3. Competition should result in the widespread availability of telecommunications services that enhance the lives of all consumers.

4. Service quality is of primary concern to all consumers: telecommunications providers should be committed to the delivery of high quality services. Consumers should have accurate information regarding the quality and reliability of their services.

5. With the growing trend toward convergence of communications services, consumers must still have the opportunity to pick and choose among providers and select and pay for only the services that best meet their individual needs.

6. A policy of open, non-discriminatory access to all communications networks is of critical importance and benefit to consumers.

7. As new technologies are developed, these services should be available to all consumers when technologically and economically feasible. There is a role for public policies to ensure that all consumers have equitable and affordable access to essential new communications technologies.

8.  Telecommunications equipment and customer premises equipment must be accessible to and usable by people with disabilities, if it is readily achievable for a manufacturer to make it so. NCL further encourages that all new and advanced services and equipment meet Section 255 requirements, whether by regulation or voluntary industry compliance.

9.  Manufacturers should implement universal design of telecommunications services and equipment, and Federal and State governments should enforce all laws and regulations that would establish meaningful universal design standards for all existing and new, basic or advanced, telecommunications equipments or services.

10. Government agencies that have oversight concerning telecommunications issues should provide consumers with the opportunity to participate in agency proceedings and should reach out to NCL and other consumer organizations to solicit their input.

11. Government has an ongoing obligation to monitor actively the telecommunications industry and to intervene to protect the interests of consumers when appropriate both by establishing rules that limit the likelihood of consumer harm and assuring redress when harm occurs.

12. Telecommunications companies should adhere to the practice of providing good wages, benefits, working conditions, respect for workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively, and respect for all employees.

13. Competition should produce companies that meet consumer demand for good quality products and services and that provide prompt customer service by ensuring a sufficient number of adequately trained employees.

14. Concentrated corporate control of the media undermines diverse and high-quality provision of news and information to the public that is essential to our democracy. Such concentration should be limited in order to ensure media diversity, local identity, just and respectful employment practices and respect for workers’ rights, diverse media outlets, and editorial independence from business considerations.

The principles contained within the NCL policies on Consumer Protection, Mergers and Acquisitions, and Privacy are of great importance to consumers of telecommunications services and may overlap with some of the principles contained within this policy.

––Adopted December 9, 2005

1. Reliability and Safety

2. Cost

3. Environmental Concerns and Conservation

4. Consumer Protections and Safety Nets

Reliability and Safety 

“Reliability” suggests that we can be secure in the knowledge that the systems are in place so that energy sources will always be available for the consumer’s use: when we flip a switch, the lights come on; when we turn on our stove, the burner ignites; when we need transportation, the motor has fuel.

As energy systems shift from a local and state base to become more regional and national in nature, the responsibility for reliability and safety may need to shift. To assure reliability and safety, NCL supports:

1. Clearly defining local, state, and federal roles and responsibilities to ensure reliability and safety, including oversight, approval, and dispute resolution powers as well as consumer protection and education;

2. Establishing joint industry, federal or regional oversight and enforcement for interstate reliability and safety as appropriate, which may include mandatory minimum quality of service standards;

3. Developing rules and standards with transmission providers, transmission users, consumers, and other interested parties

4. Diversifying the mix of energy sources so that dependency on any one source is reduced. This should include increased focus on renewable technology and sources of fuel in addition to realizing the full potential of traditional coal, oil, gas, and nuclear resources, but should not require mandated energy portfolio standards;

5. Maintaining reserves, including bio-based renewable reserves, to ensure availability of required energy resources;

6. Retaining qualified workers with skills and experience.

Cost 

For the average consumer, “cost” equates to “price.” And the watchwords in pricing are affordability and predictability. Both can be affected by reliability issues — consumers know from past “energy crisis” experience that diminishing supply quickly affects cost, making cost both unpredictable and unaffordable. But cost and price also are affected by other issues. Unregulated markets, for instance, appear more vulnerable to cost fluctuations due to market abuses. Regulated markets may appear slow to respond to passing on cost savings to consumers. Therefore, both regulated and unregulated markets must be monitored for cost issues. Also, the manner in which a market is moved from being regulated to unregulated can affect costs, so these processes must be watched carefully as well. NCL supports measures to:

1. Create or strengthen state and federal programs that monitor for abuse in the energy markets resulting in predatory pricing. In the electric and natural gas markets this should include monitoring and enforcement action regarding such events as unauthorized service billing (cramming) or switching customers to another supplier without permission (slamming). It also should include some oversight or appeal authority regarding contract abuses between consumers and providers, providers and other providers, and providers and other contractors.

