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Credit Reports Fair Credit Reporting The treatise on credit reporting, with new changes required by Dodd-Frank, new CFPB rules, FTC staff interpretations, and recent case law. Subscribe Now! HOT TOPICS • Press Release: Consumer Advocates Cheer Removal of Most Medical Debt from Credit Reports, Mar. 18, 2022 • 2022 Credit & Consumer Reporting Federal Priorities to Promote Economic Stability • Policy Brief: No Silver Bullet: Using Alternative Data for Financial Inclusion and Racial Justice, Dec. 2021, updated Jun. 2022 • Policy Brief: Assisting Consumers with Rental Debt During COVID-19: Legal Aid and Non-Profit Attorneys Share Their Experiences, Dec. 14, 2021 • Press Release: NCLC Advocates Applaud CFPB’s Action to Protect Consumers from False Identification by Background Screening Companies, Nov. 4, 2021 • Issue Brief: Ramirez, Faux-Federalism, and the Futility of Consumer Disclosure Protections, Aug. 2021 • Testimony of Chi Chi Wu before U.S. House Financial Services Committee, Oversight & Investigations, on Consumer Credit Reporting: Assessing Accuracy and Compliance, May 26, 2021 • Report: Mismatched and Mistaken: How the Use of an Inaccurate Private Database Results In SSI Recipients Unjustly Losing Benefits and press release, April 2021 About 200 million Americans have credit histories on file with the three major credit bureaus, and these bureaus generate more than one billion credit reports each year. Credit reports play a critical role in the economic health of American families. A good credit history enables consumers to obtain credit, and at a fair price. Credit reports are also used by employers, landlords, utility providers, and insurers. Despite their importance, inaccuracies and errors plague credit reports, with estimates of serious errors affecting up to 25% of reports. The dispute process mandated by the Fair Credit Reporting Act has become a travesty, with the credit bureaus conducting perfunctory investigations by translating detailed written disputes into two or three digit codes and paying foreign workers as little as $0.57 to process each dispute. NCLC played a key role in the passage of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003, and will continue to advocate for consumers to ensure that every American is treated with fairness by the credit reporting system.
Policy Analysis
Credit Reports Policy Briefs, Reports, Articles & Press Releases
Press Release: Advocates Applaud CFPB Report Highlighting the Toll of Inaccurate Medical
Billing on Consumers, Apr. 20, 2022
Press Release: CFPB Action Against Transunion Shows Need for Public Credit Registry;
Consumers Warned to Avoid Credit Monitoring, Apr. 12, 2022
Press Release: Consumer Advocates Cheer Removal of Most Medical Debt from Credit
Reports, Mar. 18, 2022
Press Release: Advocates Applaud VA Rule to Dramatically Reduce Unfavorable Debt on
Veterans’ Credit Reports, Feb. 2, 2022
Issue Brief: What States Can Do About Credit Repair Abuses, Jan. 2022
Press Release: NCLC Advocates Applaud CFPB Bulletin To Prevent Unlawful Medical Debt
Collection and Credit Reporting, Jan. 13, 2022
Press Release: NCLC Advocate Applauds CFPB Report Spotlighting Deficiencies in Credit
Bureaus’ Complaint Handling; Calls for Fundamental Reform of Troubled Industry, Jan. 6,
2021
Policy Brief: No Silver Bullet: Using Alternative Data for Financial Inclusion and Racial Justice,
Dec. 2021, updated Jun. 2022
Policy Brief: Assisting Consumers with Rental Debt During COVID-19: Legal Aid and Non-
Profit Attorneys Share Their Experiences, Dec. 14, 2021
Press Release: Advocates Urge CFPB to Prevent Rental Debt From Becoming a Barrier to
Housing, Dec. 14, 2021
Press Release: NCLC Advocates Applaud CFPB’s Action to Protect Consumers from False
Identification by Background Screening Companies, Nov. 4, 2021
Issue Brief: Ramirez, Faux-Federalism, and the Futility of Consumer Disclosure Protections,
Aug. 2021
Fact Sheet: An Act Relative to the Use of Credit Reporting in Housing, MA H. 1429/S. 894, the
Fair Chance in Housing Act, April 2021
