Last Friday, as expected, the FTC announced the launch of a coordinated federal-state law enforcement initiative targeting deceptive student loan debt relief companies. ...more
A recent flurry of FTC enforcement activity targeting companies offering student loan debt relief services suggests such companies could be the subject of the announcement scheduled for tomorrow “of a major coordinated...more
A debt-collection law firm's overstatements in a state court complaint of $3,000 in the principal amount due and 0.315 percent in the interest rate were actionable under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) as...more
The CFPB has released a new report, “Older consumers and student loan debt by state.” The new report is intended to be a supplement to the CFPB’s January 2017 “Snapshot” report that contained statistics on the growing number...more
The CFPB has filed an amicus brief in support of the Department of Education’s appeal asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to vacate a preliminary injunction entered by the Court of Federal Claims that...more
The CFPB has issued two new reports concerning student loans. The first report, “CFPB Data Point: Student Loan Repayment,” examines how the payment patterns of student loan borrowers have changed over the last 14 years. The...more
Regulators from the states of Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota and North Dakota (“Participating States”) have entered into a settlement agreement with three affiliated debt collection companies to settle...more
Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought against a foreclosure firm—Reimer, Arnovitz, Chernek & Jeffrey (the Reimer firm)—under the Fair Debt Collection Practices...more
In a 7-4 en banc decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that the bona fide error defense in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) did not protect a debt collector who complied with...more
The CFPB has issued a new compliance bulletin (2017-11) to provide guidance on pay-by-phone fees. The guidance includes examples of conduct relating to pay-by-phone practices identified by the CFPB in its supervision and...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought against Midland Funding, LLC (Midland), and its collection law firm under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)....more
The West Virginia Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of a debt collector in an action alleging a violation of West Virginia’s Consumer Credit and Protection Act. In its June 12 decision, the court held that call volume,...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that a purchaser of defaulted debt did not qualify as a debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) because it did not collect debts "due another", but...more
A federal district court in New Jersey dismissed a putative class-action lawsuit against Total Card, Inc. (TCI), a South Dakota-based debt collector. The plaintiff alleged that TCI violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices...more
In a notice published earlier this week in the Federal Register, the CFPB announced that it plans to seek OMB approval to conduct an online survey of approximately 8,000 individuals as part of its research on debt collection...more
Filing a proof of claim in a debtor's Chapter 13 bankruptcy case on a debt that is "obviously time barred" does not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 5-3 decision....more
The CFPB has issued its April 2017 complaint report that highlights student loan complaints. The report also highlights complaints from consumers in Nevada and the Las Vegas metro area....more
A group of 20 state attorneys general, the D.C. attorney general, and the Executive Director of the Office of Consumer Protection of Hawaii have sent a letter to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos criticizing...more
4/27/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Debt Collection ,
Department of Education ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Loan Servicer ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Student Loans
A collection letter potentially violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) because a box the plaintiff could check to indicate she disputed the validity of the debt was accompanied by a statement that a reason...more
The CFPB has issued another request for information about the credit card market that identifies significant new issues of CFPB interest. The request is intended to inform the CFPB’s biennial review of the credit card market...more
3/10/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
CARD Act ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Creditors ,
Debt Collection ,
Deferred Interest Products ,
EMV ,
Innovation ,
Online Banking ,
Request For Information ,
Rewards Programs ,
Subprime Loans
In a new white paper, “An Overview of the Analytical Flaws and Methodological Shortcomings of the CFPB’s Survey of Consumer Experiences with Debt Collection,” ACA International takes aim at the report released by the CFPB in...more
A collection letter potentially violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) because a box that the plaintiff could check to indicate that she disputed the validity of the debt was accompanied by a statement that a...more
The CFPB recently revised the prototype student loan Payback Playbook disclosures it has been developing with the Departments of Education and Treasury. These revisions were based on feedback from nearly 3,500 individual...more
A law firm's letter, warning that a lien would be recorded against a woman's home if she failed to pay her annual homeowners association fees, is not exempt from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) as an attempt to...more
The CFPB has filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiff in Arias v. Gutman, Mintz, Baker & Sonnenfeldt, PC and 1700 Development Co., a FDCPA case on appeal to the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In its...more
11/17/2016
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Default Judgment ,
Elder Issues ,
FDCPA ,
Garnishment ,
Landlords ,
Rent ,
Social Security Benefits ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices