For the past year, the industry’s attention has been focused on the Debt Collection Rule (the “Rule”), its changes, and the new expectations it will place on debt collectors; but as the rubber meets the road, collection...more
Last month, the entire ARM industry was caught by surprise when the Eleventh Circuit held that a debt collector’s transmittal of information to a third-party letter vendor violated Section 1692c(b) of the FDCPA. Hunstein v....more
The FDCPA provides a bona fide error defense for debt collectors who can show by a preponderance of the evidence that their violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error notwithstanding the maintenance of...more
Section 1692a(3) defines a consumer as any natural person obligated or allegedly obligated to pay a consumer debt. The final debt collection rule interprets the definition of a consumer to include deceased natural...more
While it remains to be seen what, if any, changes a change in leadership in the CFPB will bring to the Debt Collection Rule, for now collection agencies should begin readying themselves for a November 30th effective date. Now...more
On December 18, 2020, the CFPB published the remainder of its Final Debt Collection Rule (the “Rule”) highlighting its crown jewel - the provisions centering around debt validation notices. While the bulk of Part 2...more
The Sixth Circuit recently weighed in on whether there is a “benign language” exception to Section 1692f(8) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the “FDCPA”). In Donovan v. FirstCredit, Inc., No. 20-3485, 2020 U.S....more
On October 30, 2020, the CFPB published its long awaited Final Debt Collection Rule (the “Rule”) which is intended to interpret the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the “FDCPA”) and clarify how new communication...more
The House has passed a bipartisan bill that amends the FDCPA to provide additional protections to servicemembers. The bill, H.R. 5003, amends 15 U.S.C. §§1692c and f to add provisions regarding communications to...more
A recent opinion issued by the Sixth Circuit should prove helpful to attorneys facing unsettled issues of state law. As drolly described by the Court, “[a] lawyer sued two lawyers, and each side hired more lawyers. Five years...more
On November 14, 2019, the House Committee on Financial Services passed the following bills which would amend the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and tighten consumer protections. The bills will now make their way...more
The Eleventh Circuit recently affirmed a Florida bankruptcy court’s denial of plaintiff’s motion for sanctions. In doing so, the Court rejected the consumer’s attempt to import the FDCPA’s “least sophisticated consumer”...more
The Third Circuit recently doubled-down on its decision in Douglass v. Convergent Outsourcing, 765 F.3d 299 (3rd Cir. 2014). In Douglass, the Third Circuit held that displaying an internal collection agency reference number...more
More than five years after it issued its Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the CFPB appears poised to issue its proposed debt collection rules. The first hint that this was imminent came in the fall of 2018 when the...more
4/24/2019
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Dispute Resolution ,
Electronic Communications ,
FDCPA ,
SBREFA ,
Third-Party
A recent District Court decision serves as a reminder to both Plaintiffs and Defendants to properly scrutinize a complaint for well-pleaded factual allegations. In Walker v. Lyons, Doughty & Veldhuis, P.C., et. al, No....more
A recent case from a New York district court serves as a reminder that a single word in a debt collection letter may cause a wave of implications if enough further information is not supplied. In Leonard v. Capital...more
A district court in Michigan recently dismissed an FDCPA action, holding that a letter which included a bankruptcy disclaimer was for informational purposes only and did not violate the FDCPA. Tyler v. Fabrizio & Brook,...more
The CFPB has issued its Semi-Annual Report to Congress for the time period beginning April 1, 2018 and ending September 30, 2018. The Report is the first issued by newly confirmed Director Kathy Kraninger and outlines the...more
3/1/2019
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Consumer Complaint System ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Credit Reports ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
FDCPA ,
Information Reports ,
Mortgage Lenders ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
Payday Lending Rule ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SBREFA
Just four days after the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP regarding whether non-judicial foreclosures qualify as debt collection under the FDCPA, the Sixth Circuit doubled down on...more
District Court Takes Expansive View of Deceptive or Misleading Practices under FDCPA -
The FDCPA prohibits a debt collector from using "any false, deceptive, or misleading representation" in connection with the collection...more
5/11/2018
/ Administrative Appointments ,
Article III ,
ATDS ,
Collection Agencies ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Reports ,
Debt Collection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
FCC ,
FDCPA ,
Fees ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreclosure ,
Interest Accrual ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Safe Harbors ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
TCPA ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
A district court has dismissed an FDCPA action based on a bona fide error after reviewing the collection firm’s extensive pre-suit procedures and determining they were reasonably calculated to avoid any errors. Guynn v....more
On April 19, 2018, the CFPB’s Successor in Interest Rules take effect. Here’s what you need to know:
What do the Successor in Interest Rules require?
The Rules are really modifications to the Mortgage Servicing Rules...more
The Seventh Circuit recently joined the Fourth and Ninth Circuits in holding that a debt collection discharges its obligation as to debt validation by verifying that its letters accurately conveyed the information received...more
The Seventh Circuit recently joined the Fourth and Ninth Circuits in holding that a debt collection discharges its obligation as to debt validation by verifying that its letters accurately conveyed the information received...more
The House Financial Services Committee voted 35-25 on March 21, 2018 to advance H.R. 5082, officially known as the “Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2018,” to the full House of Representatives. The bill, if...more