National Consumer Law Center Inc

Programs: Building family and individual economic security: low-income families struggle every day to meet basic expenses, and usually have little or no savings to provide a safety net. They are disproportionately targeted for overpriced financial services, such as excessive bank fees, high-cost loans, and predatory home mortgages. Lax regulation has left many families vulnerable to wealth-stripping practices and deeply in debt, reducing opportunities for higher education, job training and homeownership. To counter these trends and help low-income people build assets and economic security, nclc promotes the adoption and enforcement of strong consumer protections in the financial services marketplace. Specific achievements in 2017:nclc has been a strong and leading advocate for greater consumer protections on payday lending for many years, and on october 5, 2017, the consumer financial protection bureau (cfpb) issued its final rule on payday, vehicle title, and certain high-cost installment loans. For certain short-term and balloon loans, the rule requires lenders to determine that borrowers are able repay the loans and limits loan refinancing. The rule also limits a lender's ability to repeatedly cash a check or debit a consumer's account after two unsuccessful attempts. This debit limit applies not only to all short-term and balloon loans, but to longer-term installment loans and lines of credit with an apr under the truth in lending act that exceeds 36%. The 2017 equifax data breach was one of the worst data breaches in u. S. History. Nclc used this massive breach of sensitive personal data to amplify and magnify our call for needed credit reporting industry reforms. Nclc attorneys spoke with over 50 members of the media following the equifax breach, and testified before the u. S. House financial services committee on the reforms that congress should adopt to protect the 145. 5 million american consumers harmed by it. Nclc also discussed how the equifax hack relates to the issues of errors in credit reports, which nclc has worked to address for many years. In december 2017, the tax bill which passed congress and was signed by the president included a provision ending the taxation of student loan debt cancelled due to a borrower's disability or death, or the death of a child (for whom the loan was taken out). Nclc had argued that this practice was grossly unfair to some of the most vulnerable student loan borrowers (including in an october 2017 op-ed written with the american legion urging congress to eliminate this tax), and we consider passage of this pro-consumer provision a major victorynclc released our model medical debt protection act, a model law intended to protect vulnerable patients from crushing medical debt and unfair debt collection practices, making it possible for low- and moderate-income patients to pay a reasonable amount towards their health care bills while protecting all patients from harassment by debt collectors. The model act and its commentary include language that could be included in state law to replicate important affordable care act (aca) financial assistance policies, and to add protections that go beyond the aca. The model act also provides language if a state wishes to adopt financial assistance and debt collection laws in the event that the aca provisions are repealed. Nclc released a major report on auto "add-on" products, auto add-ons add up: how dealer discretion drives excessive, arbitrary and discriminatory pricing. The report revealed extraordinary mark-ups - as high as 1000% - and inconsistent pricing of add-on products such as window etching and extended service contracts. Using a national data set of three million auto add-on products sold over six years, the report shows that hispanic customers are charged more than non-hispanic customers for the same product. Lack of transparency and inconsistent pricing set in place a chain of negative consequences for consumers, as the expensive add-on products become more and more expensive over time after finance expenses are calculated. Overpriced add-ons also increase the loan-to-value ratio for cars, since they increase the amount that consumers finance without providing any real increase to the value of the car, therefore increasing negative equity. The report includes a number of recommendations for legislatures, state attorneys general and other policymakers to address these abuses. Nclc released a significant report: predatory installment lending in 2017: states battle to restrain high-cost loans, evaluating all 50 states in terms of protecting their residents from high-cost installment loans. Payday lenders are increasingly offering these dangerous loans, and pressuring states to legalize them, as a way to continue high-cost predatory lending even in the event of the cfpb's payday loan rule being preserved. This report is a resource for the many state advocates working to defend and enhance protections at the state level, and as a spur to policymakers. In october 2017, the federal housing finance administration announced that it would be including a "language preference" question in the newly revised uniform residential loan application, which means that all applications for conventional fannie mae and freddie mac mortgage loans will now offer the applicant an opportunity to identify language needs. This is a crucial first step in expanding language access in the mortgage market, and is a clear result of nclc's leadership and the efforts of the americans for financial reform lep taskforce, a national coalition of consumer advocates. In april 2017 nclc released a policy brief, policy recommendations for a strong state law on land contracts, following our 2016 report, toxic transactions: how land installment contracts once again threaten communities of color, which detailed the exploitative practice of marketing land installment contracts to low-income consumers. The brief outlines eight specific policy recommendations to assist state lawmakers and advocates in stopping predatory land contracts from decimating their communities. In 2017, nclc trained more than 7,800 attorneys, advocates, policymakers and others on ways to strengthen their advice and representation of victimized consumers in the financial marketplace. Over 890 attorneys from around the country, including assistant attorneys general, private attorneys, legal services lawyers and other non-profit advocates attended our 26th annual consumer rights litigation conference (crlc), held from november 16 to november 19th in washington, d. C. The conference offered more than 60 breakout sessions taught by some of the country's most experienced consumer advocates on topics including mortgage protections, medical debt, debt collection, predatory student lending, violations of the fair credit reporting act, and many more consumer rights subjects. Over 200 attorneys and advocates attended nclc's fair debt collection practices training conference in march 2017, which provides the nuts and bolts about the laws protecting consumers from abusive debt collection practices, and valuable litigation strategies and tips for developing a fair debt collection law practice.