Fact Sheet: An Act Regulating the Use of Credit Reports by Employers, MA H. 2019/S. 1154,
the Fair Chance in Employment Act, April 2021
Report: Mismatched and Mistaken: How the Use of an Inaccurate Private Database Results In
SSI Recipients Unjustly Losing Benefits and press release, April 2021
Issue Brief: The Credit Score Pandemic Paradox and Credit Invisibility, Feb. 2021
Issue Brief: Doing Special Purpose Credit Programs Right: Why Programs to Assist Black
Communities Should Avoid Conventional Use of Traditional Credit Scores, Feb. 2021
Press Statement: Consumer Advocates Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act, Oct. 26, 2020
Issue Brief: Salt in the Wound: How Eviction Records and Back Rent Haunt Tenant Screening
Reports and Credit Scores, August 2020
Article: Enforcing the CARES Act Credit Reporting Protections, May 2020
Issue Brief: Protecting Credit Reports During the Covid-19 Crisis, April 2020
Issue Brief: Credit Reports and the Covid-19 Crisis: What States Should Do to Help
Consumers, March 2020
Press Release: Advocates Applaud Halt to Foreclosures and Bills to Stabilize Homeownership
and Protect Credit Reports but Highlight Need for Further Relief During Pandemic, March 19,
2020
Press Release: Consumer Advocates Praise Passage of Landmark Bill in U.S. House to Reform
Credit Reporting Industry, Jan. 30, 2020
Report: Broken Records Redux: How Errors by Criminal Background Check CompaniesContinue to Harm Consumers Seeking Jobs and Housing, Dec. 2019
Press Release: Statement Regarding Bank Regulators’ Guidance on Alternative Data,
December 4, 2019
Report: Don’t Add Insult to Injury: Medical Debt & Credit Reports, November 2019
Issue Brief: Credit Invisibility and Alternative Data: Promises and Perils, July 2019
Report: Automated Injustice Redux: Ten Years after a Key Report, Consumers Are Still
Frustrated Trying to Fix Credit Reporting Errors, Feb. 25, 2019 Press Release
Issue brief: The Wrong Tool for the Wrong Purpose: Why the Credit Scoring Provision in the
Immigration Public Charge Proposal Is Illogical and Ill-Advised, Oct. 2018
Issue Brief: Credit Reports and Forced Arbitration: Will Congress Strip Americans of Their Day
in Court?, September 2017
Policy brief: Past Imperfect: How Credit Scores and Other Analytics “Bake In” and Perpetuate
Past Discrimination, May, 2016
Report and Press Release: Account Screening Consumer Reporting Agencies Impede Access
for Millions (Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund, NCLC and Bank On), October 2015
Solving the Credit Conundrum: Helping Consumers’ Credit Records Impaired by the
Foreclosure Crisis and Great Recession, Dec. 2013
Report: Automated Injustice: How a Mechanized Dispute System Frustrates Consumers
Seeking to Fix Errors in Their Credit Reports, Jan. 2009
Archive+
Credit Reports Comments and Testimony
Consumer & Survivor Advocacy Groups Comments to CFPB on Proposed Rule to Protect
Trafficking Survivors, May 9, 2022
NCLC & NHLP Comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau re: Fees Imposed by
Providers of Consumer Financial Products or Services, Apr. 11, 2022
Testimony of Ariel Nelson before the House Economic Matters Committee of the Maryland
General Assembly, in favor of H.B. 251, Jan. 24, 2022
Testimony of Chi Chi Wu before the Massachusetts legislature in support of H.1429/S.894: An
Act Regulating the Use of Credit Reporting in Housing, Jan. 18, 2022
Testimony of Chi Chi Wu before the FinTech Task Force of the House Financial Services
Committee re: Preserving the Right of Consumers to Access Personal Financial Data, Sep. 21,
2021
Comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau re: Financial Institutions’ Use of
Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Jul. 1, 2021
Testimony of Chi Chi Wu before U.S. House Financial Services Committee re: A Biased,
Broken System: Examining Proposals to Overhaul Credit Reporting to Achieve Equity, Jun. 29
2021
Testimony of Chi Chi Wu before U.S. House Financial Services Committee, Oversight &
Investigations, on Consumer Credit Reporting: Assessing Accuracy and Compliance, May 26,
2021
Testimony of NCLC Attorney Ariel Nelson in Support of HB 6528 Before the Housing
