Published: December 2007

Get the AFFIL message: Fair lending!

Coalition: Americans for Fairness in Lending (AFFIL)

Consumer Action is a proud partner in Americans for Fairness in Lending, a group of organizations working to establish fair credit policies and practices.

Consumer Action has joined Americans for Fairness in Lending (AFFIL), an organization that exists to raise awareness of abusive credit and lending practices and to call for re-regulation of the industry.

AFFIL is the collaborative effort of numerous partner and ally organizations, each contributing their expertise to AFFIL and the public through AFFIL activities. As a group, we are committed to using a unified and consistent national message to raise the volume of our collective outrage and to shine a spotlight on predatory and unfair lending practices. Along with our partners in AFFIL, Consumer Action will work to build a groundswell of public support for regulation of the lending industry to ensure fairness in lending for all Americans.

AFFIL Principles of Fairness in Lending

• RESPONSIBILITY: Lenders must gauge ability to repay and offer borrowers the most affordable and well-suited products for which they qualify. Lenders should demonstrate commitment to the building of personal assets.
• JUSTICE: All participants in the making, collecting, holding and buying of debt have a duty to deal fairly with the borrower. It is unjust to prey upon anyone, particularly on those who are vulnerable due to age, health, language, education or other socioeconomic circumstances. It is unjust to charge exorbitant interest rates and fees, to change terms once agreed, and to deny anyone their day in court.
• EQUALITY: We all must have equal access to appropriate and fair products and services regardless of race, gender, language, national origin, physical/mental well-being, education, lifestyle or socioeconomic status. All discriminatory lending practices must be abolished.
• INFORMATION: We require full disclosure of all costs, fees, loan terms, penalties and collection practices in language that is clearly understood by the borrower. Although information is a necessary component to a fair marketplace, it is not a substitute for fair terms, fair treatment and effective regulation.
• ACCOUNTABILITY: Lenders must track and report their lending activity. Only with comprehensive reporting can we ensure that the marketplace is free from illegal and unethical practices and that consumers are safe to shop for credit products without risk of being overcharged or directed to inappropriate loans.
• LAW & ENFORCEMENT: Our government must establish essential consumer safeguards in the lending marketplace with laws that hold all members of the lending industry liable for activities throughout the life of the loan and its collection. There must be mechanisms for reporting abusers, and compensation for victims of lending abuse.

Other Organizations

ACORN, The California Reinvestment Coalition, The Center for Responsible Lending, The Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina, The Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union (CU), CFED, Demos: A Network for Ideas & Action, The National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA), The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC), NEDAP, Public Citizen, United for a Fair Economy (UFE), United Professionals, US Public Interest Research Group, Woodstock Institute

More Information

Americans for Fairness in Lending

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