#late fees

Buy Now Pay Later Apps: That Old Predatory Lending by a Crappy New Name

Whether or not you’ve heard of BNPL, you’re probably wondering where I’m going with this. Why the vitriol? The utter contempt?

I listened to a lot of interviews with buy now pay later customers in my research for this article. And when asked how their personal problems with BNPL started, these customers all said the same thing: “It all started with the pandemic.” And those personal problems ranged from debt spiraling out of control, to plummeting credit scores, to unexpected overdraft fees, to not even wanting what they’d paid for after their final payment.

There we all were, stuck alone in our homes, unable to shop or go out to events or restaurants. We were bored! Lonely! Fucking stressed out and afraid! A lot of us were tightening the budgetary belt because—and I am living proof—job security got a whole lot less secure.

Enter retail therapy with a fun new twist. Suddenly, us lonely, locked-down, stressed-out motherfuckers looking for a cheap pick-me-up were seeing ads for awesome new stuff on an interest-free payment plan. That sounds downright affordable!

And who cares if no one will see me in these shmancy new boots any time soon? I will wear them for me, and I will clomp around in my fourth-floor walkup so my downstairs neighbors know I can afford nice things! They say “QUIET DOWN UP THERE,” but they mean “We are consumed with jealousy at your good fortune!”

Of course, the thing about deals that look too good to be true is they probably absolutely are, 100% of the time.

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For all the time Republicans spend complaining about the economic struggles faced by everyday Americans, they remain steadfast in their commitment to ensuring major corporations can continue squeezing their customers.

Late Wednesday afternoon, the GOP-controlled House Financial Services Committee voted to advance a bill that would repeal a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) rule that drastically reduces the caps on credit card late fees - from $30-$41 to $8.

The legislation would also repeal the CFPB's ban on automatic adjustment of late fees due to inflation. In the Democratic-controlled Senate, where the bill is expected to fail, a similar repeal measure was introduced by Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee Ranking Member Tim Scott (R-S.C.) — who has recently devoted most of his energy to fawning over Donald Trump — and co-sponsored by 12 other Republicans.

“Credit card companies penalize consumers with exorbitant late fees that far exceed their actual costs, raking in billions of dollars in profits on the backs of those who can least afford it,” said Chuck Bell, advocacy program director for Consumer Reports, in a statement urging Congress to reject the repeal.

According to Republicans on the committee, however, lowering late fees will “harm consumers by shifting costs to responsible consumers who pay on time in the form of higher annual fees and higher interest rates,” while removing incentives for timely payments.”

An analysis published this week by the watchdog group Accountable.US found that Republicans on the committee have “received over $7.9 million from industry groups against this rule and the largest credit issuers.”

The Biden administration is trying to limit junk fees. The president made reference to this during the State of the Union speech on Thursday. Of course Republicans think junk fees and screwing the consumer are great.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Tuesday unveiled a heavily anticipated rule cutting the late fees that credit card issuers can charge, delivering on an objective that President Joe Biden touted in his State of the Union address last year. The regulation caps fees for a missed payment at $8, down from the current level of up to $41. The rule has already sparked intense pushback from banks and congressional Republicans pledging to fight its implementation. The Chamber of Commerce is vowing to sue.

Republicans are serving predatory banks which give them big campaign contributions. Excessive fees enable the banks to get fat off of poor people. Most likely the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau would be abolished or neutered by a second Trump administration.

The rule will “stop some credit card companies from ripping you off with late fees,” Biden said at a meeting of the White House Competition Council Tuesday afternoon. “This action will collectively save families $10 billion in credit card late fees every year.” The rule is part of the Biden administration’s broader campaign against so-called junk fees that has targeted industries from car dealers to cable operators. It’s a central focus of Biden’s reelection campaign and one that he’ll likely highlight in Thursday’s State of the Union speech. “Late fees have gotten out of control,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said on a call with reporters Monday. “Today the credit card industry hauls in more than $14 billion in late fee revenue, which our research shows is more than five times that of the companies’ associated costs.”

Banks would still make insanely large profits even with reduced junk fees. But greed makes them want to squeeze every cent they can out of American consumers.

Yeah, rightwingers already find themselves on the wrong side of the abortion and IVF issues. Now they are also trying vigorously to position themselves as defenders of price gouging, junk fees, and shrinkflation.

Since the policy launched, more than 21,000 overdue or lost items have been returned in Manhattan, Staten Island, and the Bronx, and more than 51,000 have been returned to branches in Brooklyn. More importantly, people are coming back to the library.

"I know fines did contributed to the income of the library, but it sounds like you were looking at the bigger picture," Moore said.

"Our mission is just to kind of inspire lifelong learning and strengthen communities and advance knowledge," Parrot said.

Since the library did away with fines, about 30% of all newly returned patrons have been from high-need communities.