On Wednesday, the “Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act,” or “CARES Act,” passed in the Senate unanimously, 96-0, and now heads to the House of Representatives. The CARES Act is aimed at helping Americans and businesses affected by the coronavirus (“COVID-19”). While the majority of reporting has focused on the
The Department of Education announced today that it would defer collection actions on defaulted student loans for at least 60 days as part of the federal government’s overall response to the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic.
The most significant action mentioned in the announcement is a temporary halt to “Treasury offsets.” This powerful tool allows the Department
The Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia issued an administrative order on Sunday, March 22 that covers public health and safety concerns related to the coronavirus (“COVID-19”). In it, the Court recognizes “the current COVID-19 crisis creates an unprecedented public health emergency that requires immediate action to encourage effective social distancing and reduce the
As the education sector continues to respond to the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, on March 30, United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced several initiatives designed to bring “meaningful relief” to students and families.
First, all federal student borrowers can ask their loan servicers to temporarily postpone their payments.
Additionally, if a borrower is more
In Dressler v. Equifax, Inc., et al., before entering final judgment in favor of all but one defendant, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida gave pro se plaintiff Sandra K. Dressler three attempts to amend her complaint, which alleged violations of various consumer protection statutes by student loan servicer
On January 29, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Comprehensive Credit Act (“the Act”). Packaging several Democrat-sponsored bills together, the Act garnered the support of all but two of the present House Democrats. If enacted into law, the Act would significantly change the information that credit reports can contain, expand the processes available
This month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Education entered into a Memorandum of Understanding intended to enhance their level of collaboration with respect to complaints and concerns raised by student loan consumers.
The agreement provides that the two federal agencies will, to the extent permitted by privacy laws, share consumer complaint
The Eastern District of New York recently decided a motion to dismiss, denying Defendant’s motion as to Plaintiff’s claims under the FCRA and dismissing Plaintiff’s claims under the FDCPA. A copy of the Court’s opinion can be found here. This case involved claims concerning a disputed tradeline on Plaintiff’s credit report. The Court found
Is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau constitutional? Soon we will know. But what happens to the CFPB’s day-to-day work in the meantime? A student loan relief company decided to find out, and learned that the issue of the CFPB’s constitutionality will have no effect on the company’s obligation to respond to a civil investigative demand.
Wire fraud cases, arising from what the Federal Bureau of Investigation calls “business email compromise,” are on the rise. In 2018, the FBI reported that business email compromise and other internet-enabled theft, fraud, and exploitation resulted in $2.7 billion of financial loss. See FBI – IC3 Annual Report Released. Surprisingly, even sophisticated parties and