2. Carefully consider cost effects of deregulating retail markets that presently are regulated. Many issues such as stranded costs, availability of suppliers other than the incumbent monopoly, and supply margins all impact the extent to which regulation or deregulation benefit consumers from a cost standpoint.

3. Develop standards and processes for government intervention when prices escalate out of control.

Environmental Concerns and Conservation 

Some may argue that one “cost” of keeping prices low for consumers is to reduce efforts to produce energy while protecting the environment. NCL opposes such thinking as both shortsighted and harmful. We find consumers generally desire clean water, air, and land, and that they oppose the unnecessary harm of wildlife. We would argue that many environmental efforts,
such as conservation, have saved money for consumers. But even for those measures with some cost, consumers appear willing to pay for the long-term benefits that accrue in terms of health and quality of life. NCL supports both environmental protection and conservation through measures to:

1. Ensure enforcement of a strong Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act;

2. Increase financial support for programs to conserve energy and to increase
reliance on cleaner power sources;

3. Increase funding for research and development of alternative and renewable energy technologies, including: wind, solar, hydroelectric, biomass fuels, geothermal, advanced fossil fuel, fuel cells, and electric or gas transportation;

4. Make appropriate changes to building codes and efficiency standards at the local, state and federal levels to incorporate existing methods and especially new technologies as they become available;

5. Provide incentives for the development of efficient transportation methods such as vehicle fuel efficiency, renewable bio-based fuel vehicles, and mass transit;

6. Educate and provide incentives for consumers and property owners to use mass transit and conserve energy.

Consumer and Worker Protections and Safety Nets 

To an extent that is perhaps unsurpassed in any other market, broad safety nets must be in place for consumers to ensure their protection and their access to essential and sometimes lifesaving energy services. NCL supports:

1. Adhering to the principals of Universal Service — ensuring that basic energy service is available to everyone no matter what their economic circumstances or where they reside:

2. Ensuring consumers have true choice in competitive markets:

3. Ensuring easy access to assistance for low-income consumers and those with critical needs;

4. Ensuring the continuation of traditional consumer protections, including: disconnection polices, repair access, and avenues for redress (See Consumer Protection);

5. Developing processes for providing service when the consumer’s primary provider is unable to do so;

6. Giving consumers adequate information to identify and gain access to safety net protections;

7. Providing adequate health and safety protections for energy sector workers;

8. When the workforce is reduced, retraining opportunities should be available to those who have lost their jobs (See Fair Labor).
––Adopted December 13, 2001

3. Financial services institutions, including those that offer credit, should be required to ensure that they offer products appropriate to the needs, credit worthiness and financial capacity of their customers.   Consumers should not be urged or induced to purchase products that would extend their obligations beyond their financial capacity.

4. Discriminatory practices in the financial services industry must not be tolerated.

5. Consumers should be protected against exploitive sales tactics and excessive charges for services.

6. Financial services institutions should be required to provide training to employees so that they are able to provide accurate, complete, readable and understandable information to consumers

7. In general, financial services firms should provide consumers with clear, conspicuous, standardized and easy to understand disclosures in regard to:

a. Annually, the financial health of a financial institution;
b. Any state guarantee or other programs that protect consumers in case of     default; and
c. Consumer rights if a financial institution fails.

8. Consumers of financial services and products should have access to the courts for redress, and should not be limited to mandatory arbitration.

9. Federal banking regulators should assess the activities of affiliates in banking, lending and investment activities in determining the compliance of banks with the Community Reinvestment Act.  These affiliates should be required to comply with state consumer protection laws.  The performance standards for CRA ratings should include incentives for increased prime lending.

