By Margaret Coker, The Current and Mollie Simon, Probulica, Georgia Public Broadcast — In February, Georgia lawmaker Josh Bonner introduced a bill that he hoped would fix a thorny problem that entangles tens of thousands of state residents in debt each...
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By Dana Fowle | Fox 5 Atlanta — ATLANTA – A new way to get a payday advance is emerging in the area of finance called fintech. These financial apps aren’t banks, but they move money around. They are striking up controversy nationwide by filling...
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By Noam Levey, NPR — Dozens of advocates for patients and consumers, citing widespread harm caused by medical debt, are pushing the Biden administration to take more aggressive steps to protect Americans from medical bills and debt collectors. In letters...
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Watch full video here. By Justin Gray, WSB-TV — ATLANTA — New legislation at the State Capitol could place new restrictions on title pawn companies. The companies offer up immediate cash and then charge sky-high interest rates on the loans. Critics say the...
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By T.A. DeFeo, The Center Square contributor – (The Center Square) — Georgia’s consumer protections against debt collectors are among the worst in the nation. That’s according to a new report from the National Consumer Law Center, which...
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Listen to the full interview here. By Jim Burress, WABE All Things Considered — During the pandemic, consumer debt lawsuits went on hiatus. Dockets though are once again full with collections-related cases. Georgia offers little protection from wage...
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By Margaret Coker/The Current GA, Joel Jacobs/ProPublica, with research by Mollie Simon/ProPublica — For some Georgia residents, title pawn contracts offer a quick way to obtain desperately needed cash. But poor regulation of a confusing system traps many...
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By Zach Hansen, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution — Experts say incarcerated people make for desirable identity theft targets A Forsyth County company that provides healthcare for people inside correctional facilities nationwide was the target of a recent...
More infoBy JoAnn Merrigan, WSAV — Up to 19% of people in Georgia have a medical bill that’s in collections. “And it’s even higher among people of color, up to 21%,” says Liz Coyle from Georgia Watch.“Sometimes those debts remain on consumers’ credit reports for...
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By Rebecca Lindstrom, 11Alive (WATCH NOW) – ATLANTA — Healthcare costs keep rising and sometimes it’s hard to understand what’s behind it. There’s been stories of patients being charged different prices for the same procedure based on their...
More infoBy: Savannah Levins, 11 ALIVE, (Watch Now) — State leaders and consumer advocates are warning of scammers pretending to offer free COVID tests. Liz Coyle, executive director of the consumer advocacy group Georgia Watch, said the scammers are preying...
More infoJ. Laney’s car was repossessed in 2009—at the time of repossession, she owed $10,000, but she received a letter stating it had been resold and thought that was the end of it. Over a decade later, in 2021, she realized her wages had recently started being...
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