Martin & Jones Blog  filter by category: Consumer Protection

As new regulations governing overdraft fees will soon go into effect, the Federal Reserve Board has compiled a summary of the new rules. The Board’s publication “What You Need To Know: New Overdraft Rules for Debit and ATM Cards” can be assessed at the Federal Reserve Board’s website, www.federalreserve.gov.

Facing increasing pressure from consumer advocates and regulatory authorities, Bank of America has just announced that it will scrap overdraft fees on debit card purchases this summer.

The Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure Act (“CARD Act”) went into effect on February 22, 2010. The CARD Act was intended to rein in perceived abuses by credit card issuers.

A class action lawsuit was recently filed against Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank, alleging predatory overdraft fee practices.

The filing of federal security fraud class action lawsuits was down sharply in 2009 compared to both 2008 and historical averages.

Americans pay $23.7 billion per year in overdraft fees, most of which are related to small debit card overdrafts that financial institutions could easily deny without imposing any fees.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently proposed a rule intended to protect distressed homeowners from foreclosure rescue and mortgage modification scams.

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is developing new guidelines requiring higher and more scentific standards than under the Bush administration.  Under the Bush administration, many of the Bush FDA appointees were former pharmaceutical industry or medical device company employees which approved deadly drugs like Vioxx, Avandia and Trayslol and defective heart devices from Medtronic or Guidant.