Since the government apparently goes back from the regulatory obligations, consumers may have to act as their own financial wax dogs.
The independent federal authority, founded after the financial crisis of 2008, that protect people from fraud and abuse by lenders and financial companies, was at least temporarily amazed.
“At the moment everything is a break,” said Delicia hand, Senior Director of Digital Marketplace with consumer reports. “So it is again about consumers to be particularly hardworking.” Ms. Hand had previously spent almost a decade in various roles in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, including monitoring complaints and consumer education before leaving in 2022.
At the beginning of February, the Trump government ordered the consumer office to mainly hire operations. It closed its headquarters in Washington, released some employees and brought most of the rest of the staff into administrative leave and decided not to seek funds for his activities. Several complaints question the administration's actions. On February 14, a federal judge in Washington ordered the office to hire firefighters and not to delete data until a hearing is planned for Monday.
However, the administration has already re -elected the enforcement – for example, a lawsuit that accuses an online loan of promoting free loans that actually had high interest rates. On Thursday, the office dismissed a lawsuit that submitted it in January in which the main capital of around 2 billion US dollars was cheated.
It is a strong change for an agency that had been energetic when accepting rules and submitting complaints to support consumers. As part of the bidges, the office requested that the office be reduced or eliminated various fees that were calculated by banks and other financial companies and to remove the unpaid medical debts from credit reports, and a fine of a large credit reporting office for misleading consumers was sentenced to finance.
Where's the consumer?
Jennifer Tescher, managing director of the Financial Health Network, a non -profit organization that helps people make sound financial decisions, said laws that protect consumers have remained. Therefore, people should not fear that financial companies would start immediately to behave badly. She was based on consumers for her business.
Nevertheless, consumers have to “ask questions and check the small print before opening a new account or a loan,” she said, and they should carefully check their annual financial statements.
Here you will find some areas that you can pay attention to, according to consumer experts. (The consumer office did not respond to e -mails that were sent to its press office to get a comment.)
Do I have to pay higher bank and credit card fees?
In December, the consumer office ended a rule that limited the overdraftons limited by large banks and credit cooperatives to $ 5. But bank groups have questioned the rule in court, and the Republicans in the congress have proposed laws to overthrow them.
Banks charge overdraft if customers hand over their accounts. The bank covers the defect, but receives a fee. The average overdraft fee last year was around 27 US dollars, but according to the bank rate there was up to 38 US dollars.
Some large banks have already reduced or eliminated overdraft fees, partly due to the competition through start-ups of digital payment. If you occasionally need the service to cover barteliness, check whether it can possibly switch to a bank with lower or without fees. Check the bank's ranking list of the bank's customer satisfaction, as published by JD Power to determine whether you can find better treatment elsewhere, said Ms. Tescher.
Lauren Saunders, deputy director of the National Consumer Law Center, said consumers should check to determine whether they had authorized their bank to cover payments when the handover. If you do not want to take the risk of charging a fee, you should unsubscribe. If you make a purchase with your debit card that would cover your credit, the bank will simply reject the purchase. (However, banks can continue to charge a fee if you hand over a check or recurring electronic payments. You cannot unsubscribe these fees.)
The Consumer Bureau was also limited to the late fees for credit cards to 8 US dollars last year. The average delayed fee is 30 US dollars, but can be up to $ 41, according to the Wallet Hub. This rule is left on hold after the sued of banking and corporate groups. You can consider switching to a card with low or non -delayed fees. The Citi Simplicity Credit Card did not charge any delayed fees, and the discover it cash back card enables a fee-based payment. (It then calculates up to 41 US dollars.)
What about payment apps and other digital tools?
Pay particular attention to the fact that Adam Rust, director of financial services at the Consumer Federation of America, including peer-to-peer payment apps.
Such “non -bank” companies are generally less closely regulated at federal level than traditional banks, he said. The consumer office completed a rule in November so that they could monitor large payment companies. This rule is challenged in court and is now checked by the office.
Ms. Hand at Consumer Reports said that some payment apps had significantly improved their fraud protection, but some types of fraud participation remained a problem, especially one variety in which criminals cause someone to transfer money to them. Since the user has “authorized” the transaction, it can be difficult to restore the stolen means.
If you pay someone with an app and does not feel something right, keep a stand with another method and pay like a credit card that contains robust fraud protection, she said.
Consumer reports also suggests that you immediately postpone money credit from payment apps to a nationwide insured bank account. Many people collect funds in the apps and treat the apps as if they are checking accounts. However, it cannot always be clear whether the money is as protected as on a standard bank account.
Penny Lee, Managing Director of Financial Technology Association, which FinTech, including payment apps, represents, said in an e -mail declaration that the industry was “regulated by a large number of consumer protection laws and agencies at the federal and state level, including but not limited to CFPB”, regardless of the change in the administrations.
Do I have to worry about medical debts that affect my creditworthiness?
In January, the consumer office concluded a rule to remove unpaid medical debt from credit reports and explained that these debts are not reflected in the creditworthiness of a person and are often reported incorrectly due to the complexity of the medical settlement. (Hospitals and doctors generally do not report unpaid bills for credit offices, but they may send them to debt collection agencies, which then report on the loan offices.) The rule should come into force on March 17. However, the industry groups sued them to stop them, and the office agreed this month effectively to delay the rule.
However, some improvements have already taken place. The main credit offices – Equifax, Experian and Transunion – volunteered in 2022 to exclude medical debt that were paid, as well as less than a year old. This enabled consumers to clarify more time, which was owed. And from April 2023, the loan offices hired, including medical debts for amounts below $ 500.
About 5 percent of the Americans had unpaid medical debt from June 2023, compared to 14 percent in March 2022, said the consumer office.
If you have difficulty paying a drug calculation, consumer experts first confirm that the amount is correct and if this is not the case, your provider or insurer denies. If it is valid, check whether your doctor or hospital negotiate a lower amount by paying completely in advance. If not, ask for payment plans or special aid programs that can cover the costs.
Where can I complain if I have a problem?
People “have to say about losing money by unfair way,” said Nadine Chabrier, Senior Policy and Litigation Counsel at the non -profit center for responsible loan allocation, a consumer representation. First complain directly to the company with which you have a problem, whether online or by phone.
You can also submit a complaint to the consumer office. Although the office's homepage showed an “error” message this week, the online portal was still available to accept complaints. However, Ms. Tescher noticed that “it is not exactly clear” if someone checked symptoms. You can also complain by phone in the office under number 855-411-2372.
You can also contact the General Prosecutor's office in your state, said Ms. Tescher. Most have arms for consumer protection.