News

2022

November

23

• Student loan debt repayment pause extended. The Biden administration is extending its student loan repayment pause — which was set to expire at the end of the year — into 2023 while its promise of federal relief remains hung up in court.

17

• Stop digital-only coupon discrimination (Particularly during times of high inflation, supermarket shoppers should not be shut out of digital-only discounts). A coalition of national consumer groups is urging leading supermarket chains to stop discriminating against senior citizens and low-income shoppers who cannot take advantage of a new wave of advertised digital-only discounts because millions of

• Consumer groups want grocers to ditch digital-only deals. A coalition of consumer groups is asking grocery chains to rethink their digital-only coupons, saying the deals discriminate against people who don’t have smartphones or reliable internet access. Digital-only deals __ advertised online or

14

• U.S. fines airlines $7.5 m and they must refund customers for cancelled flights. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced that the department is assessing fines totaling $7.5 million against six airlines, and the DOT is ordering those airlines to pay $600 million in refunds to hundreds of thousands of customers

02

• Americans fed up with tiny airline seats flood FAA with complaints. Fed up with being crammed in alongside other unhappy customers, passengers flooded the agency with nearly 25,000 comments.  While many stuck to the FAA’s request to address whether the 

01

• Sharp spike in Black, Asian and Latino homeownership. Helped by pandemic-era stimulus programs, Black, Latino and Asian households saw the sharpest increase in homeownership in 2021 since the Great Recession, when all their levels of owning had fallen, according to an analysis of new

October

27

• U.S. mortgage rates soar past 7%. Mortgage rates barreled past the 7 percent mark to their highest level since 2002, as the Federal Reserve’s aggressive interest rate increases, meant to combat inflation, continued to seep through the economy and worry markets.

18

• Applying for Biden’s student loan forgiveness? Here’s what to know. After weeks of waiting, student loan borrowers can now apply for President Biden’s program to receive up to $20,000 in debt cancellation. Applicants have to submit their Social Security number, name, date of birth,

17

• You can now buy hearing aids over the counter. For the first time, adults with mild to moderate hearing loss in the US will be able to buy over-the-counter hearing aids.  The White House said that hearing aids are available or coming soon

04

• Few customers get refunds for Zelle fraud. Reports of scams and fraud on the bank-owned payment network Zelle are surging, but banks have refused to refund customers for most of their losses — at times outright flouting a federal consumer protection law,

03

• Consumer Action INSIDER - October 2022. The October 2022 issue of Consumer Action INSIDER brings you news of our recent activities.

September

29

• Student loan debt relief program launches in October. The Department of Education will provide up to $20,000 in debt cancellation with loans held by the federal government to Pell Grant recipients, and up to $10,000 in debt cancellation to non-Pell Grant recipients. To be eligible

22

• Air passengers could see sweeping reforms and easier refunds. After decades of laissez-faire enforcement, the Department of Transportation is proposing changes to clarify the vague language airlines use to determine “significant delays,” potentially helping passengers receive refunds or vouchers more efficiently. Under

01

• Bank of America tests no-down-payment mortgages for minorities. Bank of America Corp. started a trial program aimed at helping first-time homebuyers in Black and Hispanic neighborhoods by offering mortgages that don’t require down payments, closing costs or minimum credit scores, all

• The best times to find cheap flights. Google Flights data showed prices for domestic flights have usually been their lowest between 21 and 60 days out. Those prices tend to bottom out around 44 days before takeoff.  Look for flights that depart in the

August

31

• Consumer Action INSIDER - September 2022. The September issue of INSIDER brings you stories about some new grants and initiatives at Consumer Action, as well as standard features, like Hotline Chronicles (a terrible snafu with airline tickets) and CFPB Watch (a rundown of what the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been up to). Learn about some upcoming class action settlements, too.

30

• Inside the rise of 'stealerships' and shady car buying. Ten people could go into a dealership and each pay a wildly different amount to buy the same exact vehicle. With supply-chain problems creating shortages recently, many dealerships have been charging much more than

24

• Who qualifies for $10,000 in student debt cancellation?. Under the plan, borrowers can qualify for up to $10,000 in student loan forgiveness, and recipients of Pell Grants are eligible for an additional $10,000 in forgiveness. Only borrowers earning under $125,000 per year — or $250,000 per year,

• Beware of fake warnings in text messages. Scammers pose as a bank or pretend to be from Amazon and send a fake text about suspicious activity on your account or a delayed package only to get you upset. The knee

18

• Military veterans are more vulnerable to scams than civilians. Go Navy Tax Services seemed like a great option for sailors looking for help during tax season. Situated just outside the gates of Naval Base San Diego, one of the country’s biggest Navy