Consumer Action INSIDER - February 2025

 

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Don’t miss out on the Earned Income Tax Credit!

By Monica Steinisch

Tax season opened on Jan. 27, and, as we do every year, Consumer Action has updated Get Credit for Your Hard Work, our guide to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

Widely considered the federal government’s most effective antipoverty program, the EITC this year marks 50 years of putting money back into the pockets of qualifying low- and moderate-income workers. Qualifying workers can get the credit even if they don’t owe any taxes—but they must file in order to claim the credit (even if their income is so low that they normally would not file a tax return). With EITC credits ranging from $632 for childless filers to $7,830 for filers with three or more children during the 2024 tax year, the 20% of eligible workers who fail to file and claim the credit are leaving a lot on the table.

Get Credit for Your Hard Work provides all the crucial information consumers need to file for the EITC, as well as resources for tax filing assistance.

The publication for the 2024 tax year (tax returns due in April) is available for free download in English, Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean here.

Community educators are encouraged to distribute the publication or the webpage link to their clients and community members. For reference, the average amount of EITC received nationwide in tax year 2023 was about $2,743—enough to make a real impact on workers’ financial wellbeing through the opportunity to increase their savings, reduce debt, or make needed home and auto repairs.

All consumers should also be aware of their free filing options:

Direct File: Beginning this year, eligible taxpayers in 25 states can file their taxes directly with the Internal Revenue Service for free with the agency’s Direct File program—about twice as many states as were in the 2024 program pilot. The program provides guided tax preparation help, access to live IRS support, and the ability to file from a smartphone, tablet or computer—all for free! This year, the program will fill in some filer data automatically, like employment and wage information from Form W-2. Direct File is not an option if you have income over a certain amount or from certain sources (such as gig economy jobs, rentals or a business), or if you itemize your deductions, and it does not prepare state returns (though it will route filers to a state-supported filing tool). Direct File is available in both English and Spanish. Learn more about Direct File, including which states participate, here.

Free File: If Direct File is not an option in your state, you may be eligible to use the Free File program—a partnership between the IRS and several commercial tax software providers. Like Direct File, it enables filers to prepare and file federal income tax returns online using guided tax preparation software, and it’s available in both English and Spanish. This option is available to tax filers whose adjusted gross income was $84,000 or less in 2024. Learn more here.

Scholarship opportunity: Applications due March 7!

By Anna Flores

One of Consumer Action’s newest financial education partners is currently accepting applications for its Chime Scholars Foundation (CSF) scholarship program, and we want to be sure that our network of community-based organizations is aware of this opportunity to help eligible students in the communities they serve.

Chime, a San Francisco-based financial technology company, has pledged 1% of its equity to supporting nontraditional students, like those who are mid-career, single parents, transferring from community college, part-time or returning, and from low-income or marginalized communities.

The $20,000 scholarship (up to $5,000 per year) is open to students of all ages and pathways, including those attending trade schools, career technical education (CTE) programs and community colleges, and students returning to school, starting late or transferring from another school. Scholarship recipients do not have to be Chime members (but they can be).

In addition to funding students’ tuition, books, housing and other educational expenses, CSF provides other resources and support to scholars—financial education, coaching, and career workshops, for example.

Chime Scholars must be eligible for a Federal Pell Grant and have a minimum financial need of $2,500. Learn more about the eligibility criteria and how to apply here.

Applications close March 7, 2025. (There is no fee to apply.) We hope you will share this opportunity with your clients and colleagues.

Be on the lookout for information about an upcoming Consumer Action webinar on tax-time savings strategies, sponsored by Chime.

PG&E ESA program assists with no-cost energy-efficient home upgrades

By Anna Flores

As part of the consumer education grant we received from Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), California’s largest gas and electricity provider, to increase awareness of and enrollment in a variety of PG&E financial assistance programs throughout 2025, this month we’re highlighting the company’s Energy Savings Assistance (ESA) program.

