Consumer Rights

MFJ Urges Albany to Rein In Abusive Student Loan Servicers

In testimony before the New York State Assembly committees on banking and consumer affairs and in an article in the Times Union, MFJ Staff Attorney Evan Denerstein makes the case for greater regulation of student loan servicers. The testimony discusses studies that show that loan servicers fail to tell borrowers about their options for relief, …

MFJ Weighs In on NYS Failure to Protect Student Loan Borrowers

MFJ Attorney Evan Denerstein weighs in on the New York State legislature’s failure to enact legislation to protect student borrowers from unscrupulous loan servicers in an article in The Intercept. The law included provisions to license all servicers and to grant enforcement power to the state Department of Financial Services, and Governor Cuomo included the …

MFJ Speaks Out on Fairness to Consumers in Crain’s Op Ed

MFJ Attorney Ariana Lindermayer’s Op Ed in Crain’s New York Business supports strengthening New York State’s General Business Law, which has been singled out by the National Consumer Law Center as “toothless.” MFJ supports a bill introduced in the NYS Assembly by Yuh Line-Niou that prohibits unfair conduct, increases the available damages, and makes payment …

NY Consumers Are Susceptible to Unfair & Deceptive Business Practices

A new report from the National Consumer Law Center finds that New York State statutes are relatively weak when it comes to protecting consumers against deceptive practices. A bill recently introduced by State Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, which MFJ supports, would strengthen consumer protections by clearly defining what constitutes unfair, unlawful or deceptive acts, eliminating the …

MFJ: U.S. Senate Vote is a Major Blow to Consumer Rights

Mobilization for Justice has actively opposed efforts to repeal a rule on predisupte binding mandatory (forced) arbitration issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The rule, issued in July 2017, had restored consumers’ right to band together in class actions to pursue claims of wrongdoing against financial institutions. Mobilization for Justice is a member of …

MFJ Urges Congress to Protect Consumers in Wake of Equifax Data Breach

Mobilization for Justice joined consumer advocates across the country in urging Congress to take immediate action to repair the Equifax breach of personal data of 143 million consumers. Advocates demand that Congress ban forced arbitration clauses that prevent consumers from bringing class action lawsuits, enact credit freeze legislation to protect consumers from identity theft, reform …

MFJ Blasts Forced Arbitration Clauses in Daily News Op-Ed

MFY Staff Attorney Ali Naini’s Op-Ed in today’s New York Daily News exposes the dangers consumers face when credit services, banks and other financial institutions include in their products forced arbitration clauses that prohibit consumers from participating in class action lawsuits to address egregious behavior, such as the recent hacking of Equifax’s database of consumers’ …

MFY Calls on Senators to Ensure Consumer Protections

MFY joined scores of consumer, small business, labor, good government, financial protection, community, health environmental, civil rights and public interest groups in signing a letter on Monday, January 30, 2017 to senators urging them to oppose the use of the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to repeal public protections that are critical to ensuring consumer protections and …

Consumer Coalition to Trump: No Backsliding on Consumer Protections

New Yorkers for Responsible Lending, a 180-member coalition in which MFY plays a leading role, reaffirmed its commitment to the goal of financial justice for all New Yorkers and pledged to be a “firewall” against any federal backsliding on consumer financial protection, fair lending and marketplace oversight under the Trump administration.

MFY Attorney Honored for Consumer Rights Work

The Civil Legal Advice and Resource Office (CLARO) honored MFY Senior Staff Attorney Ariana Lindermayer for her expertise and assistance to low-income New Yorkers with consumer debt problems at CLARO clinics throughout the city. MFY participates regularly in advising people with consumer debt at CLARO’s court-based clinics as part of our Consumer Rights Project.

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