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News Release | CoPIRG | Consumer Protection

Initiative to Rein in Predatory Payday Loans Makes November Ballot

Today, the Colorado Secretary of State’s office confirmed that the Coloradans to Stop Predatory Payday Loans campaign, which CoPIRG is on the steering committee of, submitted enough signatures and Proposition 111 will be on the ballot this November. Proposition 111 will decrease the interest and fees that Coloradan’s pay for payday loans from an APR of 214 percent down to 36 percent, bringing payday loans under the same 36 percent usury cap that every other financial product follows in Colorado. 

News Release | CoPIRG | Consumer Protection

Coalition Turns In 188,045 Signatures to Cap Payday Loans in Colorado

Today, CoPIRG staff joined the other leaders of the Coloradans to Stop Predatory Payday Loans campaign to drop off 78 boxes containing 188,045 signatures at the Colorado Secretary of State’s office to cut and cap the interest rates and fees predatory payday lenders charge in Colorado. The number of valid signatures needed to qualify a statutory ballot measure for the November ballot is 98,000. 

News Release | CoPIRG | Consumer Protection

Over 180,000 Signatures Gathered to Rein in Payday Lenders

Today, CoPIRG stood with the leaders of the Coloradans to Stop Predatory Payday Loans campaign in front of an ACE Cash Express payday loan store to celebrate the campaign’s success in gathering over 180,000 signatures to qualify a ballot measure for the November 2018 election. Payday loans are small loans with extremely high APRs. For example, a Colorado payday loan borrower pays an average of $119 in fees and interest to borrow $392. That’s an average annual percentage rate (APR) of 129% but it can go as high as 215%.

News Release | CoPIRG | Consumer Protection

Colorado Supreme Court Affirms Payday Lending Initiative Title

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Friday against the payday lending industry challenge to keep Initiative 126 off the November ballot. Supporters of the measure, including CoPIRG, can now move forward with our effort to ask voters to approve a 36 percent interest rate cap. The average annual percentage rate for payday loans in Colorado is 129 percent with some APRs climbing above 200 percent. That means a Colorado borrower would pay $119 in fees and interest to borrow the average payday loan of $392.

News Release | CoPIRG | Consumer Protection

Victory: Gov Signs Credit Freeze for Minors Bill Into Law

Today, Governor Hickenlooper signed HB 1233 into law, which will give Colorado parents and guardians the authority to place credit freezes free of charge on the records of minors and individuals they legally represent starting January 1st, 2019.  

“HB 1233 allows parents and guardians to place a credit freeze for free on their dependent’s credit information, which is one of the most important actions you can take to stop identity thieves from using your child’s information to commit identity theft,” says Danny Katz, Director of the consumer advocacy group CoPIRG.

Report | CoPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection

Trouble in Toyland 2017

For over 30 years, CoPIRG Foundation has conducted an annual survey of toy safety, which has led to over 150 recalls and other regulatory actions over the years, and has helped educate the public and policymakers on the need for continued action to protect the health and wellbeing of children. Among the toys surveyed this year, we found potential choking hazards, and two products with concentrations of lead exceeding federal standards for children’s products. We also found data-collecting toys that may violate children’s privacy laws. This report not only lists the potentially dangerous toys that we found this year, but also describes why and how the toys could harm children.

News Release | CoPIRG Foundation | Consumer Protection

32nd Annual “Trouble in Toyland” Survey Finds Dangerous Toys on Store Shelves

Stores nationwide are still offering dangerous and toxic toys this holiday season and, in some cases, ignoring explicit government safety regulations in the process, according to Colorado Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) Foundation’s 32nd annual Trouble in Toyland report. The report exposes fidget spinners full of lead, inadequately-labeled toys and balloons that pose a choking hazard, and data-collecting toys that may violate children’s privacy and other consumer protection laws. We also provide a list of toys that have been recalled over the past year.

 

News Release | CoPIRG Foundation and Frontier Group | Consumer Protection

Colorado Ranks Ninth for Most Consumer Complaints Per Capita by Older Americans

Colorado ranked 9th for most complaints per capita by older Americans according to an analysis of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) consumer complaint database. Mortgages were the leading source of 72,000 national complaints to the CFPB and the leading source of the over 1,300 complaints from older Coloradans. Complaints about credit reports, debt collection, and credit cards rounded out the top four according to the analysis from the CoPIRG Foundation and the Frontier Group. 

Report | CoPIRG Foundation and Frontier Group | Consumer Protection

Older Consumers in the Financial Marketplace

Older consumers are at risk of harm from predatory financial behavior. An analysis of more than 72,000 financial complaints submitted by older consumers (those 62 years of age and older) to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB, or Consumer Bureau) and contained in its Consumer Complaint Database suggests that mistreatment of older consumers by financial companies is widespread. 

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