In Scheffler v. Gurstel Chargo, P.A., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit rejected a career plaintiff’s attempts to manufacture a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claim by baiting a debt collector into...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has ruled that although the plaintiffs had plausibly alleged facts stating a claim that a debt collector had violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by not using...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has ruled that because the plaintiff’s attorney had not yet filed a written appearance or pleading with the Illinois state court where the defendant law firm had filed a...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held in Tepper v. Amos Fin., LLC, that debt buyers (i.e., entities collecting, on their own behalf, consumer debts they acquired when the debts were in default), can qualify as...more
A report issued last week by the U.S. Treasury Department recommends sweeping regulatory changes intended to promote innovation in the consumer financial services market, reduce regulatory burdens on consumer financial...more
8/8/2018
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Information ,
Data Security ,
Debt Collection ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinTech ,
Innovation ,
Non-Bank Lenders ,
Online Marketplace Lending ,
Reassigned Phone Numbers ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Special Purpose National Bank Charter ,
Student Loans ,
TCPA ,
True Lender ,
U.S. Treasury ,
Valid When Made Doctrine
Resolving tension between New York and federal law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that a debtor must show that a debt collector's alleged false representation was material for it to be a "false,...more
8/3/2018
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Creditors ,
Debt Collection ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreclosure ,
Judicial Intervention ,
Misrepresentation ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
After a four-day trial, the Ohio federal district court hearing the CFPB’s lawsuit against a law firm, Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., L.P.A., found that the CFPB had failed to prove its FDCPA and CFPA claims by a preponderance...more
The CFPB announced that it has entered into a consent order with Security Group Inc. and its subsidiaries (Security Group) to settle an administrative enforcement action that charged the companies with having engaged in...more
6/15/2018
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Reports ,
Debt Collection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Popular ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The one-year statute of limitations (SOL) for Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claims begins to run when the alleged violation occurs and not when it is discovered, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit...more
A consumer's alleged oral revocation of consent to receive autodialed or prerecorded calls to his cell phone was ineffective under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) when his credit card agreement provided that...more
A company did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by creating a false impression that it was meaningfully involved in a medical center’s debt collection, even though it “did not engage in many of the...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently ruled that a debtor must show that a debt collector's alleged false representation was material for it to be a "false, deceptive, or misleading representation" in...more
The CFPB (referring to itself as the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection) has filed what appears to be its first amicus brief since former Director Cordray’s departure....more
The CFPB has issued its seventh annual Fair Debt Collection Practices Act report covering the CFPB’s and FTC’s activities in 2017.
The CFPB’s previous FDCPA annual reports began with a message from former Director Cordray....more
A letter sent to collect a time-barred debt that makes a settlement offer can, even without a threat of legal action, violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act's (FDCPA) general prohibition against a debt collector's use...more
2/19/2018
/ Appeals ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Settlement Offer ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Time-Barred Debt ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Safe harbor language is not always safe, as illustrated by a recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Boucher v. Finance System of Green Bay....more
A New York federal district court dismissed the counterclaims of the defendants in a CFPB enforcement action claiming that, pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), they were entitled to fees and expenses incurred....more
The saga of ITT Educational Services, Inc. appears to be drawing closer to an end, with ITT’s bankruptcy trustee and attorneys for former ITT students entering into a proposed class action settlement that would permanently...more
The CFPB has withdrawn its request to OMB to conduct an online survey of 8,000 individuals as part of its research on debt collection disclosures. Last month, the CFPB published a notice in the Federal Register that it was...more
12/19/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Freeze ,
SBREFA ,
Surveys ,
Time-Barred Debt
A federal district court in Pennsylvania recently granted summary judgment to a debtor in a lawsuit filed against a collection law firm under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)....more
A debt collector cannot avoid claims under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by purchasing the debtor's lawsuit, according to a recent opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. ...more
The CFPB has published a notice in the Federal Register that it has submitted to OMB its request to conduct an online survey of 8,000 individuals as part of its research on debt collection disclosures. Comments must be...more
11/20/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Federal Register ,
Financial Services Industry ,
OMB ,
SBREFA ,
Surveys ,
Time-Barred Debt
Businesses that have not already done so should consult with counsel regarding "consent to be called" provisions in their consumer contracts in the wake of the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit...more
The CFPB has issued a “50-state snapshot of student debt,” which provides student debt data on a state-by-state basis.
The report states that the complaint data “reflects over 50,000 student loan complaints and over 10,000...more
The CFPB has released the sixth annual report of the CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman containing an analysis of approximately 12,900 federal student loan complaints, 7,700 private student loan complaints, and 2,300 debt collection...more
10/20/2017
/ Annual Reports ,
Banking Sector ,
Consumer Complaint System ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Military Service Members ,
Ombudsman ,
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) ,
Student Loans