ESA provides qualified customers—both homeowners and renters—with certain energy-saving home improvements at no cost, including things like LED lighting upgrades, weather stripping, energy-saving appliances, and heat pump water heater repairs. These upgrades not only reduce monthly energy bills, they can improve the comfort, health and safety of the home, too. But not everyone can afford to make the repairs and upgrades. For those PG&E customers, the ESA program may be the answer.

Eligible customers must:

  • Live in a house, mobile home or apartment that is at least five years old, and
  • Have income that meets the program guidelines or receive benefits from one of the qualifying public assistance programs.

If you qualify to participate, an ESA program representative will contact you to schedule a home assessment. During the assessment, the energy specialist will share information about how to save energy, and will check to see if you need energy-efficient items, such as LED lighting and weather stripping, and if your appliances are eligible to be replaced for free. (Renters will need to get the property owner’s permission to install some of the free energy-efficient items.) After this process is complete, the contractor will set up a visit to do the work.

You can watch a video explaining the process in English here and in Spanish here.

Apply for the Energy Savings Assistance program at pge.com/esa. If you have questions or need help, you can speak to a program specialist by calling 800-933-9555.

Visit Consumer Action's “Save Money and Energy” project page for more information about the various assistance programs and links to the program applications.  

For readers outside of PG&E's service area, we recommend that you ask your utility company about assistance programs, or that you get in touch with your state’s utility regulator to learn about local energy assistance programs.

Telephone and data privacy rights are focus of new three-year project

By Anna Flores

With a recent cy pres grant from the class action case Krakauer v. DISH Network LLC, Consumer Action is embarking on a three-year project to educate consumers on their data privacy rights, with a particular focus on the protections afforded by the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The TCPA puts restrictions on marketing phone calls, texts and faxes.

There will be multiple components to our education and outreach efforts under the project:

Multilingual educational publications: In this first year of the project, Consumer Action will create and publish three fact sheets—one for consumers, explaining the rights and protections they have under the TCPA and how to exercise those rights; one directed at small businesses, informing them of their responsibilities under the TCPA and the penalties for noncompliance; and a third that helps small businesses recognize and avoid identity theft. Each of these resources will be translated into at least two additional languages, and all will be available for free download on the Consumer Action website.

In-person education and trainings: Our outreach staff will conduct presentations for consumers and small businesses and trainings for community-based organizations (CBOs) nationwide. The trainings will bring together local organization staff to learn how to use Consumer Action’s materials to educate their communities on data privacy and the TCPA. (The first two-day event is scheduled for Fresno, California, on March 25 [for small businesses] and March 26 [for consumers, CBOs, chambers of commerce, and other nonprofits that support consumers and small businesses].)

Training webinars: For those who can’t attend an in-person event, we will be offering our TCPA and data privacy trainings virtually. Keep your eyes open for announcements of training webinars—tentatively scheduled to begin in August.

Mini-grants: We’ll be awarding mini-grants to dozens of partner organizations who host and help spread the word about our in-person presentations and trainings.

If you would like more information about the consumer education events, trainings or mini-grants, please contact Linda Williams, at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

The TCPA, enacted in 1991 and updated over the years to address changes in technology and expand consumer protections, gives individuals control over the types of phone communications (calls, texts and faxes) they receive. Among the many TCPA requirements and prohibitions, telemarketers are not allowed to call or text numbers on the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry or on any state do-not-call registries.

In the Krakauer v. DISH case (from which our cy pres came), the plaintiff said he received repeated calls from Satellite Systems Network (SSN) marketing DISH Network services, despite his name being on the National Do Not Call Registry. DISH contended that it was not responsible for SSN's violations of the TCPA. However, it was judged that DISH was aware of the illegal calls being placed on its behalf. A federal jury then awarded the proposed class around $20.5 million, which the judge trebled to $61 million after finding the violations were willful. DISH Network appealed the verdict to the U.S. Supreme Court, but the appeal was rejected.

