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Consumer Issues

What is a 14 Day Letter? (Letter and Sample Included)

August 3, 2023

Tenants who are struggling to get their landlord to make repairs, especially repairs materially affecting the health and safety or physical condition of their property, should send their landlord a letter regarding the landlord’s duty to fix the property (per SC Code Ann. § 27-40-610). This is called a 14 Day Letter. When writing a…

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Bank and Credit Unions that Provide Small Dollar Loans in South Carolina

January 30, 2023

Payday, auto title and high cost/small dollar installment loans offer an easy solution to get a small or moderate amount of money quickly, but with one big catch. They are often difficult to pay off and many times put a consumer into a debt spiral that can keep them on the hook for years. There are…

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SC Housing Stories: How Small Changes Can Make Big Differences | The Rainy Day Fund

May 9, 2022

Welcome to the first feature in our South Carolina Housing Stories project! In this series, we will be talking with advocates, community members, and more about housing issues in South Carolina and discuss the need for housing investments in our state. For our first story, we sat down with Kieley Sutton, a public defender at…

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No Surprises Act Protects South Carolinian’s from Unexpected Bills

February 15, 2022

On January 1, 2022, a new law went into effect called the No Surprises Act. Prior to the act, if you had health insurance and received care from an out-of-network provider or facility, there was a chance you would not be covered in any way by your health plan, causing you to receive a surprise…

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South Carolina Plant Suffers Layoffs at Hands of Corporation Despite PPP Loans

March 3, 2021

CONTACTCarter Dougherty, Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund, [email protected] Sarah Crozier, Main Street Alliance, [email protected] Mellissa Chang, Good Jobs First, [email protected] Brandon Fountain, South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, [email protected] A South Carolina tire factory owned by a global corporation received a substantial loan from the Small Business Administration for pandemic relief while many genuinely…

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What The Latest COVID Relief Bill Includes

December 21, 2020

En Espanol This week, congress agreed to pass another COVID relief bill. Here’s what the bill entails for SNAP, Unemployment, Stimulus Payments, and Housing Assistance. If you are being threatened with eviction, you must fill out this form, certifying you cannot pay rent due to the pandemic and give the completed form to your landlord…

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Statement: Wellshire Financial Services and Other High-Cost lenders Must Return Any Money Received From Federal Program

November 24, 2020

Federal and State Lawmakers Must Also Reform Payday and Auto-Title Lending Laws. Earlier this week, it was revealed that Wellshire Financial Services, an empire of auto title lending entities, secured a $25 million low-interest loan from the federal government’s pandemic program. They were able to do this because of a loophole in the program, even…

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New Poll: South Carolinians want Financial Reform

October 24, 2019

There have been few issues in recent memory that have united Republicans, Democrats, and Independent voters. Tough Wall Street reform is an issue that transcends party lines, and connects almost everyone through the dire need of stricter regulations. Wall Street reform has almost universal support from voters in the key 2020 early states, including in…

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PRESS RELEASE: South Carolina Leaders Oppose Sen. Graham’s Attempt to Repeal Protections Against Abusive Payday Lenders

March 23, 2018

COLUMBIA, S.C. – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution, S.J. Res 56, which would repeal the payday and car title lending rule finalized by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) in October. The announcement to roll back this important consumer protection comes off the heels of the payday…

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SC Appleseed Response to Gov. McMaster’s 2018 State of the State Address

January 26, 2018

On Wednesday night, Gov. McMaster gave his first “State of the State” address. In the end, what he offered felt like little more than pandering and empty promises—albeit with a handshake and a smile. While speaking of “New Prosperity” and broad tax cuts, he conveniently omitted that the proposed cuts would largely benefit those who…

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