Debt
What Americans Owe and Why
What No One Tells You About Car Loan Deferments
When you defer a car payment, you’ll likely end up owing more at the end of your loan. Our free auto loan calculator tool was built to help borrowers figure out their final payment amount and understand how car loan extensions work.
One of the Nation’s Largest Auto Lenders Told Customers, “We’re Here to Help.” Then It Took Their Money and Their Cars.
CarMax partner Exeter Finance makes high-interest loans to people with troubled financial histories. It allows borrowers to skip payments but often adds thousands of dollars in new charges — costs that customers say Exeter didn’t tell them about.
A Wisconsin Tribe Built a Lending Empire Charging 600% Annual Rates to Borrowers
The Lac du Flambeau tribe is at the center of a $1 billion class-action settlement that comes after years of fending off claims of predatory lending practices.
TitleMax Demands High-Interest Payments From Borrowers in Bankruptcy
In Georgia, borrowers looking to alleviate debt through Chapter 13 bankruptcy can’t escape their high-interest title pawns thanks to a legal loophole that TitleMax helped secure.
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Ohio Lawmakers Seek Strict Rules for “Clean Energy” Lending
A statewide clean-energy lending program in Ohio stalled last year before making any loans. Lawmakers want to add consumer protections in case the program resurfaces.
Michigan’s Largest Utility Faces Pushback on Debt Sales and Shut-Offs as Company Asks for Rate Hike
As DTE Energy pushes for a rate increase, the state is taking a closer look at its sale of customer debt to collection agencies. The company’s use of shut-offs and response to outages are also drawing criticism.
Local Reporting Network
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Proposes Further Traffic Ticket Reforms to Help Low-Income Motorists
In 2018, ProPublica reported on how vehicle tickets in Chicago disproportionately harm low-income, Black residents. This latest set of reforms proposes lowering ticket costs and providing debt relief for low-income residents.
Series
Series: The Title Pawn Trap: High-Interest Title Lending in Georgia
Series: Homeowner Hell: Investigating Colorado’s Unregulated Homeowners Associations
Series: Disaster After Disaster: Growing Storms, Faltering Aid
Series: Coming to Collect: Investigating Public Housing in Annapolis
Series: Financial Aid Loophole: Giving Up Guardianship to Get Aid
Series: The Bad Bet: How Illinois Bet on Video Gambling and Lost
Series: Driven Into Debt: How Tickets Burden the Poor
Series: Too Broke for Bankruptcy: How Bankruptcy Fails Those Who Need It Most
Series: Debt Inc.: Lending and Collecting in America
