In this third installment of the special series on servicemember protections, Chris Willis is joined by colleagues Taylor Gess and Jeremy Sairsingh to explore the non-pricing protections under the Military Lending Act (MLA) and the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).

The discussion covers the MLA's disclosure and delivery requirements, including the written and oral disclosure obligations that must be satisfied before or at the time credit is extended, and the practical approaches financial institutions use to meet the oral disclosure requirement. The team then turns to the SCRA's broad non-rate protections, walking through litigation protections, collateral protections governing repossessions and foreclosures, and mobility protections that allow servicemembers to terminate residential and auto leases and certain consumer service contracts upon qualifying orders, including the distinction between pre-service and in-service lease terminations and the ongoing DOJ enforcement activity in this space.

The episode also covers the MLA's prohibition on mandatory arbitration clauses and anti-waiver requirements, the SCRA's specific form and timing requirements for valid waivers of servicemember rights, and the MLA's payment and contract term restrictions, including prohibitions on military allotments, prepayment penalties, and remotely created checks. The conversation closes with a discussion of the SCRA's anti-retaliation provision and why the prohibition on adverse treatment following a servicemember's invocation of SCRA rights has important implications for credit reporting, account servicing, and system design.

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