10. Consumers of financial services and products should have access to a toll-free number for obtaining readily available assistance for complaints, questions and concerns.

11. Financial services companies must be required to provide, at no cost, paper billing and account statements unless a consumer affirmatively opts for electronic billing.

Insurance 

1. Minimum standards for insurance company solvency should be established by the federal government.

2. States should have full-time, independent insurance consumer advocates.

3. State insurance commissioners, key staff and contractors should be subject to strong conflict of interest prohibitions.

4. States should strengthen their oversight of the solvency of insurance companies and require sufficient funding to cover losses of the insured.

5. The scope and cost of insurance products must be disclosed. The disclosures should be in easy to understand language that will enable consumers to comparison shop for price and benefit coverage and limitations and exclusions.

6. Consumers should be given a minimum of thirty days advance notice of cancellation and non-renewal of policies. Liability policies should be cancelled only for good cause.

7. Notification or warning of cancellation at a minimum of thirty days before cancellation occurs.

8. Insurance eligibility or rates should not be determined by gender, race, national origin, religious affiliation or any other group characteristics. The prohibition against redlining should be vigorously enforced.

Banking and Credit 

1. Banking services at a minimum should include:

a. Basic checking or savings;
b. Small minimum balances;
c. Fixed number of free transactions and reasonable charges for transactions in
excess of set number;
d. Monthly easy-to-understand statement with full detail of account activity;
e. Free teller service;
f. Protection against duplicative fees for use of ATM cards; and
g. Protection against point of sale charges for use of debit card.

2. Those who offer banking services should make them available to low income consumers.

3. Depository institutions should not charge their customers a fee for cashing government
checks.  Those without an account should be charged only a nominal amount.

4. Consumers must be ensured of access to credit on fair and reasonable terms.

5. Federal and state laws should be enforced and enhanced as necessary to ensure the protecting consumers against erroneous information and for providing greater consumer access to credit files.  Credit reports should be more user friendly.

6. Consumers should have access to their credit scores and information about how they are determined.

7. Consumers should have access to their credit reports, with an annual report available from the three major credit-reporting agencies at no charge, upon request.

8. The interests of legitimate bankruptcy petitioners should be protected by federal law, especially for those with low incomes.  Retirement benefits and savings should be protected.

9. Consumers should be protected from abusive debt collection practices.  Federal and state regulators should have the resources to more strictly enforce the laws governing this industry. Penalties for violation of the law should be strengthened. The laws should also be expanded to allow for private rights of action against collectors.

10. Consumers should be protected against usurious interest charges and fees.

11. The use of the Rule of 78 for calculating refunds of prepaid interest and insurance charges should be prohibited.

12.  Consumers should be protected against involuntary purchase of credit insurance and other credit protection products.

13. The sale of credit and non-credit insurance products that are paid with a lump sum from proceeds of credit transaction should be prohibited.

14. Borrowers should be provided a reasonable notice prior to foreclosures.

15. Predatory lending abuses should be curbed.  Consumers should be protected against the practice of repeated, unnecessary and inappropriate refinancing of loans, commonly referred to as flipping, which is used not to address their financial needs but to extract additional costs and fees from them.  Unfair prepayment penalties should be prohibited.

16. Closing costs or other fees that are financed in the loan amount should be limited. Closing costs and fees should reflect the true expenses involved.

17. Banking and credit companies must disclose:

a. All relevant fees and terms and conditions–both on invoices and all sales
documents–should be in plain language for checking, savings and money market accounts, and all other financial products;
b. The availability of privacy policies;
c. Changes in the terms of financial service agreements, at least thirty days in advance of the change;
d. The availability of credit reports, with an annual report from the three major
credit-reporting agencies at no charge, upon request;
e. The cost of refinancing loans as compared to financing a separate loan.
f. An explanation of credit insurance, whom it benefits and disclosure that purchase of credit insurance is strictly optional;
g. Home loan disbursements and settlement statements at least three days before closing;
h. The period of time it will take to pay a balance due and the total amount, if a
consumer makes only the minimum payment due; and
i. The distinction between non-deposit products (e.g., stocks and mutual funds) that are not insured and the deposit products that are covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC).