Committee of the Connecticut General Assembly, Mar. 4, 2021
Comments in Response to the Social Security Administration’s Notification re: Use of Equifax’s
Work Number Subsidiary to Screen SSI and SSDI Recipients, Feb. 18, 2021
Comments to the CFPB in Response to the ANPR Regarding Consumer Access to Financial
Records Under Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, Feb. 4, 2021
Testimony of NCLC Attorney Ariel Nelson Before the House Economic Matters Committee of
the Maryland General Assembly in Support of MD HB 0642, a Bill Designed to AddressProblems with Accuracy in Background Screening Reports, Feb. 3, 2021
Written Statement for CFPB’s Symposium on Consumer Access to Financial Records, Section
1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, Feb. 12, 2020
Testimony of NCLC Associate Director Lauren Saunders before the U.S. House Financial
Services Committee on Data Aggregators, Nov. 21, 2019
NCLC and other advocacy groups comments to the FTC re: Safeguards Rule, Aug. 2, 2019
Testimony of Chi Chi Wu before the U.S. House Task Force on Use of Alternative Credit Data
to Expand Access to Credit, July 2019
Group comments to the FHFA re: Validation and Approval of Credit Score Models, March 21,
2019
Testimony of Chi Chi Wu to U.S. House Financial Services: “Who’s Keeping Score? Holding
Credit Bureaus Accountable and Repairing a Broken System”, February 26, 2019
Consumer, Civil Rights, and Privacy Advocates comments to the Department of Homeland
Security opposing Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Public Charge Determinations, Dec. 10,
2018
Comments to the Federal Housing Finance Agency regarding updating the credit scoring
models used by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, March 30, 2018
Group comments to CFPB’s Request for Information on Alternative Data, May 19, 2017
Archive+
Credit Reports Letters
Group Letter Urging Credit Bureaus to Fix Credit Reporting Problems for Transgender and
Nonbinary Consumers, Feb. 24, 2022
Group Letter Urging CFPB to Eliminate the “Credit Header” Exclusion to Keep Credit and
Consumer Report Private, Jan. 2022
Letter Urging CFPB to Protect Consumers with Rental Debt and Accompanying NCLC Rental
Debt Survey, Dec. 14, 2021
Group Letter to HUD re: Removing Credit Reports and Credit Scores as a Barrier to Public and
Subsidized Housing, Nov. 3, 2021
Letter from 143 Organizations Urging CFPB to Prohibit Debt Collectors from Reporting Rent
Arrears to Credit Bureaus for Debt Accrued During COVID-19 Pandemic, May 6, 2021
Letter prompted by COVID-19 economic upheaval calling on Equifax, Experian, and
TransUnion to provide credit reports in Spanish and other languages used by consumers who
are limited English proficient, October 19, 2020. Response from Consumer Data Industry
Association (credit bureau trade group), October 29, 2020. Response from Equifax, October
30, 2020
Support letter for credit reporting provisions of the HEROES Act/S.3508, June 24, 2020
Consumer Groups’ Letter in Support of H.R.5332 Protecting Your Credit Score Act.
(Gottheimer)
Group Letter urging Congress to include S. 1581/HR 6470 the Medical Debt Relief Act of 2019
in the next Covid-19 relief package, May 11, 2020
Consumer groups’ letter of support re: Consumer Credit Control Act, Oct. 21, 2019
Letter in support of the Accurate Access to Credit Information Act 2019, July 2019
Letter responding to U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Sherrod Brown‘s Call for Feedback on
Data Privacy, Protection, and Collection, Mar. 15, 2019
H.R. 435, Credit Access and Inclusion Act. Consumer opposition letter, Dec. 8, 2017
Archive+
Policy Analysis ArchiveLitigation
Amicus brief supporting Plaintiff/Appellant in Henderson v. the Source for Public Data, Oct.
15, 2021
Amicus brief supporting the State of Maine in CDIA v. Frey, Jan. 26, 2021
Amicus brief supporting Plaintiff/Respondent in Ramirez v. TransUnion
Amicus brief in State of Washington, et al v. US Department of Homeland Security, et al.
Amicus brief in Cook County, IL and IL Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights v. Chad F.
