Press Release Archive

2020

October

14

• Consumer groups file brief objecting to AbbVie's strategies to withhold generic drugs (Attempts to extend patent on best-selling drug Humira at issue). Consumer Action and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) filed an amicus brief arguing that AbbVie, maker of Humira, the world's best-selling drug, has employed strategies to delay entry to the market of biologically similar generic drugs (biosimilars), costing Americans billions of dollars.

September

01

• Consumers should have the right to pay retailers with cash (Broad spectrum of groups voice support for Payment Choice Act). Fifty-one consumer, privacy and civil rights groups joined a letter expressing support for the Payment Choice Act, legislation in the Senate and House that would prohibit brick-and-mortar retailers from refusing to accept cash or charging consumers more for paying with cash.

August

11

• Consumer Action launches COVID-19 Educational Project (Free resource guide, webinars and multilingual fact sheets help consumers cope with pandemic fallout). Consumer Action, a national consumer education and advocacy nonprofit, has launched a new project aimed at providing consumers—particularly low- and moderate-income workers, limited-English speakers and other hard-hit communities—with essential information and valuable resources that can help them cope with the financial fallout of the pandemic.

July

14

• Health and wealth: Dealing with medical debt and discovering innovative solutions. Medical debt is the reason cited by more than 6 in 10 people who file for bankruptcy. A growing number of consumers have been hit with lawsuits

09

• How to get help with your mortgage during COVID-19. During the COVID pandemic, most homeowners are eligible for help from their mortgage companies, but they have to ask for such help. This multilingual press release explains how.

• How to get help with your mortgage during COVID-19 (Spanish). Para muchos dueños de casa que están pasando dificultades financieras a causa de la pandemia de COVID-19 se les podrí

• How to get help with your mortgage during COVID-19 (Chinese). 目前有許多因COVID-19新冠肺炎疫情影響而遭受財務損失的房屋業主可能將難以支付房屋抵押貸款。大多數房屋業主都有資格從貸款公司獲得幫助，但是他們必需先提出求助要求。大多數房屋貸款人可以要求一般所謂的“寬限期”，而將房屋抵押貸款的還款時限最多延長至十二個月。因寬限期而推遲繳付的貸款可以在日後將其附加到整筆貸款之尾期，或可另外設定一項協議來逐步償還。在大多數情況下，所欠款項不必一次全部償還。而如果在寬限期截止後，貸款人若還是無法負擔其定期房屋抵押貸款還款額，則可以要求貸款公司進行覆查，而讓他們獲得比較能夠負擔的還款方式。 根據聯邦CARES (新冠病毒疫情援助救難經濟安全法案) 規定，當房屋業主提出要求時，就應得到這項緊急援助。此一法規適用於業主的房屋抵押貸款是由Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Veterans Administration, Rural Housing, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac（聯邦住屋行政管理局、退伍軍人行政管理局、鄉村住屋管理機構、房利美、房地美）等聯邦機構擔保或擁有的房屋抵押貸款。而選用私營房屋抵押貸款公司的貸款人也可以從他們的貸款公司獲得援助。 英語能力有限的貸款人如果需要協助，以便了解自己可選擇哪些援助，或希望與房屋抵押貸款公司進行溝通，應該聯繫由聯邦住屋和都市發展局(HUD)核准的住屋諮詢機構。這些機構的認證住屋諮詢顧問可為您提供免費服務。貸款人可以在此查找聯邦住屋和都市發展局(HUD)所批准的諮詢機構，他們用中文及其他多元語言提供諮詢服務：https://apps.hud.gov/offices/hsg

07

• Trump’s ‘Consumer’ Bureau gives predatory lenders green light to exploit consumers. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) under Trump-appointed leadership has gutted its 2017 payday loan rule, making today's rule ineffective. Consumers will be harmed.

June

25

• Four U.S. financial firms stand out by respecting customer communication preferences (Consumer Action aligns with Keep Me Posted to ensure paper bills remain as a free option ). Bank of America, Capital One, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo continue to provide consumer choice, control and convenience without penalty for paper communications, finds a survey by the Keep Me Posted campaign.

