NHTSA Urges Cell Phone Manufacturers to Fight Distracted Driving

Every year, thousands of people in America die because of distracted driving. But when laws against texting while driving don’t work, how can the government get motorists to put the phone down? The NHTSA says it’s up to cell phone manufacturers to take the next step.

Good News, Bad News for Consumers with Student Loans

The federal government has given and taken away key protections to consumers with student loans. Changes in department regulations and deals with the legislature will leave some borrowers cheering, and others shaking their heads.

Tuition Reimbursement Cards

The good news starts with current college students. On October 27, 2015, the Department of Education proposed new rules that would protect students from overdraft fees and other costs when trying to access their student loans.
Right now, many schools automatically deposit tuition reimbursement funds into debit or pre-paid cards, created and maintained by banks. When students overdraw their accounts, they can face up to a $37 overdraft fee, as well as burdensome penalties if the account stays negative.
The new regulation would cut back on fees associated with using campus cards, including ATM fees and transaction fees. In addition, colleges would have to provide students with a neutral list of options to receive tuition refunds. The student's preexisting bank account has to be first on the list, and the default option. Education Undersecretary Ted Mitchell told the Washington Post:

“The regulations will help protect students from unreasonable account fees, safeguard taxpayer dollars, provide transparency.”

REPAYE Loan Repayment Plans

Paying back your student loans may have just gotten easier too. The Department of Education has expanded a student loan repayment plan called, Pay as You Earn (PAYE), to include all loans made directly by the government. The revised plan, called REPAYE, caps participants' monthly student loan bill at 10 percent of their income. After 20 years of payments (25 years for graduate degrees), any remaining balance is forgiven.

Auto-Dialers, Cell Phones, and Student Loans

Now for the bad news. Part of a tentative budget deal between the Obama Administration and the legislature makes it easier for student loan debt collectors to harass consumers who are past due. The deal authorized the use of auto-dialers to borrowers' cell phones.
As of June, 2015, $111.4 billion in federal student loans were in default. That's 6.9 million borrowers behind on their student loan payments. Under the new deal, those borrowers will be left vulnerable to abusive debt collection practices banned elsewhere in the industry.
The federal government has drastically changed protections for millions of Americans facing student loan debt. It has given protection from fees and provided a way out, but it has also allowed collections agencies to torment borrowers. All in the hopes of bringing a little more money into the federal budget.
Dani K. Liblang is a consumer protection attorney at The Liblang Law Firm, P.C. She helps people behind on their student loans end creditor harassment. If you know someone facing overwhelming student loans, contact The Liblang Law Firm, P.C., today for a free consultation.

Why You Shouldn't Give Your Cell Phone Number to Your Creditors

 

Mr. Hill was fed up. He had received nearly 500 calls from his creditor on his cell phone, some of them automated. He thought the Telephone Consumer Protection Act would protect him against these abusive collections practices. But he didn't realize, by giving his cell phone number to his creditor, he opened himself up to more than he bargained for.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act is designed to respond to consumer complaints of creditors using technology for abusive collections practices. The law prohibits collections companies from calling a debtor's cellphone "(other than a call made for emergency purposes or made with the prior express consent of the called party) using any automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice."

But Mr. Hill had provided "prior express consent." He had told his original lender to use his cell phone, rather than an outdated home phone number. Then he gave the number to the collections company, knowing that they would use it to contact him about his debt. What he didn't realize was that by providing that number to his creditor he was also opening himself up to the use of automatic dialing and automated messages by the credit company and any later collections company that was put in charge of recovering payment on the loan.

That's why you should never give your cell phone number to a creditor or debt collection company. You may think you are just making it easier for them to reach you, but you are also stripping away important consumer protections against abusive electronic telephone collections practices.

Collections companies can be aggressive enough without debtors giving them the green light. If you are being harassed by creditors who have crossed the line, contact Dani Liblang and the consumer protection team at The Liblang Law Firm PC today for a free consultation.

Cell Phone Providers to Pay for Cramming Schemes

Have you ever gotten horoscope readings, sports scores, or medical alerts texted to you? Did you pay for them? If so, you could see a credit on your cell phone bill. These "cramming" schemes recently resulted in two nationwide settlements that could put money back in your pocket.