Coalition Efforts

By Monica Steinisch

Consumer Action and its allies recently called on policymakers about this important issue:

CRA regulatory rollbacks. A coalition of more than 50 advocacy organizations representing a broad range of causes and consumers wrote to the House of Representatives to strongly urge lawmakers to oppose H.R. 115, the Midnight Rules Relief Act of 2023. The legislation would amend the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to allow simultaneous disapproval of dozens of regulations finalized near the end of presidential terms using a single joint resolution. The effect of this bill would be to greatly expand the CRA’s anti-regulatory force by amplifying the harmful impact of the CRA’s “salt the earth” provision, which bars agencies from issuing new rules that are substantially the same as the rules that are repealed. It would also make it easier for narrow majorities of lawmakers to repeal recently completed safeguards without the due consideration and deliberation that Congress should employ before taking such drastic steps. Proponents of the bill wrongly assert that regulations that are proposed or finalized during the so-called “midnight” rulemaking period are rushed and inadequately vetted. In fact, the very opposite is true—many of these regulations that will benefit the American public had been in the regulatory process for years. Conversely, CRA resolutions—including those used to block rules that have completed the long journey through the rulemaking process—can sprint through Congress in just a few weeks, in a process that is rushed, nontransparent and discourages informed decision-making. (Update: The bill is expected to be reintroduced early in this new Congress.)  Read the letter here.

CFPB Watch

By Ruth Susswein

Chopra is fired

Although highly anticipated, and extraordinarily unfortunate, CFPB Director Chopra was dismissed on Feb. 1, shortly after the Trump administration returned to power.

Chopra was exceptional in his efforts to protect and defend consumers from unfair and deceptive practices, reduce financial firms’ reliance on junk fees, and hold financial companies accountable for harming consumers. To name just a few in a very long list of important actions, he proposed rules to limit the sale of our personal information by data brokers; he established new, strong protections to prevent foreclosure; and he tackled discriminatory mortgage lending practices and redlining. He sued repeat offenders like Wells Fargo, which illegally repossessed cars, denied mortgage modifications, and unlawfully froze consumer accounts. During his tenure, the CFPB returned more than $6 billion to consumers in the form of canceled debts and victim relief.

Before turning the reins over to an acting director, Chopra continued pumping out lawsuits, settlements, financial relief and new rules, all to correct and prevent misbehavior by financial companies.

In recent days, the CFPB has taken action against two of the Big Three credit bureaus, to hold them accountable for, according to the agency, knowingly ignoring the law.

Experian’s “sham investigations”

The CFPB sued the credit bureau Experian Information Solutions Inc. for failing to remove errors from people’s credit reports, for reinserting those errors, and for improperly investigating consumers’ credit report disputes. (Errors on credit reports can damage consumers’ access to credit, housing, insurance and jobs.)

Experian conducted “sham investigations” of consumers’ disputes, according to the CFPB, and “routinely” accepted the reporting creditor’s version of the story, even when contradictory evidence was available. The CFPB lawsuit seeks to stop Experian’s faulty dispute process and fine the credit bureau for past abuses.

CFPB settles a similar case with Equifax

Equifax credit bureau was ordered to pay a $15 million fine for failing to properly investigate errors that consumers disputed on their credit reports. Here, too, the CFPB found that inaccurate, deleted information was reinstated on people’s reports. (The Equifax system could not detect previously removed information.) Equifax also sold erroneous credit scores and data to lenders, according to the CFPB. Equifax says it is investing $1.5 billion into upgrading its dispute system.

Medical bills off credit reports

Quite recently, the CFPB finalized the rule requiring that medical bills be removed from credit reports. The rule also bans lenders from considering medical debt when evaluating people for loans.

The CFPB has long asserted that medical debt on a credit report is not a reliable predictor of whether a consumer will repay a loan.

Consumers agree. A new poll by Lake Research Partners shows that a majority of voters (from all parties) think having medical debt should not limit someone's ability to obtain a mortgage or a car loan.

The Big Three credit bureaus voluntarily removed small medical debts ($500 or less) from credit reports in 2022. The CFPB expects another 15 million consumers to benefit from this ban.

