The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York recently ruled that a voicemail message containing the caller’s name and identifying the caller as a debt collector with “an important message” was not a...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit held that a collection letter sent by an attorney violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) because it would lead a “hypothetical unsophisticated consumer” to...more
In a precedential opinion rendered last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that the disclosure of a consumer’s account number through the transparent window of a debt collector’s envelope violates...more
The debt collection industry continues to be a major focus of the Federal Trade Commission’s enforcement efforts, as shown by the agency’s decision to simultaneously announce two settlements last week with Tennessee and New...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently articulated a standard for verifying a debt under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in Haddad v. Alexander, Zelmanski, Danner & Fioritto, PLLC. The FDCPA...more
The New York Attorney General and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently announced a joint debt collection enforcement action that had been filed last month in federal court in Buffalo, New York, against several corporations...more
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced a consent order with a subprime auto lender for alleged violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and the Fair...more
In its Spring 2014 Supervisory Highlights report issued yesterday, the CFPB highlighted deficiencies and violations it found during examinations of consumer reporting agencies (CRAs), debt collectors and payday lenders. The...more
A collection letter violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) because it stated that the debtor could only dispute the debt in writing, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled. The Fourth...more
In a per curiam decision last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit suggested that percentage-based debt collection fees are permissible under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) if they are...more
A settlement with the operator of five Buffalo-area debt collection companies announced on November 21, 2013, by New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman marks the latest chapter in the Attorney General's targeting of...more
The Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) on debt collection issued by the CFPB earlier this week solicits comments on an array of issues relating to the debt collection practices of third-party debt collectors and...more
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that it had settled a case representing its first action challenging a debt collector’s use of text messages.
In its complaint, the FTC alleged that the defendant debt...more
The CFPB is poised to further ramp up its oversight of the debt collection industry. According to a Bloomberg report by Carter Dougherty, Director Cordray said in an interview earlier this week that the CFPB “will be looking...more
The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) has proposed new regulations that would impose significant disclosure and other requirements on persons engaged in the collection of consumer debts....more
The Cuomo administration, through the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS), recently announced aggressive enforcement-related activities in an ongoing DFS investigation designed to stop supposedly unlawful...more
Collection documentation and medical debts proved to be the focus of much of yesterday’s Senate Banking Committee hearing on the debt industry. The witnesses were Corey Stone, CFPB Assistant Director, Office of Deposits,...more
The Federal Trade Commission’s recent announcement that it entered into a record settlement with “the world’s largest debt collection operation” demonstrates that it intends to continue its vigorous enforcement of the Fair...more
Jeff Sovern has written an interesting blog post about the CFPB’s recent Bulletin 2013-07 that warns creditors and servicers who are not covered by the FDCPA that their collection practices are subject to the CFPB’s authority...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made clear that debt collection continues to be a major focus by issuing two new bulletins and five action letters for consumers to use when responding to debt collectors....more
A collection letter violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) because it stated that the debtor could only dispute the debt in writing, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled....more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s second annual report to Congress on enforcement of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) confirms that debt collection will continue to be a major CFPB focus in 2013....more
A collection letter violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) because its invitation to call a toll-free number could be read by the “least sophisticated debtor” to permit the debt to be effectively disputed by...more
A nationwide settlement of three class actions involving claims that a creditor’s practice of using “robo-signed” affidavits in debt collection actions violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) has been...more
A prevailing defendant in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) case can recover costs even without a court finding that the plaintiff filed suit in bad faith and for the purpose of harassment, the U.S. Supreme Court...more