Good News and Bad News Relating to CFPB Payday Loan and Auto Title Loan Regulation

The CFPB has proposed a final rule that prohibits a lot of the worst practices in the Payday Loan industry as well as practices involving Auto Title Loans and other abusive loans.  These regulations are primarily intended to get people out of the "debt trap" that happens when you are forced to roll over payday loans.  The regulations include limits on roll-over, includes a provision that the lender must consider the borrower's ability to pay, and it includes a provision that subsequent loans must be in a declining amount.  There are other provisions that prohibit multiple attempts to deposit dishonored payment checks, a practice which can generate ridiculous NSF fees. 

All of that is good news. Now the bad news: The rule doesn't go into effect unitl July 2019 at the earliest. In the current political climate that means that lender funded special interest groups have over a year and a half to go after the rule in Congress.

In the meantime, payday loans are covered to the greater or lessor degree by state legislation. Indiana (my home state) actually has a pretty good law.

Here is information on the CFPB Payday Loan Rule from National Consumer Law Center.  If you are stuck in a bad situation regarding payday loans or other high interest loans, find a consumer attorney near you through the National Association of Consumer Advocates here. 

Do you have a 2011-2014 Hyundai or Kia Vehicle that has blown an engine?

According to this article at The Truth About Cars, Kia and Hyundai have recalled 1.7 million vehicles equipped with the Theta II 2.0 and 2.4 liter 4-cylinder engines due to a problem with the manufacturing process that could result in metal shavings contaminating engine oil and leading to destruction of the engine.  The National Highwaay Traffic Safety administration has launched an investigation into whether the companies acted with reasonable speed once notified of the problems.

The vehicles affected are certain

Hyundai Sonata
Hyundai Santa Fe
Kia Optima
Kia Sorento
Kia Sportage

Don't assume that your vehicle is not affected even if you didn't get notice of a recall, especially if you bought the vehicle used.  A lot of the earlier models of these vehicles are hitting the buy-here/pay here lots now, perhaps after being unloaded by previous owners who started experiencing problems.

I successfully represented a client who had a Hyundai Sonata which had a blown engine. A subsequent inquiry into the history of the vehicle revealed that the vehicle was a "laundered lemon", that is, a vehicle that had been bought back by the manufacturer under the lemon law, but subseqently sold to by a dealer to the consumer without mandated disclosure of the lemon history.

You should be aware that if you bought one of these vehicles even if the manufacturer's warranty has expired, you MAY be able to get a new engine or engine repairs thanks to the recalls.  In some cases, if the dealer arranged financing and if you fell behind because the engine went out you MAY have a defensive claim, and in a few cases an offensive claim for damages.  This is far from universal, in some cases you won't be able to use problems with the vehicle as a defense.

If you had an engine go out on a Hyundai or Kia vehicle, I suggest that you contact a consumer lawyer in your area. You can find one in your area through the National Association of Consumer Advocates' Find an Attorney page.

Are You Getting Promotional Inquiries on your Credit Report from Capital One Bank?

Most people know that every time a potential creditor pulls your credit report in connection with an application for credit, your credit score is slightly affected.  This type of inquiry is known in the trade as a "hard pull".  There is a second kind of credit report access called a "soft inquiry" or "soft pull." These inquiries are properly for the purpose of a firm offer of credit (a promotional inquiry), an account review of an existing account or for the collection of an existing account, or for the consumer's own use. Sometimes a soft pull is appropriate for confirming the identity of a person.

Because they aren't part of your credit score, soft pulls are not thought of as being as damaging as hard pulls - but that might not always be true. In fact, for privacy purposes, the soft pulls may be even more damaging because they are not tracked as closely.  You might not even know who had access to your credit file.

Right now I am looking into whether Capital One Bank has been accessing a large number of consumer credit files on a  large number of occasions without making a  corresponding firm offer of credit in exchange for the information.

The next time you check your credit report (available for free one time a year from www.annualcreditreport.com), pay attention to the sections marked "Promotional inquiries" and "Account Review Inquiries".  The promotional inquiries should generally not have the same companies getting your report on many occasions.  The account review inquiries should relate to companies that you have actually done business with or with third party debt collectors who are currently servicing one of your accounts or who did so in the past.  If you don't remember receiving any offers of credit, or if a creditor listed under an account inquiry is unfamiliar to you, you can write that company, give them your name, address and partial social security number (partial only), and ask them to tell you the reason they accessed your credit each time.  Ask them to identify the account they claim to be servicing; and ask them to explain to you what firm offers of credit they made and when.  If they can't answer these questions to your satisfaction,  you should talk to an experienced consumer lawyer in your area. You can find one through the National Association of Consumer Advocates' "find an attorney"  page linked here.http://www.consumeradvocates.org/find-an-attorney