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Consumer Law
NEDAP's Consumer Law Project employs multiple strategies to combat high cost, discriminatory lending that targets low income communities and communities of color in New York City. Through our hotline and legal clinic, we provide community groups and low income individuals with legal information and advice on topics ranging from debt collection to credit reports to high cost loans.
We have also created a wealth of resource material, available on our website and by mail, to provide clear and concise information about consumer rights and links to other helpful resources. Finally, using the information we gather through the Hotline and legal clinic, we advocate for systemic changes that will benefit our clients and their communities.
NEDAP launched the NYC Financial Justice Hotline in September 2005 to provide legal advice, information, and referrals to low income New York City residents who have faced discriminatory banking and credit practices. The Hotline advises callers about their rights in the areas of debt collection, credit reports, identity theft, payday loans, and other financial justice matters. The Hotline emphasizes self-help solutions wherever possible. We strive to give our callers the information they need to decide how they want to resolve a problem and the tools to do so successfully. The Hotline provides services in English and Spanish.
CASE EXAMPLE
Maria works as a home health aide, earning less than $20,000 per year. The only wage earner in a family of three, she supports her daughter and her mother, who does not work due to disability. Maria called the Hotline because her bank account was frozen by a debt collector who obtained a default judgment against her. Maria was not served with notice of the lawsuit, which concerned a cellular phone account that Maria had cancelled about five years ago. She thought it was possible she owed something, but was adamant that she did not owe the $3,000 alleged by the debt collector. Following NEDAP's advice, Maria was able to vacate the default judgment and appeared in the case several times. It turned out that the plaintiff had no evidence that Maria owed anything on this debt, and the case was dismissed. |
NEDAP launched the NYC Consumer Law Clinic in September 2006 to provide one-on-one legal consultation to low income New Yorkers, particularly women, on a range of consumer finance issues. A major priority of the Clinic is to help low income New Yorkers facing debt collection lawsuits defend themselves successfully in court. Clinic staff also help clients write effective letters to debt collectors, credit reporting agencies, creditors, and financial institutions. The Clinic is located at the Harlem branch of the Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union. and provides services in English and Spanish -- by appointment only. To schedule an appointment, please call the NYC Financial Justice Hotline at 212-925-4929.
If your community organization would like to explore the possibility of hosting a Financial Justice Clinic at your site, please contact NEDAP.
Resource Materials
NEDAP has compiled a series of resource materials addressing consumer rights and how to resolve common problems. The materials are available on our website in English and Spanish.
NEDAP has also created informative, consumer-focused episodes of On the Money, our monthly television show, such as "The Truth About Credit Reports" and "Straight Talk about Debt Collection: Your Rights Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act."
Systemic Advocacy
Thousands of New Yorkers have contacted the Hotline. Information gathered from the Hotline helps inform NEDAP's advocacy and coalition work, as we press for policy changes that will have a positive impact on our clients and their neighborhoods. For example, NEDAP Staff Attorney Claudia Wilner testified at an exploratory public hearing held by the NYC Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) about abusive debt collection practices that harm low income New Yorkers. The testimony presented case examples of three Hotline callers and encouraged DCA to take steps to address the problem of debt collection lawsuit abuse. Read the testimony (PDF).
Annual Reports
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