Wolfe, et al., Jan. 24, 2020
Amicus brief of NCLC and Legal Aid Justice Center in City and County of San Francisco and
County of Santa Clara v. US Dept. of Homeland Security et. al., January 23, 2020
Amicus brief of NCLC and Legal Aid Justice Center in State of California et. al. v. US Dept. of
Homeland Security et al., January 23, 2020
Robinson v National Student Clearinghouse, April 18, 2019 Complaint
Consumer Information
The Truth About Credit Reports & Credit Repair Companies
Disputing Errors in a Credit Report
Understanding Credit Scores
What You Should Know About Your Credit Report
Protect Yourself from Identity Theft
Resources
CFPB releases 2021 list of consumer reporting companies.
Credit Discrimination
Unfair credit discrimination still permeates the American marketplace. Every day, countless
individuals and families are denied access to mainstream credit because they are not white or
because they are women, seniors, or disabled. In addition to perpetuating historical discrimination
against minority groups, credit discrimination destroys the financial well-being of its victims.
Without access to reasonably priced credit, it becomes measurably more difficult to achieve
homeownership and build assets, pay for college education or vocational training, or even buy a
reliable car for transportation to work.
Credit DiscriminationExamines the ECOA, Fair Housing Act, civil rights statutes, HMDA, Community Reinvestment Act,
and state discrimination laws.
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Policy Analysis
Policy Briefs, Reports, & Press Releases
Issue Brief: Credit Invisibility and Alternative Data: Promises and Perils, July 2019
More policy briefs, reports, & press releases
Comments
Comments to the CFPB re: Financial Institutions’ Use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine
Learning, Jul. 1, 2021
Group comments to CFPB re: Comments on the Request for Information on the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act and Regulation B, Dec. 1, 2020
Group comments to federal banking regulators OCC and FDIC re: Notice of Proposed
Rulemaking, Community Reinvestment Act, April 8, 2020
NCLC comments to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency opposing proposed changes
that will weaken the Community Reinvestment Act, Jan. 28, 2020
Comments to CFPB on proposed technical changes to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
(HMDA), May 25, 2017
Consumer comments to CFPB re aligning the requirements of the Equal Credit Opportunity
Act (ECOA) with the data collection requirements of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
(HMDA), May 4, 2017 || Additional Comments, May 25, 2017
More comments
Testimony
Testimony of NCLC Associate Director Lauren Saunders before the U.S. House Financial
Services Committee on Data Aggregators, Nov. 21, 2019
More testimony
Letters
Group Letter to the CFPB re: Financial Institutions’ Use of Artificial Intelligence and Machine
Learning, July 1, 2021
Letter opposing H.R. 2133, Community Lending Enhancement and Regulatory Relief Act, July
11, 2017
More letters
Litigation
American Insurance Association v. U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Case
No. 1:13-cv-00966-RJL (D.D.C.) NCLC joined an amicus brief drafted by the NAACP Legal
Defense and Educational Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union, also joined by theNational Community Reinvestment Coalition, in support of the defendant’s motion to dismiss
or, in the alternative, for summary judgment in this case challenging HUD’s Discriminatory
Effects Rule under the Fair Housing Act. (2/20/2014)
Township of Mount Holly, New Jersey v. Mt. Holly Gardens Citizens in Action, Inc., U.S.
Supreme Court, No. 11-1507
NCLC and ACLU filed an amicus brief, joined by seven other advocacy groups, supporting the
respondents’ position that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit decided correctly in
ruling that the Fair Housing Act authorizes disparate impact civil rights claims as a means to
combat housing discrimination.
Subprime Mortgage Discrimination: National class action cases brought under the Fair
Housing Act and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act against certain subprime mortgage lenders
Autofinance Discrimination: National class action cases brought under the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act against certain auto finance companies and banks.
Magner v. Gallaher, U.S. Supreme Court No.1032
NCLC has joined an amicus brief prepared by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under
Law with other national civil rights organizations arguing that the Fair Housing Act properly is
interpreted to authorize disparate impact claims and that the Eight Circuit applied the correct
burden shifting approach to litigating disparate impact claims consistent with the way Title VII
cases are litigated and HUD’s proposed regulation governing this subject. Brief. NCLC also
consulted with the ACLU (which cites NCLC’s Credit Discrimination manual and references
NCLC’s sub-prime mortgage discrimination disparate impact cases brought under the Fair
Housing Act) and the Department of Justice with regards to the preparation of the amicus
briefs they separately prepared and filed with the Supreme Court in the appeal. Briefs.
