servicemembers

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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has launched a new online “dashboard” that makes certain data received from active duty servicemembers and veterans publicly available. The data come from the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel Network, which aggregates consumer complaints received directly from consumers, as well as data contributions received from others (including state attorneys general, the CFPB,…

In its recently published Summer 2019 Newsletter, the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (“DFI”) reported that it had interpreted the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”) broadly to apply the SCRA’s 6% interest rate cap to a loan agreement entered into only by a servicemember’s spouse.  Generally, the SCRA provides for a 6% interest…

On June 27 the Senate passed the Gold Star Spouses and Spouses of Injured Servicemembers Leasing Relief Expansion Act as part of the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (see Sec. 6007). If it becomes law, the bill would amend the SCRA to allow spouses of servicemembers killed or injured during service to terminate…

A Federal Register entry published last week details a proposed data-sharing arrangement between the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Department of Education (DoE) designed to reduce the amount of interest that certain active duty service members pay on federal student loans.

In 2008, Congress amended the Higher Education Act to provide for the removal…

The CFPB has issued a report, “Mortgages to First-time Homebuying Servicemembers,” that focuses on mortgage loans made from 2006 to 2016 to first-time homebuyers who are serving in the military or are veterans.  In its press release, the Bureau states that the report represents “the first time researchers have been able to…

On September 19, 2018, California enacted AB-3212.  The Bill amends the California Military and Veterans Code to expand the protections offered to qualifying servicemembers under state law and to impose new criminal penalties for certain violations of its provisions.  Some of the key changes, which go into effect January 1, 2019, are as follows:

Expanded …

CFPB Director Richard Cordray yesterday sent a letter to President Trump asking him to uphold the Bureau’s arbitration rule even though the Senate recently joined the House in authorizing a repeal of the rule under the Congressional Review Act.

Director Cordray’s letter states that without the arbitration rule, military service members will “get cheated out…

The United States Department of Justice announced last week that Westlake Services LLC and its subsidiary, Wilshire Consumer Capital LLC, have agreed to pay $760,788 to resolve allegations the companies violated the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”) by repossessing 70 vehicles owned by SCRA-protected servicemembers without obtaining the required court orders.

The CFPB referred the…

The Military Lending Act (MLA) will apply to credit card accounts starting Tuesday, October 3. The final rule took effect last October but provided a one-year exemption for “credit extended in a credit card account under an open-end (not home-secured) consumer credit plan.” Although the final rule permits the Secretary of Defense to extend the…

On November 18, the GAO released a report examining issues related to implementation of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) interest rate cap for student loans. The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs requested the report in response to indications that servicemembers with student loans who are eligible for an SCRA rate reduction…