Advocacy and Policy - Office of Financial Empowerment

HomeFind Class CounselorGet Debt Credit HelpHow to Get MoneyHow to Manage MoneyHow to Save MoneyHow to Protect MoneyAbout OFE - Message from the Executive Director - Staff - Job OpportunitiesFinancial Education Providers - Join the Network - Resources for ProvidersNews from OFE - RSS Feed - Archived Press Releases - Hot TopicsPublications - Consumer Tips and Guides - Money Dictionary - Research PublicationsNYC Fights Poverty - OFE Initiatives - DCA Marketplace Protections - Advocacy and Policy - Center for Economic Opportunity - Cities for Financial EmpowermentFAQsContact OFE


	OFE advocates for policies and practices to protect consumers and their money from unfair and deceptive practices. Quick Links to learn more about: Proposals to Regulate Foreclosure Rescue Businesses Proposals to Improve Consumer Banking Products Proposals to Fight Foreclosure Rescue Scams Stand on Reform of Overdraft Regulations OFE Campaign: STOP PREDATORY PRACTICES Stand on Disclosure Requirements in Lender Advertising Stand on Exempt Income Protection Stand on Refund Anticipation Loans Proposals to Regulate Foreclosure Rescue Businesses In comments to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Commissioner Mintz recommended banning both up-front fee and fee-for-service foreclosure assistance services, and also encouraging the use of municipal 311 and 211 systems as one-stop and tamperproof public referrals to legitimate providers. Read Commissioner Mintz's comments to the FTC back to top Proposals to Improve Consumer Banking Products In testimony before the New York State Banking Department, Commissioner Mintz urged changes to its Banking Development Districts program. Proposals include: ensuring that financial institutions offer safe, affordable financial products that meet the needs of underbanked consumers and expanding program eligibility to include credit unions. Read Commissioner Mintz's testimony Read DCA/OFE's Neighborhood Financial Services Study back to top Proposals to Fight Foreclosure Rescue Scams To stem the rising tide of foreclosure and mortgage scams nationwide, Commissioner Mintz, in testimony before Congress, called for a three-step plan of attack: 1) use cities' 311 and 211 systems to connect homeowners to legitimate resources; 2) create a national task force to share data and coordinate enforcement efforts; and 3) ban fee-for-service foreclosure prevention businesses. Read Commissioner Mintz's testimony before the House Judiciary Committee back to top Stand on Reform of Overdraft Regulations DCA/OFE submitted comments to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System urging an end to banks' automatic enrollment of consumers in costly overdraft protection programs without their consent and ensuring that consumers themselves choose this service. DCA/OFE made additional recommendations to increase consumer protection, including real-time alerts when a transaction will result in a negative account balance. Read DCA/OFE's comments Read CFE Coalition's comments to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Read DCA/OFE's Neighborhood Financial Services Study back to top OFE Campaign: STOP PREDATORY PRACTICES DCA and its Office of Financial Empowerment are committed to protecting consumers from fraudulent and deceptive practices in the marketplace, including the financial services industry. OFE reached out to approximately 200 community-based organizations to help identify misleading and deceptive advertisements circulated in their neighborhoods. Have you received a deceptive or misleading advertisement from a financial service provider? Report it to OFE back to top Stand on Disclosure Requirements in Lender Advertising DCA/OFE urged the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to strengthen significantly disclosure requirements for banks and credit card companies marketing overdraft protection and other financial products to consumers. Read DCA/OFE’s comments regarding overdraft fees Read DCA/OFE’s comments regarding credit card products back to top Stand on Exempt Income Protection Banks routinely freeze the accounts of New York City consumers that contain money that should not be frozen. DCA urged the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to strengthen its guidelines, requiring banks to comply with federal law exempting federal benefit funds - such as Social Security and Veterans' payments - from garnishment orders and account freezes. In addition, DCA's OFE promotes the passage of the Exempt Income Protection Act. Read OFE letter to OCC back to top Stand on Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs) After filing taxes with an income tax preparer, many consumers are offered a high-cost refund anticipation loan (RAL). Unfortunately, consumers sign up for these loans without knowing the complete facts. DCA seeks to stop income tax preparers from violating the laws that govern them. Read recent press on this issue Download the Consumer Bill of Rights Regarding Tax Preparers in English (in PDF) Español (in PDF) Bengali (in PDF) Chinese (in PDF) Russian (in PDF ) Are you a tax preparer? Know NYC law back to top