For Immediate Release:
April 18, 2025
Contact:
Robert Mayo | hello@woodstockinst.org
**Media Interviews Available Upon Request**
CHICAGO – In response to a Texas federal judge’s ruling that strikes down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) rule capping excessive credit card late fees, Horacio Méndez, President & CEO of Woodstock Institute issued the following statement:
“This ruling is a devastating blow to millions of hardworking Americans who are already struggling to make ends meet. By tossing out the CFPB’s common-sense rule to cap these predatory late fees—some as high as $41—a federal judge is putting corporations over the lives of everyday consumers.
“The CFPB’s rule was borne out of clear evidence: the credit card industry was using inflated late fees as a profit engine, forcing families with the least financial cushion to pay billions in excessive late fees. This rule was meant to restore transparency and accountability to a system fraught with unfairness —and to protect people from being punished for a late payment.
“While consumers have come to understand and expect fees for these services, they do not need to be punitive or exorbitant to be effective.”
This decision comes days after Congress passed House Joint Resolution 59, overturning the CFPB’s 2024 rule designed to cap overdraft and non-sufficient funds (NSF) fees, another devastating blow to American families. Woodstock Institute has been and will remain actively engaged in the conversation surrounding excessive junk fees.
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Woodstock Institute is a leading policy and research nonprofit that advocates for consumer financial protection and community economic development. Our work seeks to combat structural inequities and to improve the quality of life in lower-income neighborhoods and communities of color. Among our areas of focus are predatory lending, access to banking, debt collection, and municipal fines and fees.