Credit Discrimination Archive
Credit Cards
Policy Analysis || Litigation || Additional Resources
The amount of credit card debt juggled by a majority of American households has exploded in the
past few decades, due to aggressive marketing as well as a host of abusive and deceptive practices.
Creditors would increase a cardholder’s interest rate when a single payment was late or if the
consumer’s credit score has changed, even if every payment was received on time. Card companies
also imposed a host of fees and punitive charges that exacerbated the problems of consumers who
had hit hard times.
Truth In LendingIncludes recent changes that set out new disclosure requirements for mortgage loans, while limiting
arbitration clauses.
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Despite the serious and growing abuses in credit card practices, there was little regulation of these
lenders, due to the sweeping expansion of federal bank preemption. Most credit card lenders are big
banks, who are legally permitted to ignore state limits on interest rates, fees, and other lending
practices. As a result, abuses by credit card lenders spun out of control, creating enormous
hardships for consumers.
The era of credit card deregulation ended in 2009, with the enactment of the Credit Card
Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosures (CARD) Act. NCLC played a key role in the passage
of the Credit CARD Act. NCLC will continue to advocate on behalf of consumers as regulations are
written to implement the Credit CARD Act and new reforms are pushed to stop abuses not addressed
by that Act.
Policy Analysis
Policy Briefs, Reports & Press Releases
Press Release: Consumer Advocates Urge CFPB to Protect Consumers from “Junk Fees,” May,
2, 2022
Press Release: Consumer Advocates Criticize Credit Card “Relief” from CFPB and Warn
Consumers to Avoid Unwanted Electronic Statements, June 4, 2020
Press Release: Beware Holiday Shoppers of Deferred Interest Credit Cards, Nov. 13, 2019
Infographic: Don’t Let Deferred Interest Ruin Your Holidays, November 2018
Report and Press Release: Paper Statements: An Important Consumer Protection, March 2016
Report: Deceptive Bargain: The Hidden Trap of Deferred Interest Credit Cards, Dec. 2015
Archive+
Credit Cards Comments
Consumer comments in response to the CFPB’s request for information regarding junk fees
imposed by providers of consumer financial products or services, May 2, 2022
NCLC comments to CFPB Request for Information for 10-year Regulatory Flexibility Act
review and biannual Credit CARD Act market review, October 27, 2020
Comments of NCLC in response to CFPB Request for Information Regarding the Credit Card
Market, May 2019
Comments to CFPB regarding the Bureau’s Inherited Regulations and Rulemaking Authorities
— Regulation Z (TILA), X (RESPA) and FTC mortgage rules, June 25, 2018
Comments in response to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) Request for
Information regarding the Bureau’s Adopted Regulations and New Rulemaking Authorities
affecting credit card lending, June 19, 2018
Comments and attachments of NCLC in response to CFPB Request for Information Regarding
the Credit Card Market, June 8, 2017
Archive+
Credit Cards LettersArchive+
Litigation
In re: Chase Bank USA, N.A. “Check Loan” Contract Litigation, Master Class Action Complaint
Credit Cards Additional Resources
NCLC attorney Lauren Saunders testifying at a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s
hearing on the Credit CARD Act, October 2, 2013 (See 31:46 and 57:36 for Saunders’ testimony).
Links
CFPB Credit Card Complaints
Related Publications
Truth in Lending
Fair Credit Reporting
Consumer Facts: Your Credit Card Rights
Car Sales & Financing
New! COVID-19 and Auto Protections for Consumers
A working car can provide access to a better job or any job at all, health care, affordable housing,
affordable child care, and a reasonable commute. But too often, abuses in the sale and financing of
cars keep families from buying and keeping a safe, reliable car at reasonable terms. NCLC works to
improve both policy and practice to ensure that working families get a fair deal when buying a car.
