- Report: States making jobless pay needless fees, By Daniel Wagner (AP), January 29, 2013, USA Today: “Jobless Americans are paying millions in unnecessary fees to collect unemployment benefits because of state policies encouraging them to get the money through bank-issued payment cards, according to a new report from a consumer group. People are using the fee-heavy cards instead of getting their payments deposited directly to their bank accounts. That’s because states issue bank cards automatically, require complicated paperwork or phone calls to set up direct deposit and fail to explain the card fees, according to a report issued Tuesday by the National Consumer Law Center, a nonprofit group that seeks to protect low-income Americans from unfair financial-services products…”
- Jobless pay unnecessary fees to collect unemployment, report says, By Ricardo Lopez, January 29, 2013, Los Angeles Times: “Jobless Americans continue paying unnecessary fees to withdraw their unemployment benefits from prepaid debit cards, a report released Tuesday said. Five states, including California, violate federal law in requiring those collecting unemployment benefits to sign up for the state vendor’s debit cards, according to the report by the National Consumer Law Center. In recent years, states have turned to prepaid debit cards to distribute unemployment benefits to reduce costs associated with printing and mailing paper checks…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty