schemes from continuing to deceive consumers with hidden costs and recurring charges, while failing to provide simple means to cancel their subscriptions.… Continue Reading
In a pair of very important decisions issued today, the U.S. Supreme Court reshaped the constitutional landscape governing independent federal agencies. In Trump v. Slaughter, Court overruled the 91-year-old precedent of Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, 295 U.S. 602( 1935), and held that members of the Federal Trade Commission may be removed by the President at will, notwithstanding statutory “for cause” removal protections.… Continue Reading
A U.S. District Court Judge has temporarily halted an allegedly deceptive mortgage assistance relief operation lured homeowners with promises that it could provide mortgage relief assistance under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The order, entered in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, was issued at the request of the FTC.… Continue Reading
The nation’s largest ticket exchange and resale service, StubHub Holdings, Inc., will pay $10 million to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that the company violated the FTC Act and the agency’s trade regulation rule on Unfair or Deceptive Fees.
The FTC said the service advertised ticket prices on its website without “clearly and conspicuously disclosing up-front how much consumers actually would pay, including all mandatory fees” from May 12 through May 14, 2025.… Continue Reading
The FTC and the Maryland Attorney General’s Office announced that Lindsay Automotive Group (“Lindsay”) must pay refunds to consumers the government officials said were misled by Lindsay, under a settlement reached with the dealerships and other defendants.
The settlement resolves allegations that Lindsay and its executives deceived consumers for years with falsely low prices and unwanted add-ons that resulted in buyers paying thousands of dollars more for their vehicles.… Continue Reading
FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson has sent letters to four major financial services providers warning them that they may not engage in debanking—disqualifying potential and current customers from receiving services based on religious, or political views.
The letters were sent to the CEOs of PayPal, Stripe, Visa, and Mastercard and cite publicly reported instances of debanking by PayPal and Stripe.… Continue Reading
The FTC has sent letters to 97 auto groups, warning them that they must advertise the total price of vehicles that consumers will be required to pay; that figure must include all mandatory fees.
“When consumers do not know the true price of a car—or any product—consumers and others suffer related consequences, including that consumers cannot comparison-shop and make informed decisions, sellers trying to deal honestly with consumers are put at a competitive disadvantage, and the market cannot operate efficiently,” Christopher Mufarrige, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, wrote, in a template of the letter being sent to the auto groups.… Continue Reading
In today’s episode of the Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Show, our host, Ballard Spahr’s Alan Kaplinsky, was joined by colleagues Steven Burt and Melanie Vartabedian to explore a rapidly evolving and increasingly complex area of consumer financial services: residential solar finance.
Building on prior discussions of the broader solar finance landscape, this episode zeroes in on the regulatory and litigation developments that are reshaping the residential solar market in real time.… Continue Reading
Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) recently sent a letter to Fair Isaac Corporation announcing that as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and as a member of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, he is investigating the company’s pricing practices in the mortgage credit scoring market.
Fair Isaac generates a consumer credit score known as FICO, which the Senator notes “dominates the credit scoring market with a product used by 90% of lenders, potentially commanding an even larger market share for first-time home buyers.”… Continue Reading