improving access to energy, utilities, & telecommunications services: access to affordable and efficient electricity, heating fuel, water, and telecommunications services is essential for all americans. Unfortunately, millions of struggling families cannot pay for basic utilities, putting their health, safety, and well-being at risk. In addition, low-income households tend to live in less energy efficient homes and use less efficient appliances, both of which lead to higher overall energy costs. Nclc promotes the adoption and enforcement of public policies that deliver affordable and efficient utility services for low-income households. Specific achievements:to help raise awareness about the risks of pace loans, nclc released a report, residential property assessed clean energy (pace) loans: the perils of easy money for clean energy improvements. Pace programs offer loans for energy efficient home improvements, such as solar panels, hvac systems, and energy efficient windows. Pace loans are offered through home improvement contractors and are secured by a property tax lien. The property tax lien is collected through a property tax assessment, and it takes priority over any existing mortgage. Pace programs must be authorized by state and local governments, but pace programs are privately run with little or no government oversight. As a result of nclc's intervention in the national grid rate case, an order from the massachusetts department of public utilities required the company to investigate why enrollment on its arrearage management program (amp) was so much lower than for every other massachusetts utility. After changes resulting from the internal investigation, amp enrollment at ngrid increased by 50%. Two thousand additional households have been enrolled, and will likely also gain access to fuel assistance payments, low-income discount rates, and low-income protections against service termination. A federal appeals court recently affirmed the decision of the district of columbia's public service commission to allow the merger of energy companies exelon and pepco holdings. Nclc had intervened in the proceedings before the commission and obtained substantial benefits for consumers. As a result of nclc's advocacy, the commission is expected to distribute approx. $11 million for energy efficiency investments in affordable multifamily housing.

working with distinct populations:nclc seeks to form partnerships with grassroots organizations, human service providers, counseling groups, and others interested in protecting consumer rights. We provide special publications that are tailored to attorneys and human service providers; conduct hands-on, practical training workshops; and offer case consulting expertise on difficult client matters. Nclc has established strong relationships with organizations nationwide serving a broad range of distinct populations. Specific achievements:nclc's racial justice and equal economic opportunity initiative addresses the abusive and exploitive practices in the marketplace that decimate the finances of communities of color. Building on nclc's groundbreaking anti-discrimination litigation and advocacy, the initiative provides high-impact advocacy on issues of significance to communities and individuals of color. The initiative pursues its goals through a combination of public policy advocacy, litigation (including amicus briefs), training and support of lawyers and other advocates, and public education, at both the state and national levels. To promote its core mission and strengthen its advocacy, nclc partners with a broad cross-section of civil rights and racial justice organizations. In 2017, nclc issued numerous policy briefs, regulatory comments, and other materials on issues involving fair housing and equal access to credit. Nclc participated in the u. S. Administration on community living's national legal resource center which provides technical support, case consultation and training to the nation's aging services network. Its goal is to improve the quality and accessibility of legal assistance provided to vulnerable older americans with consumer-related issues. Consumer problems threaten the independence and financial security of older americans. In 2017, nclc provided legal assistance to attorneys and advocates for older americans regarding foreclosure prevention and defense, bankruptcy, debt collection, unfair and deceptive practices, sales and warranties, energy assistance, and home utility services.