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| attribution: REUTERS |
Chalk up another win for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and in fact, another win for the American consumer. In this case, it's members of the military who have new protections from predatory lenders. The CFPB worked with the Pentagon to develop new rules for how the military discretionary allotment system works. Military personnel can designate a portion of their paycheck to be paid automatically to financial institutions or to people, and previously had no legal protections if they used those automatic payments for personal property—vehicles, appliances and consumer electronics. That's where unscrupulous companies could exploit them.
The new rules shut down that loophole, and will only allow the automatic payments for "the purpose of savings, insurance premiums, mortgage or rent payments, support for dependents, or investments." That's one of the final loopholes closed by the CFBP—the agency that Republicans want to gut—for military personnel who have been big targets for consumer fraud. With all these protections, the CFPB has recovered over $98 million for thousands of service members. You know, the troops Republicans supposedly have so much respect and feeling for.
As of the agency's third birthday back in July, it had recovered more than $4.6 billion—yes billion for consumers harmed by illegal practices by financial institutions.
Included in that figure are major accomplishments, like forcing credit card companies to return $1.5 billion to consumers duped by add-on products and changing lending rules to ensure loans can and will be paid back so there will never again be a repeat of the Great Meltdown of 2008. The agency has also started the arduous process of taking entities that offer predatory student loans to the mat in court. […]
Since its inception, the CFPB has covered mortgages, bank accounts and services, private student loans, auto and other consumer loans, credit reporting, debt collection, payday loans, and money transfers. On July 21, it announced the addition of other areas tasked to it by Dodd-Frank, namely prepaid card, debt settlement and credit repair companies as well as pawn shops and title loan companies.
That's an agency that is really working, that's demonstrating that government is good. No wonder Republicans want to kill it. That, and the fact that it's $4.6 billion less that Wall Street has to spend on them in the next election. Which means it will be another prime target for repeal by the Republican Congress, because there is absolutely no question who Republicans are working for.
Maybe it is time at looking at issuing money as credit instead of as debt.
ReplyDeletePart of the problem with alotments and automatic payments are, we're and will continue to be is the lack of good basic economic education in public schools. Also part of the problem is young people who want it all NOW because they have been told they are entitled to it all.
ReplyDeleteThis article was posted because there will be future discussion about the amount left in the veterans budget.
ReplyDeleteI feel we need to support and fund veterans benefits for all who are eligible. I Am glad we made the change and appointed our own Veterans agent. It will cost more to pay for the benefits but it is what we should do.....in my opinion
The military has made much progress with regards to its service men and their money but it is somewhat amazing how people still get into trouble. My opinion it has something to do with people rarely handle money, they just handle plastic. Personally I would like to see some real tax reform legislation and. fewer book tours. I hope the increase in costs means more funds for vets rather than more funds for admin.
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