May

07

• Coalition formed to protect right to pay with cash (Many U.S. consumers lack access to digital payment mechanisms). Consumer Action has joined a new coalition whose purpose is to advocate for the continued availability of cash as a payment option for consumers throughout the U.S. Availability of cash payments remains extremely important during times of natural disasters and other emergencies.

05

• White House must protect privacy in response to COVID-19. Groups Tell Pence to Set Standards to Guide Government and Public-Private Partnership Data Practices and Technology Use Washington, D.C. – Today, 15 leading consumer, privacy,

March

24

• Consumer Action survey found most respondents are saving for retirement (February survey completed before stock markets tanked on coronavirus news). The vast majority (82%) of the 926 people who participated in Consumer Action’s online Retirement Savings Survey in early February 2020 said they have been saving for retirement.

2019

December

19

• Class actions: A vital consumer tool not fully understood by those who stand to benefit (Consumer Action devotes its latest issue of Consumer Action News to explaining the power and value of class action claims). While class action lawsuits are designed to help right some of society’s wrongs and to compensate those who’ve been harmed, it

05

• Bipartisan bill aims to reinstate mailed Social Security earnings statements (Document is an important retirement planning tool; many have lost access to the annual statement). Consumer Action and allies herald new bipartisan legislation that would require that the Social Security Statement of Earnings be mailed annually to individuals who have not set up an online Social Security account.

October

09

• Consumer Action takes a look at the crisis in drug prices. Consumer Action releases a new issue of Consumer Action News (Fall 2019) looking at the crisis in prescription drug prices. The group surveyed community organizations about the impact of rising drug costs on consumers and examined some of the bills pending in Congress to address the crisis.

02

• Consumer Action receives support from JPMorgan Chase (Project will introduce financial technology tools to underrepresented consumers and help them save more). A new Consumer Action project will distribute financial technology tools to low- and moderate-income (LMI) consumers, measure changes in financial health and help LMI consumers improve their financial health through the use of financial technology tools.

September

30

• California funeral homes use loophole to hide prices. Today two national groups – the Funeral Consumers Alliance (FCA) and the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) – and two California-based groups – Consumer Action (CA) and the Funeral Consumers Alliance of California – released a report showing that 26 percent of the 205 funeral homes in six large urban areas in California use a loophole in state law to hide their funeral prices.  The report – Hidden Funeral Prices: An Evaluation of California Funeral Homes Price Disclosure and Lack of Disclosure prepared by FCA and CFA also identified the 46 percent of funeral homes surveyed who prominently display their complete price and service lists.

20

• House approves bill to allow you to sue companies (An uphill battle still awaits the FAIR Act in the Senate). Today, in a 225-186 vote, the House of Representatives passed a bipartisan bill that would end forced arbitration requirements in consumer contracts. However, the Forced

August

09

• FHFA decision harms limited English consumers, advocates warn. For Immediate Release:  The Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) Language Access Task Force strongly opposes the decision announced by the Federal Housing

July

12

• D.C. stands up for consumers in deceptive hotel pricing scheme. The Washington, D.C., Attorney General’s office announced a lawsuit against Marriott International Inc. for charging consumers “deceptive resort fees.” These

May

30

• Consumer Action survey finds respondents want location data used only for the purpose for which it’s collected. White paper calls for banning sale or sharing of data without upfront permission.

March

07

• CFPB must live up to its name (Protecting consumers should not be a sideline but a full-time job for the regulator tasked with consumer protection). As the U.S. House Financial Services Committee hears the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's semi-annual report, Consumer Action calls on the Bureau's new director to stick with protecting consumers, not enabling companies predatory practices.

February

06

• CFPB throws borrowers to the sharks. Consumer Action's statement on the CFPB's revised proposal to regulate payday loans.

January

17

• Consumer groups urge action on bill to stop “spoofed” robocalls. For Immediate Release WASHINGTON, DC — A bipartisan bill reintroduced today in the Senate will address the growing problem of “spoofed” robocalls that

15

• Consumers prefer a paper trail (Survey says consumers choose paper statements over electronic notices). The message is clear: Consumers overwhelmingly prefer to receive bills and statements on paper rather than electronically, according to a new survey of more than 2,600