Tired of All This Winning . . . by Fraudsters in Trump 2.0

Consumer bureau keeps dismissing cases against bad actors

Photo by Danny Howe on Unsplash

Donald Trump promised a lot of winning - in his first term and, again, in Trump 2.0 - America would be “great again” again. Or something.

Apparently, what that means is a free pass for fraud and deception - no surprise, coming from the operator of fraudulent Trump University.

Fintech Business Weekly has the latest on cases dropped by the Trump-Musk CFPB:

CFPB Drops Cases Against Horizon Card, Credit Acceptance Corp

The CFPB had alleged essentially two bad acts by Horizon Card:

1. Consumers couldn’t cancel their membership - instead, they were subjected to a series of pleas to stay with the company

2. Horizon charged insane fees: “ . . . the company charged users fees totaling $299.40 in the first year for a credit line of $500 — well above TILA’s prohibition on charging fees totaling more than 25% of the credit line during the first year after account opening.”

People liked the card so much:

According to the complaint, 94% of users who signed up for the Horizon card never made a single purchase from the store, and 97-99% of users never used a single one of the ancillary products.

Instead, when users realized the card was not, in fact, a general purpose credit card, users overwhelmingly sought to cancel their membership and obtain the promised refund, which the company marketed as taking less than one minute to obtain.

Thanks to Musk-Trump, these deceitful payday predators are now off the hook.

But also: Credit Acceptance.

Credit Acceptance Corp, an indirect subprime auto lender, targeted borrowers with loans it knew they couldn’t afford, a suit filed by the CFPB and the New York Attorney General alleged.

While the CFPB has now dropped its suit against Credit Acceptance - both from deceptive lending practices and excessive interest rates - the New York Attorney General is proceeding.

DOGE'd Consumer Bureau Stands Down for Payday Predators

While the CFPB may not be at full strength, you can take action in your state if you have a consumer protection concern.

First, start with your state’s Attorney General.

Attorneys General typically have consumer protection divisions and can apply relevant state laws to your situation. Sometimes, if an AG asks, a company will answer.

Second, let your Member of Congress know. One, they may be able to assist with a resolution. But also, it is important for Congress to know their constituents value the work formerly performed by CFPB. Congress can rescue the consumer champion from the DOGE Death Star . . . if they want to.