Working Cars for Working Families Project
Learn how to secure a fair deal when buying and financing a car
Electric Vehicles (EVs)
Policy Analysis
Press Releases, Policy Briefs and Reports
Press Release: Advocates Praise FTC Action on Discrimination and Abuse at Car Dealer and
Urge Further Efforts, May 28, 2020
Principles for Laws Permitting Electronic Repossession of Vehicles, Jan. 2020
Report: Time to Stop Racing Cars: The Role of Race and Ethnicity in Buying and Using a Car,
April 2019. Press Release
Issue Brief: Principles for Fair and Equitable Investment in Electric Vehicles and
Transportation Electrification, October 2018
Report: The Future of Transportation Electrification: Utility, Industry and ConsumerPerspectives, August 2018 by Philip B Jones (Alliance for Transportation Electrification),
Jonathan Levy (EVgo/Vision Ridge), Jenifer Bosco (NCLC), John Howat (NCLC), John W Van
Alst (NCLC), and Lisa C Schwartz, editor, Lawrence Berkely National Laboratory, August 2018
Press Release: Congress Votes to Roll Back CFPB Guidance to Help Auto Lenders Avoid
Discrimination, May 8, 2018
Report: Auto Add-Ons Add Up: How Dealer Discretion Drives Excessive, Arbitrary, and
Discriminatory Pricing, October 2017
Statement of NCLC’s Lauren Saunders re: Legal Standing of CFPB Director on Auto Lending
Rule, Jan. 18, 2017
Archive+
Comments and Letters
Consumer comments in response to the CFPB’s request for information regarding junk fees
imposed by providers of consumer financial products or services, May 2, 2022
Group letter to the Colorado Motor Vehicle Dealer Board urging the Board to change its policy
language in order to further protect consumers in Colorado against yo-yo financing by
automotive dealers, Jan 23, 2019
Consumer comments to CFPB re aligning the requirements of the Equal Credit Opportunity
Act (ECOA) with the data collection requirements of the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act
(HMDA), May 4, 2017 || Additional Comments, May 25, 2017
Archive+
Testimony
Testimony of NCLC attorney John Van Alst before the U.S. House Financial Services
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing “Examining Discrimination in the
Automobile Loan and Insurance Industries, May 1, 2019
Archive+
Model Laws
Transparent and Consistent Pricing of Motor Vehicle Add-Ons Act, December 2018
Safer Cars at the Point of Sale Act, December 2018
Making Repossessions Safer and Fairer: Model Consumer Amendments to Uniform
Commercial Code Article 9, June 2016
Archive+
Litigation
Archive+
Links
National Salvage Vehicle Reporting System (flood damaged cars)
CFPB Auto Loan Complaints
FTC Auto Fraud ComplaintsGM and Chrysler Bankruptcies
The Status of Product Liability, Warranty and Lemon Law Claims for New GM and Chrysler
View our auto webinars.
Car Sales & Financing Archive
Bankruptcy
Consumer Litigators’ Interactive Guide to Corporate Bankruptcy,
July 2021
People overwhelmed with debt problems can get a fresh Pro Bono Bankruptcy Training
financial start by filing for bankruptcy relief. Bankruptcy Program Material
can stop foreclosure on a house or mobile home, prevent Intended to help pro bono programs,
repossession of a car or other property, stop wage legal services programs, local bar
garnishment or debt collection harassment, and prevent associations, and other organizations
termination of utility services. In some bankruptcy cases, a provide high-quality trainings for
plan can be approved to pay over time some or all of an volunteer attorneys on representing
individual’s debts. After years of intense debate, Congress consumers in bankruptcy cases.
enacted an overhaul of the nation’s consumer bankruptcy
laws in 2005. The changes have made the process more
complicated, but the basic right to file bankruptcy and most
of the benefits remain the same for most individuals.