Investments 

1. Plain-language disclosure about the disciplinary and other background of brokers and investment advisors should be readily available at no cost to enquiring consumers from government agencies (both state and federal) and self-regulatory organizations.

2. The federal and state governments should support investor education targeting consumers, with an emphasis on the young.   State securities agencies that impose fines and other penalties on investment law violators should be able to reserve and “dedicate” such funds for investor education purposes.

3. The risks and costs of investments must be communicated in plain language, omitting no material considerations.

4. Investment products should be described in a standardized manner that supports comprehension and comparison.

5. Compensation of broker-dealers must be disclosed. Account statements should also show the current value of investments, commissions at the time of each sale and the cost of fees.  Special incentives for brokers should be disclosed at the time of sale.  Conflicts of interest should be disclosed.

6. Investors should have access to the courts to recover losses and damages due to malfeasance by financial services providers.

7. Standards for investment advisors should be strengthened, with federal requirements for training, testing and registration.

8. For investment fraud and abuse, penalties should include civil and criminal sanctions.

9. The SEC should adopt stronger regulations to prevent fraudulent, unfair or deceptive practices in the industry, to include accounting methods   Remedies should include financial recovery for consumers.

––Adopted December 12, 2006

For most consumers, purchase of a home is their greatest expenditure.  Consumers who contract for mortgages and loans based on equity in a home must have fair and equitable access to credit, and be protected against fraud, usury, unnecessary foreclosure, flipping of loans and other practices that harm homeowners.  Disclosure of terms and conditions must be in plain
English (See NCL Financial Services policy).

Each housing market is unique, with many factors determining the policies and actions that will enable a community to meet the housing needs of its residents.  Housing policies should be flexible at the national, state and local levels to best address local housing needs.  Effective policies will be targeted to both people and places and provide assistance to renters as well as homeowners.

The needs of those who are homeless, living in substandard housing or with very low incomes should be the first priority of national, state and local housing policies. Policies designed to assist moderate-income households should not come at the expense of those in the most need.  These policies should directly subsidize housing costs while encouraging work, allowing wealth accumulation, and strengthening families.

NCL asserts policies directed towards places should promote balanced metropolitan growth with racially and economically diverse residential neighborhoods.  Policies should encourage the production and preservation of low-cost housing units with access to quality schools, recreational facilities, jobs, and transportation.  In particular, production subsidies should be targeted towards special populations, such as the elderly, handicapped, and homeless
individuals.  Regional planning should include inclusionary zoning of low-cost units, open space, centralized community services, and environmental conservation.

––Adopted October 6, 2006

• Ensures smart and effective enforcement that protects our borders, fosters commerce, and promotes the safe and legitimate movement of people and goods at our ports of entry.

• Ends the exploitation of U.S. and immigrant workers by providing safe and legal avenues for foreign workers to fill legitimate workforce needs, and establishes a workable employment verification system that prevents unlawful employment.

NCL supports comprehensive immigration reform that reflects both the League’s  history and legacy  in support of workers and consumers, and our interest and values as Americans,  and is consistent with our nation’s commitment to fairness and equality.

6. Provide equity in pricing and choice for consumers without discrimination;

7. Incorporate the best practices in marketing, dispute resolution and other consumer protection measures;

8. Meet consumer demand for good quality products and services and provide prompt customer service by ensuring a sufficient number of adequately trained employees;

9. Cause no diminution of current wage levels in the industry and ensure good wages, benefits and working conditions for all employees;

10. Have a beneficial impact on the quality and quantity of jobs of affected employees.

––Adopted February 9, 2000

2. Supports both public and private standards activities that are directed at better informing consumers of product and service performance characteristics;

3. Encourages the federal government to take appropriate actions to assure that the voluntary standards community include adequate financing of, and meaningful consumer participation in, standards-setting activities, and to assure due process in setting of standards;

4. Supports interagency and international efforts to establish relevant, forceful, and far-reaching standards;

5. Believes that corporations have a responsibility to assure that safety and universal design be built into product and service design.  We support and urge continuation of objective product testing, such as Consumers Union conducts;

6. Supports consumer education and information to teach safe behavior but recognizes that consumer education is never an acceptable substitute for quality safety standards and careful design and production;

7. Urges that diligent enforcement of safety standards be carried out by private as well as public groups; and

8. Encourages prompt gathering of injury data by the public and private sectors in order to identify trends, inform consumers, and take appropriate actions to address safety concerns.

