WebRecon’s latest June 2025 report continues to reveal a general rise in the consumer complaint and litigation landscape based on year-to-date (YTD) figures. Since May 2025, Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) litigation...more
WebRecon's April 2025 report presents an intriguing mix of data in the consumer complaints and litigation landscape. Despite a downturn in April's case filings compared to March of this year, the year-to-date (YTD) statistics...more
On June 2, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued a decisive ruling in a case involving allegations that certain debt-relief service providers illegally collected advance fees in violation of the...more
In a recent decision, a New Jersey court reaffirmed the Judiciary Branch’s exclusive constitutional authority to regulate the practice of law within the state. The case involved a challenge to the “limited attorney exemption”...more
5/15/2025
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Protection Laws ,
Debt Collection ,
Judicial Authority ,
Legal Ethics ,
New Jersey ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Separation of Powers ,
Statutory Interpretation ,
Unconstitutional Condition
On April 8, 2025, the Connecticut Supreme Court, in Commonwealth Servicing Group, LLC v. Department of Banking, issued an opinion that only attorneys and law firms are permitted to claim the attorney exemption from the...more
4/24/2025
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Banking Sector ,
Connecticut ,
CT Supreme Court ,
Debt Collection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Government Agencies ,
Law Firm Partners ,
Licensing Rules ,
Statutory Interpretation
On April 16, 2025, Mark Paoletta, Chief Legal Officer of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or the Bureau), issued an internal memorandum to CFPB staff outlining the agency’s supervision and enforcement priorities...more
Just a week from North Carlina Senators proposing Senate Bill 491, which seeks to create an act to license, examine, and regulate debt settlement services, North Carolina House Representatives Howard (R), Setzer (R), B. Jones...more
On March 25, 2025, North Carolina Senators Johnson (R), Overcash (R), and Jackson (R) as primary sponsors introduced Senate Bill 491 (“S.B. 491” or the “Bill”), which seeks to license, examine, and regulate debt settlement...more
On February 28, 2025, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or the “Bureau”) filed a letter with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York in a case brought by the CFPB and seven state attorneys...more
On February 24, 2025, California Assemblymember Avelino Valencia (D-Anaheim) introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 1166, which seeks to amend and expand the state’s existing Fair Debt Settlement Practices Act (the “Act”) to include...more
Washington -
On January 24, 2025, Washington Representatives Reeves (D), Corry (R), and Walen (D) introduced House Bill (HB) 1599, which seeks to amend the state’s existing debt adjusting act. Currently, the Washington law...more
This article highlights the few newsworthy actions and events we wrote about the debt settlement industry throughout the year. The debt settlement industry did see some movement by regulatory bodies across the board, though...more
12/20/2023
/ Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Settlement Services ,
Debt-Relief Industry ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Injunctions ,
Marketing ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Robocalling ,
Student Loans
On November 20, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced that it had partnered with the 11 States of California, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina,...more
On July 26, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) published its periodic Supervisory Highlights, summer edition. These most recent Supervisory Highlights shed light on a range of unfair, deceptive, and...more
7/27/2023
/ Bank Deposits ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Debt Collection ,
EFTA ,
Fair Lending ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Information Technology ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Popular ,
Small Dollar Lenders ,
Supervisory Highlights
The CFPB is shifting its focus to FinTech and nonbank payment systems, circling back to past frontiers. This recent warning echoes the sentiment of former CFPB’s Director, Richard Cordray, focusing heavily on FinTechs and...more
On April 26, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released an advisory opinion to clarify that it is against the law for a debt collector to sue or threaten to sue in order to collect a time-barred debt, as...more
4/26/2023
/ Advisory Opinions ,
Affirmative Defenses ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
FDCPA ,
Foreclosure ,
Jurisdiction ,
Mortgages ,
Regulation F ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Time-Barred Debt
On March 23, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has taken action against one of the largest debt collectors in the United States, Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRA), for various violations of law,...more
3/29/2023
/ Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Documentation ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA) ,
Penalties ,
Refunds ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The California Consumer Financial Protection Law (“CCFPL”), established in September of 2020 under Governor Newsom, augmented the Department of Financial Protection & Innovation’s (“DFPI”) authoritative ability by increasing...more
3/28/2023
/ California ,
California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL) ,
Check Cashing ,
Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Repair Services ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Settlement Services ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Fees ,
Financing ,
Lead Generators ,
Licensing Rules ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Registration Requirement ,
Rent-to-Own Companies ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Retail Sales ,
Student Loans
On March 16, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a bulletin cautioning loan servicers about their responsibility to stop any illegal activity related to private student loans that have been discharged...more
3/23/2023
/ Bankruptcy Court ,
Bankruptcy Discharge Order ,
Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Debt ,
Debt Collection ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Illegal Activity ,
Lenders ,
Loan Servicer ,
Loans ,
Student Loans
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking action against Stratics Networks, a company that allegedly provided the technology for telemarketers to make tens of millions of illegal robocalls. The company's services were used...more