On July 14, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) filed a status report announcing its decision not to reissue its Medical Debt Collection Advisory Opinion, which had been issued in 2024 to “remind debt...more
7/18/2025
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Reports ,
Debt Collection ,
Enforcement ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Healthcare ,
Medical Debt ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements
n June 23, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released an update to its 2015 report on Americans who did not have a credit record (credit invisibles) or who had insufficient credit history to have a...more
7/3/2025
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Credit Reports ,
Credit Scores ,
Data Collection ,
Debt ,
Equal Access to Credit ,
Loans ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Student Loans
In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit clarified the expectations for furnishers when investigating consumer disputes under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). In Suluki v. Credit One Bank,...more
6/5/2025
/ Appeals ,
Consumer Complaint Management ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Credit Cards ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Credit Reports ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Identity Theft ,
Investigations ,
Lenders ,
Summary Judgment
According to a recent report by WebRecon, court filings under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and complaints filed with the...more
On January 30, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released its updated list of consumer reporting companies for 2025. The list includes nationwide consumer reporting companies as well as several other...more
2/4/2025
/ Consumer Credit Protection ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Credit Reports ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Identity Theft ,
Reporting Requirements
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) finalized a rule aimed at removing an estimated $49 billion in medical bills from the consumer reports of approximately 15 million Americans. This rule amends...more
1/9/2025
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Consumer Reports ,
Credit Reports ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Healthcare ,
Medical Debt ,
Regulation V ,
Trade Associations
Recently, the Eastern District of Kentucky denied a motion to dismiss under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) after finding the plaintiffs alleged sufficient facts to support a reasonable inference that credit reports were...more
1/8/2025
/ Class Action ,
Compliance ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Privacy Rights ,
Credit Reports ,
Data Privacy ,
Data Security ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgage Lenders
On January 7, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) finalized its rule aimed at removing an estimated $49 billion in medical bills from the consumer reports of approximately 15 million Americans....more
On December 9, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) announced the launch of a rulemaking process addressing credit reporting on survivors of domestic violence, elder abuse, and other forms of financial...more
12/13/2024
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Coercion ,
Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Credit Reports ,
Domestic Violence ,
Elder Abuse ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Abuse ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Public Comment ,
Regulation V ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Vulnerable Victims
On September 24, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a package of consumer protection laws, with three bills aimed directly at collection practices. These new laws introduce significant changes in the areas of...more
On May 16, the Illinois legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 2933. The bill amends the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act making it unlawful for a consumer reporting agency (CRA) to create a consumer...more
In an unpublished decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently affirmed the decision of a California district court finding that the furnisher conducted a reasonable investigation under the Fair Credit...more
Earlier this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released its second report detailing changes in the credit reporting of medical debts made by the three national consumer reporting agencies (CRAs)...more
In a recent speech at the National Consumer Law Center/National Association of Consumer Advocates Spring Training, Seth Frotman, General Counsel of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau), focused on medical...more
4/16/2024
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Credit Reports ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Healthcare ,
Healthcare Costs ,
Medical Bills ,
Rent
On April 2, the California Senate Judicial Committee passed Senate Bill 1061. The bill seeks to prevent health care providers and contracted collection agencies from providing information about patients’ medical debt to...more
4/8/2024
/ California ,
Credit Cards ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Credit Reports ,
Data Collection ,
Healthcare ,
Medical Debt ,
Personal Data ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State and Local Government ,
State Attorneys General
Consumer reporting dominates complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), according to a new report....more
A federal district court judge in Nevada recently denied competing motions for summary judgment in a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) furnisher investigation case, demonstrating the challenges FCRA litigants often face in...more
On January 11, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued two “advisory opinions” addressing the CFPB’s views of the obligations of consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) under the Fair Credit Reporting Act...more
On December 8, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the agencies) filed an amici curiae brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to reverse a...more
The Fair Credit Reporting Act saw no shortage of activity in the first half of 2023. That activity included federal and state legislation. Congress has introduced several bills intended to amend the FCRA — and on the state...more
A U.S. District Court in the Southern District of California recently held that a Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 offer of judgment must clearly state that attorneys’ fees and costs are limited or waived, as Arvest Central...more
12/7/2023
/ Attorney's Fees ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA) ,
Consumer Litigation ,
Credit Reports ,
Damages ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Forbearance Agreements ,
Mortgages ,
Offer of Judgment ,
Rule 68 ,
Statutory Violations
The first half of 2023 has produced significant developments for the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Important decisions have come from multiple areas of the field, including the federal courts of appeals and regulatory...more
11/30/2023
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Consumer Reports ,
Credit Reporting Agencies ,
Credit Reports ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Fraud ,
Identity Theft ,
Oral Argument
On November 9, a magistrate judge in the Northern District of Georgia issued a Report & Recommendation to grant a motion to dismiss because the plaintiff’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claims were time-barred...more
11/21/2023
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Credit Reports ,
Data Brokers ,
Debt Buyers ,
Debt Collectors ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Statute of Limitations
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals overruled a district court’s reading of an exception into §1681s-2(b) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that would allow a furnisher discretion to refuse to investigate an indirect...more
Recently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (collectively, the agencies) filed an amici curiae brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to reverse a...more