Public Citizen Urges Congress to Protect Consumers from Payday Predators

On the heels of a Supreme Court ruling that favored legalized loan sharks, consumer advocacy group Public Citizen called on Congress to take immediate action to update and improve current law.

The U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion today in AMG Capital Management, LLC v. FTC, holding that Section 13(b) of the Federal Trade Act does not empower the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) “to seek, or a court to award, equitable monetary relief such as restitution” or other restorative relief. Public Citizen filed an amicus brief arguing that 13(b) does grant the Commission power to ask a court, and a court to issue, restorative relief for those who have been harmed. Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen, released the following statement response to the Court’s opinion:

“Today’s decision will make it much harder for the FTC to do its job of protecting consumers and will embolden corporate wrongdoers. Under the Court’s ruling, in many cases, the FTC will only be able to force corporations that rip off consumers to pay them back if the agency had previously told them to stop. Corporate scamsters, flim-flam artists, swindlers, cheats, and others don’t deserve a warning before being held accountable.

“The FTC used Section 13(b) to protect consumers against corporate wrongdoing. According to the FTC, in FY 2019, the agency sought court orders requiring corporate defendants to pay more than $723 million in restorative relief. Unfortunately, the…