Policy Analysis
Policy Briefs, Reports and Press Releases
Research Article: Sentenced to a Life of Debt: It Is Time for a Reassessment of How
Bankruptcy Law Intersects with Fines and Fees to Keep People in Debt, Federal Sentencing
Reporter, Volume 34, Issue 2-3, December-February 2022
Chart: Summary of Covid-19 Bankruptcy Relief Provisions, March 2021
Report: Clearing the Path to a New Beginning: A Guide to Discharging Criminal Justice Debt in
Bankruptcy and press release, October 2020
Guide to the HAVEN Act, November 2019
Final Report of the ABI Commission on Consumer Bankruptcy. (NCLC attorneys’ John Rao and
Tara Twomey were Commissioners), April 2019
More+Testimony, Comments and Letters
NCLC comments to the Advisory Committee on Bankruptcy Rules concerning proposed
changes to the mortgage claim rule, Rule 3002.1, Feb. 15, 2022
NCLC comments to DOJ re: Policy Initiatives Concerning the Ability of Americans in Financial
Distress to Access the Bankruptcy System, Jan. 6, 2022
Support letter for H.R.4777 – Nondebtor Release Prohibition Act of 2021, October 25, 2021
Support letter for the Consumer Bankruptcy Reform Act of 2020, December 9, 2020
Group letter urging Congress to adopt amendments to the Bankruptcy Code in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic, March 24, 2020
Testimony of NCLC attorney John Rao at the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on
“Oversight of Bankruptcy Law and Legislative Proposals,” held on June 25, 2019, and focusing
on the discharge of student loans in bankruptcy
Testimony of National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) attorney John Rao on behalf of the NCLC
and the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) before the U.S.
House Judiciary Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform, Commercial and Antitrust Law re: H.R.
3553: Bankruptcy Administration Improvement Act of 2017, September 26, 2018
NCLC comments in response to the Department of Education’s Request for Information on
factors student loan holders should consider in deciding whether to consent to a consumer’s
request for discharge of student loans in bankruptcy based on undue hardship, May 18, 2018
NCLC and NACBA Letter to CFPB: This letter urges the CFPB to reject a trade association’s
request that the CFPB abandon or delay the final rule on providing mortgage statements to
consumers in bankruptcy, Feb. 15, 2018
NCLC and NACBA Urge Credit Counseling Waivers for Hurricane Victims, Sept. 27, 2017
More+
Related Publications
Consumer Bankruptcy Law and Practice – The definitive consumer bankruptcy treatise,
updated with the latest case law and Bankruptcy Code, forms and rules changes, by Henry
Sommer, the nation’s leading author on consumer bankruptcy.
More+
GM and Chrysler Bankruptcies
The Status of Product Liability, Warranty and Lemon Law Claims for New GM and Chrysler
Bankruptcy Archive
Banking and Payment Systems
The complicated laws that govern bank accounts and new banking technologies have not always
kept pace with the consumer protection needs of lower income consumers.Consumer Banking and Payment
Covers eft, check payments, payroll cards, bank accounts, international transfers, prepaid cards and
government payments.
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Financial institutions are also increasingly reaching out to individuals who have been outside of or
underserved by the banking industry by offering nontraditional services and new products. The
bewildering array of new payment systems and electronic commerce can create great confusion and
the potential for abuse of consumers. Some of these new systems are also developing outside of the
framework of older consumer protection laws or are designed to skirt stronger protections.
NCLC monitors these developments and works for protections for lower income consumers in the
banking and payment systems.
Overdraft Loans
Fintech, Remittances, and Mobile & Electronic Payments
Prepaid Debit Cards and Payroll Cards
Payment Fraud
Banking
Protection of Exempt Public Benefits
Arbitration & Access to Justice
NCLC works to ensure that consumers have access to the justice system.
Forced Arbitration
MODEL STATE ARBITRATION ACT
Legal Services Corp.Class Actions and Access to Justice
Forced Arbitration
HOT TOPICS
• Press Release: Advocates Applaud House Passage of the FAIR Act, Mar. 17, 2022
• Group letter urging Congress to support H.R. 963, the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal
(FAIR) Act, Mar. 15, 2022
• 50 State Fact Sheets: Forced Arbitration Harms Consumers, Servicemembers, and Veterans,
(updated February 2021)
• NCLC Digital Library Online Article, “12 Ways to Avoid Arbitration After Congress
Overturned the CFPB Arbitration Rule,”
• The Model State Consumer and Employee Justice Enforcement Act
Forced arbitration clauses are found in fine print in contracts for bank accounts, student loans, cell
phones, employment, nursing homes and more. These clauses deprive people of their day in court
when a company violates the law, forcing victims into a system that is often biased, secretive and
lawless. Forced arbitration clauses often contain class action bans that prevent either a judge or an
arbitrator from seeing or addressing the full extent of a company’s wrongdoing. Forced arbitration
frequently completely blocks any relief and operates as a get-out-of-jail-free card. NCLC is a member
of the Fair Arbitration Now coalition that works to oppose forced arbitration.
