The new 2026 edition of NCLC's bestselling consumer guide Surviving Debt is now available for sale in print ($20) and e-book ($9.99), and available for free in digital format on the NCLC Digital Library.

This article explains how to respond to IRS tax debt. Always file a return even without paying taxes owed, almost never use a credit card, and press various exemptions against an IRS levy. Options are detailed to pay in installments, eliminate collections, and even reduce the debt owed. Special rights for spouses and debtors in bankruptcy are discussed, and sources of help are listed.

This article sets out seven key mistakes consumers make in attacking arbitration requirements: failing to first challenge delegation clauses; jumping into federal court; missing attacks on electronic consent and the contract’s language; mistaking the breadth of federal bans on arbitration; and underestimating arbitration’s ability to provide individual and even broad-based relief.

Ratio Utility Billing Systems (RUBS) is increasingly used in rental housing and creates potential for abusive landlord practices in tenants’ gas, electricity, and water bills. This article explains RUBS and the disadvantages of RUBS compared to traditional utility billing, provides a checklist to determine if a RUBS bill is accurate, mentions RUBS legislation and litigation, and links to additional resources.

FHA has announced new help for homeowners having trouble paying their FHA-insured mortgage loans. This article explains the seven key changes, including minimized documentation requirements, new home retention options, and access of successors-in-interest to FHA loss mitigation. This article describes the changes and provides links for more detail on each change.

This article examines three current forms of home equity theft: offering realtor services to create liens on homes, buying homes below market value before they are listed, and sale-leasebacks schemes. The article describes each scam, current litigation, common features of home equity theft, and twelve different legal theories for homeowners to seek relief. Links are provided for more detail.

Home equity “investment” (HEI) loans are a growing predatory loan scam. Homeowners are offered cash without monthly payments, but these loans’ true cost can be astronomical. This article examines recent Ninth Circuit and other court decisions upholding claims against HEI loans and provides practice pointers in suing HEI lenders, including claims, successfully framing a complaint, and how to avoid arbitration.

This article examines the most significant 2025 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) developments, including summaries of all reported FDCPA circuit courts of appeals decisions, a discussion of withdrawn guidance at the CFPB, and the just-released Eleventh Edition of NCLC’s Fair Debt Collection treatise.

This article lists federal and state consumer law changes scheduled to go into effect or expire in 2026. Of special note are extensive changes to student loan rights, bankruptcy amendments affecting mortgages, sunset of exemptions from taxability for forgiven mortgage and student loan debt, and state laws dealing with automobile sales and coerced debt. State law changes are noted in 30 states.

A recent Tenth Circuit ruling largely bans Colorado lenders from using rent-a-bank schemes to evade the state's usury caps. A new NCLC Digital Library article explains the decision and details strategies for challenging rent-a-bank loans in other states. Such strategies include arguing that the bank is not the true lender, that there are limits on rate exportation, and that the loan may still have to comply with non-interest credit law of the state of the consumer’s residence.

Important new rules go into effect on December 1 to protect homeowners who use chapter 13 bankruptcies to stave off foreclosures and keep themselves current on their mortgages. A new NCLC Digital Library article explains eight ways that the new rules protect such homeowners by giving them information needed to successfully complete a cure plan and emerge from chapter 13 without surprise, undisclosed fees, or payment amounts due.

This article explains why earned wage payday loans, while growing rapidly, are unsuccessful in evading federal and state consumer lending laws, resulting in significant private remedies under TILA, the Military Lending Act, state credit laws, and state UDAP statutes. The article describes the companies involved, the nature of the loans, and five recent court decisions supporting company liability.

The CFPB has issued an October 28 interpretive rule suggesting that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) preempts the growing number of state laws limiting medical debt credit reporting. This article explains why that interpretation has limited effect and is seriously flawed. The article also explains the limits of FCRA preemption and provides suggestions to avoid preemption risks when drafting state laws.

This article advises homeowners on steps to take after natural disasters: addressing immediate needs; FEMA aid and other sources of help and grants; avoiding insurance, home repair, and municipal code problems; floodplain requirements; handling long-term financial difficulties; and preparing for the next natural disaster.

Electronic agreements in consumer transactions are on the rise, raising enforceability issues, especially for e-signatures gathered in person and for such terms and conditions as limitations on a consumer's remedies, whether the consumer has agreed to an arbitration clause or consented to receive robocalls and texts. This article sets out six keys to challenging electronic terms and conditions.

One of the hottest consumer law topics is whether medical debt should be included on credit reports. A CFPB rule, 15 recent state statutes, and credit bureau voluntary actions all limit medical debt in credit reports. This article updates the very latest developments on all three fronts: litigation involving the CFPB rule; newly enacted state legislation and federal preemption; and credit bureaus’ voluntary actions.

This article discusses the massive Reconciliation Bill signed into law on July 4, which cuts essential medical and food benefits for millions of Americans, increases costs for student loan borrowers, and eliminates incentives for energy-efficient investments, among its other provisions. The article focuses on provisions of special interest to consumer law practitioners and legal services attorneys.

The NCLC Digital Library is not just for consumer lawyers. This article describes the NCLC Digital Library’s practice manuals that are of special utility for attorneys practicing in areas outside of consumer law: landlord-tenant law; employment law; public benefits law; family law; criminal law; and class actions.

A Supreme Court decision on June 20 has significantly reshaped how courts may interpret future Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) cases by fundamentally altering the way in which courts construe FCC orders and rules. This article discusses the case, its implications, and what practitioners should argue in litigation moving forward.

The AAA's consumer arbitration rules (new rules are effective May 1) offer multiple opportunities for consumers to avoid arbitration and bring an individual or class case in court. This article outlines four common mistakes a business can make that can lead the AAA to decline to arbitrate and can allow consumers to proceed to court. Small claims court also is always an option under the AAA's rules.