––Adopted December 13, 2000

Toward this end, the NCL:

1. Supports adequate provision of consumer information and the inclusion of consumer representation in public and private regulatory and accreditation institutions, including professional and government licensing boards and certifying organizations;

2. Encourages corporations and trade associations to establish consumer affairs offices and independent consumer advisory panels representing diverse public interest organizations;

3. Supports the establishment of an independent federal consumer advocacy agency that reports directly to the President of the United States;

4. Supports the establishment and sufficient allocation of resources for consumer agencies and advocates at the state and local level; and

5. Supports public funding for public participation.

––Adopted October 6, 2000

NCL Promotes Fair Consumer Protections Against Factoring Abuses:  Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director has said  “All of us—structured settlement consultants, attorneys, judges, and consumer advocates and leaders in the disability rights community have a shared responsibility to help protect injured persons and people with disabilities from abusive and misleading financial practices.”  Structured settlements provide periodic payments over a long period of time and thereby provide personal injury claimants with long-term financial security.  The “factoring” of structured settlement payments, where finance companies purchase structured settlement payment streams at a discount, is problematic for several reasons, including that these “factoring companies” pressure claimants to sell when there is no genuine need to sell, and because these factoring companies typically charge high discount rates and thereby pay only small amounts of money in exchange for a large amounts of future payments.  There are rare circumstances where a claimant may have a need to unwind a structured settlement, and if those circumstances present themselves, the key to a successful transaction is a fair and reasonable discount rate, and of course other fair and reasonable terms.  Unfortunately, most factoring transactions to not meet this standard.

Structured Settlements:  NCL has partnered with the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD) and the National Structured Settlements Trade Association (NSSTA) to promote legislation to protect personal injury settlements with Members of Congress on Capitol Hill.  NCL has worked to enact State Structured Settlement Protection Acts in states all across the Nation.  NCL worked with directly the Maryland State Attorney General to pass the nation’s strongest and most effective SSPA and worked with the Washington, D.C. City Council to pass the first Structured Settlement Protection Act in the Nation’s Capital. NCL has also partnered with nationally recognized consumer advocate Suze Orman to highlight the critical importance of smart and comprehensive settlement planning for injured people.

NCL Position Paper:  Structured Settlements:  Structured settlements enable seriously injured people and their families to live with economic security, dignity, independence, and freedom from reliance on government.  Structured settlements constitute a private sector funding alternative to taxpayer-financed assistance programs to meet the ongoing, long-term medical and basic living needs of seriously-injured persons and their families, providing long-term financial security through an assured stream of payments tailored to the injured person’s needs throughout his or her lifetime.  Thus, structured settlements enable seriously-injured people to live with dignity and financial independence, free from reliance on government programs and interference.  Click here to read the full NCL position paper.  (Attachment #001)

NCL Supports Enactment of Structured Settlement Protection Acts in all 50 States and the District of Columbia:  New Hampshire now joins all 50 states and the District of Columbia with the recent enactment of the new NH Structured Settlements Protection Act. This is a major milestone achievement that would never have happened without the tireless leadership and support of the National Consumers League.  Thanks to NCL and other advocates, all 50 states and DC now have SSPA legal protections for people with structured settlements. This SSPA work has been accomplished state by state, starting in 1997 in Illinois with the steadfast commitment of consumer advocates, disability organization leaders and structured settlement industry leaders who made this happen.  NCL remains the most influential association dedicated to protecting the rights of people with structured settlements.

