Our Work
Key Issues
Explore the key issues NCLC fights for
NCLC uses its expertise in consumer law and energy policy to work for consumer justice and economic security for low-income and other disadvantaged people, including older adults, in the U.S.
Select a topic to the left to learn more about our work in these key issue areas or select “See All Issues and Topics” to see the full list of areas we are working in.
Access to Justice
Fighting for consumers’ ability to pursue justice through the courts.
Supporting access to counsel and robust protections for consumers in court proceedings.
Opposing forced arbitration clauses that take away consumers’ day in court.
Working to overcome artificial barriers that impede consumers’ access to the courts.
Auto Finance & Sales
Working for policies that bring transparency and fairness to car sales and financing.
Advancing policies that bring transparency and fairness to car financing.
Working to stop abusive car sales tactics so families can get a safe and reliable car.
Working to ensure that electric vehicle policies address the transportation needs of low-income consumers.
Banking, Payments & Remittances
Supporting consumer protections for deposit accounts and payment systems.
Fighting expansion of bank charters and bank privileges in ways that undermine consumer protections.
Working to protect bank accounts, prepaid cards, and other deposit accounts.
Crypto-assets are becoming the latest in a long line of devices used to strip wealth from communities of color and push them further behind.
Fighting abusive overdraft fee practices that harm consumers.
Working to protect consumers and fight fraud when people send money and make payments.
NCLC has been the leading advocate for remittance senders in the past two decades, striving to protect them against unfair and undisclosed fees imposed by remittance providers.
Consumer Protection Regulation
Supporting strong consumer protection agencies and regulations.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created to ensure strong consumer protections, but the agency has been under attack since its inception.
Analyzing federal and state laws that allow electronic records and electronic signatures to replace pen and ink signatures.
NCLC fights for a strong Federal Trade Commission and ensures it has the tools needed to protect consumers.
Protecting servicemembers and veterans from predatory lenders and scammers that target them for their steady but often limited income and benefits.
Countering efforts to preempt strong state consumer protection laws.
NCLC fights efforts to give risky new fintech products a pass on consumer protection laws in the name of "innovation."
Fighting for protections against unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices.
Credit Reporting & Data Fairness
Fighting abuses by credit bureaus and other traffickers of consumer data.
Working to ensure that use of alternative data and algorithms will help, not hurt, consumers.
Fighting inaccurate and discriminatory criminal background checks that are a bar to jobs and housing.
Protecting renters from abuses in tenant screening, rental debt collection, junk fees, and more.
Fighting against shady credit repair firms and pricy credit monitoring products.
Combating errors, bias, abuses, and racial inequity in the credit reporting system.
Ensuring that inaccurate and discriminatory tenant screening is not a bar to housing.
Criminal Justice
Working to stop unfair financial practices in the criminal justice system and to ease re-entry.
Fighting inaccurate and discriminatory criminal background checks that are a bar to jobs and housing.
Working to stop unfair financial practices in the criminal justice system and to ease re-entry.
Addressing harmful debts resulting from criminal justice system involvement.
Debt & Bankruptcy
Protecting families from overwhelming debt.
Improving access to bankruptcy for low-income consumers and expanding the relief available.
Protecting domestic violence and trafficking survivors and older adults from financial abuse.
Protecting renters from abuses in tenant screening, rental debt collection, junk fees, and more.
Addressing harmful debts resulting from criminal justice system involvement.
Protecting consumers from abusive debt collection practices.
Striving to protect consumers from deceptive debt settlement and relief services.
Working to reduce the burden of medical debt on individuals and families.
Disasters & Pandemics
Helping communities experiencing pandemic challenges and natural disasters.
Targeting COVID relief to reduce economic inequality through policy change.
Helping communities deal with the financial impacts of natural disasters.
Energy, Utilities & Telecommunications
Advocating for affordable energy and utility service for everyone.
Advocating for home energy and utilities that are clean, affordable, and equitable.
Ensuring that the transition to clean energy centers affordability and access.
Ensuring access to affordable, quality voice and internet services for everyone, regardless of income or geography.
Working to ensure that electric vehicle policies address the transportation needs of low-income consumers.
Advocating for free and low-cost programs to improve energy efficiency and upgrades and oppose unaffordable financing.
NCLC works to protect consumers from abusive energy financing and PACE loans.
Working for affordable access to home heating and cooling services, which are essential for safe and healthy housing.
Maintaining access to heating, electricity, gas, phone, and broadband for all low-income customers by providing expert support and training opportunities to front-line social service workers and advocates.
Ensuring that all families have access to utility service and financial help when needed.
Fighting for affordable water and sewer service for all families.
Equity & Racial Justice
Fighting discrimination and promoting equitable economic opportunity.
Promoting equitable access to financial products for consumers with disabilities.
Promoting equitable access to financial services for immigrants and consumers with language barriers.
Working to preserve and protect the assets and resources of older consumers.
Working to address systemic racism and advance economic justice for consumers of color.
High-Cost Credit
Fighting predatory lending and evasions of interest rate caps and other credit laws.
Protecting consumers against credit card abuses.
NCLC works to ensure that new and evasive forms of credit have strong consumer protections.
Supporting effective state and federal interest rate limits and credit laws.
Fighting high-cost, predatory loans and supporting affordable small dollar credit.
Fighting schemes that help lenders evade state interest rate limits.
Homeownership & Foreclosure
Promoting just, affordable homeownership and foreclosure prevention.
Working to preserve affordable homeownership in the Federal Housing Administration loan program.
NCLC works to protect consumers from abusive energy financing and PACE loans.
Promoting sustainable practices for consumers in manufactured housing.
Promoting sustainable and equitable homeownership for low-income families.
Preserving homeownership with foreclosure prevention and servicing advocacy.
Working to keep reverse mortgages safe and prevent foreclosures.
Promoting state policies and using state law to prevent foreclosure.
Robocalls & Texts
NCLC works to stop unwanted or fraudulent robocalls and texts, to protect consumers, and to make it harder for scammers to disappear with a consumer’s money.
Advocacy to improve and enforce existing laws to stop scam calls and texts.
Challenging debt collection and other illegal calls and texts.
Advocacy to reduce illegal telemarketing calls and texts.
Student Loans
Making the student loan system work for low-income borrowers.
Improving the federal student loan system on which millions rely.
Stopping predatory for-profit colleges from harming students.
Protecting borrowers against abusive private student loan and income-share agreement practices.
Our Services
Litigation
NCLC represents consumers in cutting-edge litigation that seeks to reform the rules of the marketplace.
Legislation
NCLC represents consumers in cutting-edge litigation that seeks to reform the rules of the marketplace.
State Advocacy
NCLC offers its consumer law expertise to legal service attorneys, private attorneys, and advocacy organizations who share our goals of consumer justice.
Practice Aids
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