National Consumer Law Center

09/03/2026

The Early Bird🐦discount for the 2026 Consumer Rights Litigation Conference & Class Action Symposium ends next week!

Make sure you get the best rate to attend the nation's largest, most comprehensive convening of consumer attorneys and advocates. 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟏 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞!

This year’s CRLC, 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟐-𝟐𝟓 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐭𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐚 𝐇𝐢𝐥𝐭𝐨𝐧, includes 60+ deeply informative breakout sessions, pre-conference intensives, plenary addresses from leading policymakers and advocates, and networking events to facilitate connections that will benefit your practice for years to come. National Association of Consumer Advocates

The Consumer Rights Litigation Conference is a comprehensive convening of the consumer law community with 60+ courses covering every major area of consumer law.

09/03/2026

Ariel Nelson, senior attorney at NCLC, said the growing usage of buy now, pay later loans for rent and other necessities underlines how many Americans, depleted in recent years by high inflation, are struggling with the cost of living.

"The most helpful thing about them is what they reveal about the state of affordability — or unaffordability — in our country, which is that people are struggling to pay rent and utilities on time and in one amount," Nelson told CBS News. "At best, loans can act as a temporary Band-Aid."

More consumers are taking out "buy now, pay later" loans to make ends meet, a sign of the U.S. affordability crisis, according to consumer advocates.

09/03/2026

"If there is something positive to come out of this debate, it's this: a rare consensus amongst industries and organizations. Consumer advocates like the National Consumer Law Center, nonprofit counselors, and the lenders AFSA represents are rarely on the same side of an issue, but on better protecting consumers from for-profit settlement firms we agree," wrote Ed McFadden, senior vice president for communications at the American Financial Services Association in an op-ed for American Banker. "That should tell policymakers which side has the consumer's interest in mind and which side is simply defending their profit margin."

Settlement services, whose debt-reduction models require advising borrowers to default on their loans, wreak havoc on their customers' credit ratings, often leaving them worse off than they were before.

09/02/2026

A little-known legal document, the heirship affidavit, can help families document inherited property, keep family homes and land, and unlock access to government housing programs, according to a new report from NCLC and the Initiative on Land, Housing & Property Rights at Boston College Law School.

The report analyzes surveys, interviews and focus groups to assess how heirship affidavits work in practice, where they are available and why uptake remains limited. The groups said the findings are especially relevant for Black families in the South and low-income families nationwide who hold “heirs property” — real estate that passes between generations without a completed probate process. HousingWire

NCLC report shows how heirship affidavits can help heirs document title, keep family homes, and access housing and tax relief programs.

09/02/2026

In February 2023, the Bernstein family discovered an awful truth: A trusted companion had been secretly using their credit cards for about a year to buy $3 million worth of stuff, including video-gaming chairs, drone parts and 3,700 Funko Pop! Toys.

The Bernstein children notified law enforcement, and in 2024, the perpetrator was indicted and later sentenced to three years and four months in prison. The Bernsteins also asked for refunds from their parents’ credit card companies, JPMorgan Chase and American Express, and from Bank of America, where their parents kept their checking account. It seemed like a straightforward request. Under federal law, credit card holders aren’t responsible for purchases made with a stolen card if they dispute the charges within a certain time period.

But the banks have contended they owe nothing because the family took too long to dispute the fraudulent charges on their accounts.

“The general idea is you must dispute charges within certain timelines in order to qualify for fraud protection,” said Carla Leticia Sanchez-Adams, a senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center.

The Bernsteins say they missed the 60-day deadline because billing statements were hidden from them, and Bank of America statements that would have shown large withdrawals were mailed to the parents’ accountant at an old, invalid address.

Banking experts say the financial institutions should have suspected something was off with the Bernsteins’ money when large transactions started to show up regularly. Banks must file Suspicious Activity Reports to the U.S. Treasury Department for cash transactions above $10,000 or for any transactions believed illicit, said Adam Rust, director of financial services at the nonprofit Consumer Federation of America. These filings are withheld from the public, however. Crain's New York Business

The Bernstein family is in a contentious legal battle with JPMorgan Chase, American Express and Bank of America.

09/01/2026

Many Black families in the South, and low-income families across the country, many of whom are older adults, face significant barriers to retain ownership of “heirs property”— property that passes from one generation to the next without a completed probate proceeding. Owners of heirs property are shut out of government-funded property tax relief, disaster recovery assistance, and home repair funding, or struggle to secure utility service. A little known tool called an “heirship affidavit” can help resolve these challenges.

“Heirship affidavits have the potential to alleviate some of the most significant risks of loss faced by heirs property owners–people who have inherited the family home outside the formal legal process” said Sarah Bolling Mancini, managing director of advocacy at the National Consumer Law Center and co-author of the report. “Heirs are far more likely to be able to protect and preserve their homes and land when government programs accept heirship affidavits as flexible proof of ownership and the heirs have the same access to government programs as any other homeowner.”

New Report Shows How ‘Heirship Affidavits’ Can Protect Family Property and Generational Wealth

09/01/2026

Civil rights, fair housing, consumer, domestic violence, and real estate groups reject redesigned form shutting nine percent of the public out of federal fair housing enforcement FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: WASHINGTON—The National Fair Housing Alliance and 78 civil rights, fair housing, consumer, domes...

08/31/2026

Tenants across Washington state say that they face an increasingly confounding landscape of rental charges: amenity fees to access common areas, mailroom fees to receive packages, technology fees for app-enabled door locks and even building-wide utility fees to keep the lights on in the hallways and leasing offices.

In Seattle, the issue took center stage this month when the City Council voted unanimously to ban most rental fees — a shot across the bow to the rental housing industry.

“There are various municipal ordinances, and Seattle’s is definitely one of the strongest,” said Ariel Nelson, senior attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, which advocates for fee bans.
The Seattle Times

Seattle recently took aim at rental fees, which can add hundreds of dollars to housing bills every month. Renters across the region now ask, what about us?

08/31/2026

Consumer advocacy groups and the state’s top law enforcement official are opposing a Chicago company’s plan to obtain a national bank charter — arguing the move would allow it to lock customers into loans at more than 100% interest rate.

Their ire is directed at online lender and servicer Opportunity Financial, which is seeking regulatory approvals for a $130 million deal to acquire BNCCORP and its subsidiary BNC National Bank, a nationally chartered commercial bank in Arizona.

𝐈𝐟 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝, 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐅𝐢 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐰𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐩 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬. cc: Woodstock Institute Chicago Sun-Times

Opportunity Financial is looking to obtain a national bank charter through a $130 million deal to acquire BNCCORP and its subsidiary BNC National Bank, a nationally chartered commercial bank in Arizona.

08/28/2026

How to Protect Yourself from Impostor Scams

Criminals pretend to be well-known companies or government agencies. Here are the red flags for 10 common schemes

AARP Fraud Watch Network

Link ⬇️