The rule should go into effect in March. However, it is unclear if Congress will try to repeal the rule using the Congressional Review Act, a blunt tool that, if successful, would permanently delete this protection. Also unclear is whether a future CFPB director will attempt to stall, re-issue or remove this new rule—and others.

CFPB complaint tally hits 10 million

The consumer bureau hit a milestone in January: It received its 10 millionth consumer complaint. Consumers can file financial complaints with the CFPB and expect a response from the company, and in some cases a resolution. Consumers rely on the CFPB as a trusted ally to insist that consumers receive fair and reasonable treatment by financial firms, hold companies accountable, and take action when the law is violated at consumers’ expense.

If you have a financial complaint you want to share with the CFPB, you can submit it to the agency online here, or call 855-411-2372 Monday through Friday (8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET). Complaints can be accepted by phone in 180 languages.

Class Action Database: $6.5 million settlement is tough pill for PillPack to swallow

By Monica Steinisch

Among recent settlements added to the Consumer Action Class Action Database is the $4 million Old Lyme Gourmet agreed to pay to resolve allegations that the packaging for the company’s Deep River potato chips misled consumers to believe that the product was non-GMO when, in fact, it contained genetically modified ingredients. If you purchased Deep River potato chips labeled as containing “Non-GMO Ingredients” between Feb. 2, 2017, and Dec. 6, 2024, you may be eligible for payment. The deadline for claims is July 28, 2025.

Of note is the nearly $6.5 million PillPack, Amazon’s online pharmacy providing medication home delivery, agreed to pay to settle allegations that the company violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by making unsolicited prerecorded telemarketing calls to consumers without their express written consent. Consumers who received a prerecorded voice call from PillPack to their cell phone between March 13, 2018, and June 16, 2019, where the call was then transferred to a call center, and who submitted a valid claim form by the Jan. 20, 2025, deadline, are eligible for payment.

The TCPA protects you from nuisance telemarketing calls, texts and faxes. The original law was passed in 1991, but amendments to the TCPA rules over the years have addressed changes in technology and expanded protections. Consumer consent is required before telemarketers can deliver phone-based solicitations.

Consumer Action has received a cy pres grant (remainder funds from a class action lawsuit) from the settlement reached in Krakauer v. DISH Network LLC. With it, we’re embarking on a three-year project to educate consumers about their rights under the TCPA, and inform small businesses on how to be compliant with the law. We’ll be doing this through new publications, in-person trainings, webinars, and other outreach efforts.

See above for more information about the project.

About Consumer Action

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Consumer Action is a nonprofit organization that has championed the rights of underrepresented consumers nationwide since 1971. Throughout its history, the organization has dedicated its resources to promoting financial and consumer literacy and advocating for consumer rights both in the media and before lawmakers to promote economic justice for all. With the resources and infrastructure to reach millions of consumers, Consumer Action is one of the most recognized, effective and trusted consumer organizations in the nation.

Consumer education. To empower consumers to assert their rights in the marketplace, Consumer Action provides a range of educational resources. The organization’s extensive library of free publications offers in-depth information on many topics related to personal money management, housing, insurance and privacy. At Consumer-Action.org, visitors have instant access to important consumer news, downloadable materials, an online “help desk,” the Take Action advocacy database, and more. Our in-language media outreach allows us to share scam alerts and other timely consumer news with a wide non-English-speaking audience.

Community outreach. With a special focus on serving low- and moderate-income and limited-English-speaking consumers, Consumer Action maintains strong ties to a national network of more than 6,500 community-based organizations. Outreach services include in-person and web-based training and dissemination of financial and consumer education materials in many languages, including English, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese. Consumer Action’s network is the largest and most diverse of its kind.

Advocacy. Consumer Action is deeply committed to ensuring that underrepresented consumers are represented in the national media and in front of lawmakers. The organization promotes pro-consumer policy, regulation and legislation by taking positions on dozens of bills at the state and national levels and submitting comments and testimony on a host of consumer protection issues. Additionally, its diverse staff provides the media with expert commentary on key consumer issues supported by solid data and victim testimony.

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