For years, I’ve suggested that consumers consider banking with a credit union rather than a bank. Why? Consumers often can’t trust banks not to gouge them with high interest rates and fees. It was great to listen to President Biden speak on the radio and on television about the action his administration is taking on “junk fees.” Read more →

On Facebook this week, a woman in a financial group told about how she almost paid $2,500 to a scammer on Zelle. It was the government imposter scam. A guy told her she owed $2,500 because she’d missed a court date. The calls went on for about an hour. A friend on another line kept telling her not to send the money. Read more →

Most consumers don’t know they have “agreed” to give up their rights when they sign a contract that requires arbitration, and that banks or companies nearly always win because arbitration favors business interests, a study by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau or CFPB reports. Read more →

Many people who got “pre-approved” credit offers from Credit Karma weren’t approved for credit and, as a result, wasted time applying and saw their credit scores drop when their applications were denied. Credit Karma deceived people about pre-approval for credit cards or loans offered by banks and lenders that used Credit Karma to promote their financial products. Read more →

Hello Digit, a financial technology company that used a faulty algorithm that caused overdrafts and overdraft penalties for customers, is being required to return money to consumers and pay a fine of $2.7 million. Hello Digit was supposed to save people money, but instead cost consumers money. Read more →

As the Senate considers the Inflation Reduction Act, corporations that have profiteered throughout the pandemic are getting worried that they may have to pay their fair share in taxes, a corporate watchdog group Accountable.US said in its weekly newsletter. Read more →

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is launching an initiative to improve the customer service experience at big banks. The bureau wants to hear from consumers and businesses about their experiences dealing with customer service at their bank or credit union – both the good and the bad. Read more →

Bank of America will pay $250 million for botching the disbursement of state unemployment benefits at pandemic's height. The bank froze people’s accounts with a faulty fraud detection program, and then gave them little recourse when there was no fraud, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Thursday. Read more →

In states that allow high-cost loans, excessive interest rates can trap borrowers in a cycle of debt. Caps on interest rates and loan fees are the main way states can protect consumers from predatory lending. Forty-five states cap interest rates and loan fees for some consumer installment loans, depending on the loan size. Read more →

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is looking at how consumers can get better customer service from big banks. Consumers have the right under federal law to get timely responses when they ask for information about their accounts at large institutions. Read more →