NCL Successfully Led the Fight for the Enactment of the Maryland Structured Settlements Protection:  Working with Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, Maryland State Court Officials and Maryland State Legislative Leaders, NCL helped produce the most effective consumer protections in the Nation against factoring abuses.  The Maryland Court of Appeals gave final approval to extensive new Rules of Practice and Procedure that will apply to all Maryland SSPA petitions.  The new rules, which have the force of law, were developed on an accelerated schedule in response to the Washington Post expose on factoring of lead poisoning settlements. Important highlights of Maryland Rules of Procedure Title 15, Chapter 1300 (Structured Settlement Transfers), Rules 15-1301 through 15-1307. Effective January 1, 2016 these new Rules:

• Mandate that any SSPA petition involving a Maryland resident payee be filed in the Circuit Court for the county in which the payee resides.
• Prohibit action on an SSPA petition in the absence of a hearing.
• Require personal attendance at the hearing by the payee (unless the payee’s attendance is excused for good cause), the payee’s independent professional advisor and the petitioner or an officer or employee who can testify for the petitioner
• Require that any petition under the Maryland SSPA include the following information:
  • A copy of the payee’s structured settlement agreement, a copy of annuity that funds the settlement (or, if an annuity is not available, a document from the annuity issuer or settlement obligor evidencing the annuity payments) and a copy of any court order approving the settlement.
  • Detailed written consent of the payee.
  • A detailed affidavit of the independent professional advisor who has advised the payee.
  • Salient information about the petitioner, including whether it is registered to do business in Maryland.
  • Information about prior transfers and attempted transfers involving the payee’s payment rights.
  • A statement whether “to the best of the petitioners knowledge…the structured settlement arose from a) a claim of lead poisoning, or b) any other claim in which an allegation was made in a court record of a mental or cognitive impairment on the part of the payee.

NCL Leadership Secures Passage of the First Ever Structured Settlements Protection Act in the District of Columbia:  In 2018, NCL led the fight for passage of the DC Structured Settlements Protection Act.  Thanks to the NCL, the DC Council Judiciary Committee and the full Council of the District of Columbia voted unanimously to support passage of the new DC Structured Settlements Protection Act of 2018. The District of Columbia will now join 50 states that have enacted such important legislation to enhance the protection of consumers who depend on structured settlements resulting from personal injuries.  It is NCL’s mission to ensure the rights of injured parties with respect to their structured settlements. The provisions included in the District of Columbia’s new SSPA are extremely beneficial to the long-term financial security of people with structured settlement annuities.  The new measures provide meaningful court protection, among other safeguards, for DC residents who might be contacted by factoring companies offering to buy out their annuities for pennies on the dollar. The Act assures that DC courts will have full information with which to make decisions on whether a proposed transfer is in the best interests of a given payee and their dependents.

NCL Applauds Warren Buffett’s Statement in Support of Structured Settlements:  Warren Buffett’s annual meeting has become one of the financial highlights for investors each year as tens of thousands attend in Omaha and millions watch online.  Recently, he highlighted the important work of trial attorneys and the necessity for them to protect their client’s financial recovery.  Mr. Buffett also emphasized the need for attorneys to offer their clients the option to structure a portion of their settlement.  There are many significant advantages to a personal injury claimant placing all or a portion of their legal settlement proceeds in a structured settlement, rather than accepting the entire settlement as a lump sum. Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway recently stated:

“Anyone settling a personal injury claim should seriously consider a structured settlement as part of their plan for financial recovery. Structured settlements can stretch settlement funds by providing tax-free payments for lost income, medical bills, or other future needs, which delivers tremendous long-term security for injured people and their families. Berkshire Hathaway is proud to be a leading provider of structured settlement annuities.”

What does Warren Buffett know about structured settlements, leading him to promote structured settlements publicly? He knows the following about structured settlements:

• A structured settlement of a physical injury or workers compensation claim is tax-free.
• A structured settlement can provide regular monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual

payments as well as intermittent lump sums (for example, to pay for a first house).

• A structured settlement can provide life contingent income (income that cannot be outlived).
• A structured settlement has a fixed rate of return. When markets crash, structured

settlements maintain their secure value.

• Most traditional investments have ongoing overhead costs including management and administrative fees. Structured settlements do not.
• A structured settlement protects settlement proceeds from being spent too quickly.