Take Action to end forced arbitration
Policy Analysis
Policy Briefs, Reports and Press Releases
Press Release: Advocates Applaud House Passage of the FAIR Act, Mar. 17, 2022
Press Release: Bipartisan Legislation in Congress Would Ban Forced Arbitration Clauses that
Protect Sexual Predators, July 15, 2021
Press Release:Advocates Applaud Bill to Restore Access to the Courts and End Forced
Arbitration, February 11, 2021
Press Release: Federal Government Strips Legal Rights of Older Consumers in Nursing
Homes, July 17, 2019
More +
Letters
Group letter urging Congress to support H.R. 963, the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal
(FAIR) Act, Mar. 15, 2022Group letter urging Congress to support the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act,
Feb. 11, 2021
Group letter urging California Attorney General to crack down on arbitration firms operating
in secret, violating California law, March 21, 2018
Letter from Public Citizen and Better Markets urging SEC to reject any proposals to allow
companies to include forced arbitration clauses in IPOs, March 16, 2018
Group letter urging employers to remove forced arbitration provisions in private sector
employment contracts, Feb. 7, 2018
More +
Comments
Group comments to the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services opposing proposed
changes to strip legal rights from vulnerable residents in long-term care (LTC) facilities, Aug.
7, 2017. Related press release.
Comments Responding to FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn’s #Solutions2020 Call to Action
Plan, Jan. 11, 2017
More +
Testimony
NCLC testimony before the Maryland Financial Consumer Protection Commission on state
measures to address forced arbitration, October 10, 2018.
More +
Model State Arbitration Act
Model State Act Limiting Arbitration, revised 2017
CFPB Final Arbitration Rule Resources
Related Publications
Consumer Arbitration Agreements
Arbitration Archive
Legal Services Corp.
The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is a federally funded program that supports free legal services
programs in all corners of all 50 states. Civil legal aid ensures fairness for all in the justice system
regardless of income. It provides access to legal help to keep homes out of foreclosure, protectSocial Security funds needed to buy food, assist veterans with problems after discharge from
service, help students manage their debt, and stop abusers from stalking victims of domestic
violence, to name a few. Rural areas, in particular, rely very heavily, if not exclusively, on civil legal
aid programs.
Take Action to protect civil legal aid!
Press Releases
Press Release: Trump Reverse Robin Hood Budget Would Kill Bipartisan Programs that Protect
Vulnerable Seniors, Veterans, Working Families, March 16, 2017
Comments and Letters
Comments to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Opposing Proposed Changes to the
federal poverty line adjustment methodology (Directive No. 14, “Consumer Inflation Measures
Produced by Federal Statistical Agencies,” Docket No. OMB-2019-0002), June 21, 2019
Resources
Voices for Civil Justice
Act on Justice
Class Actions and Access to Justice
Class actions provide a means for people to band together to pursue justice when companies engage
in widespread violations of the law. Without class actions, it is often infeasible for a consumer to hire
a lawyer to pursue a claim for a small dollar amount. Class actions also enable courts to assess and
remedy the full scope of a company’s wrongdoing. NCLC opposes efforts to curtail class actions or
otherwise restrict access to justice.
Take Action to Defend Class Actions
Policy Analysis
Letters
H.R. 985 (Goodlatte), Fairness in Class Action Litigation Act of 2017. Coalition opposition
letter, Feb. 14, 2017
Letter opposing H.R. 720 (Lamar Smith), Lawsuit Abuse Reduction Act (LARA), H.R. 725
(Buck), Innocent Party Protection Act, and H.R. 732 (Goodlatte) (Stop Settlement Slush Funds
Act). Feb. 1, 2017
Press Releases
Class Actions Matter: Consumers Mislabeled as Terrorists Win Record $60 Million against
TransUnion for Violating Key Consumer Protection Law, June 21, 2017Related Publications
Class Actions
Consumer Arbitration Agreements
Arbitration and Access to Justice ArchiveYou can also read
