A federal district court in Florida has ruled that a debt collector did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by sending a collection letter in an envelope that allegedly revealed a barcode in which the...more
In its Fall 2016 Supervisory Highlights, which covers supervision work generally completed between May and August 2016, the CFPB highlights violations found by its examiners involving origination and servicing of auto...more
11/7/2016
/ Ability-to-Repay ,
Automotive Loans ,
Banking Sector ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Lending ,
FDCPA ,
Fees ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HMDA ,
Industry Examinations ,
Limited English Proficiency (LEP) ,
Mortgage Loan Originators ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
Popular ,
Regulation E ,
Regulation Z ,
Student Loans ,
Supervisory Highlights ,
UDAAP
The CFPB has released its fifth Annual report of the CFPB Student Loan Ombudsman discussing complaints received by the CFPB about private and federal student loans and the lessons drawn by the Ombudsman from those complaints....more
10/20/2016
/ Banking Sector ,
Borrowers ,
Consumer Complaint System ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Debt Collection ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Financial Institutions ,
Ombudsman ,
Student Loans
The Ninth Circuit has ruled that the FDCPA requirement in 15 U.S.C. §1692g(a) for “a debt collector” to send a validation notice either in “the initial communication” or “[w]ithin five days after the initial communication...more
A debt collector did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by filing proofs of claim in bankruptcy cases on debts that were time-barred by Maryland’s statute of limitations (SOL), a divided U.S. Court of...more
9/12/2016
/ Bankruptcy Code ,
Chapter 13 ,
Consumer Bankruptcy ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Debt Buyers ,
Debt Collection ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Proof of Claims ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Time-Barred Debt
A plaintiff did not have Article III standing to assert claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for alleged autodialed calls made to her without her consent, a California federal district court recently...more
9/7/2016
/ Article III ,
ATDS ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Banking Sector ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Invasion of Privacy ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Robocalling ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
TCPA
The CFPB’s Student Loan Ombudsman has released a new “Mid-year update on student loan complaints” that highlights issues related to income-driven repayment plan (IDR) application issues.
The update covers complaints...more
A plaintiff did not have Article III standing to assert claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) for alleged autodialed calls made to her without her consent, a California federal district court recently...more
8/22/2016
/ Article III ,
Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Banking Sector ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Debt Collection ,
Dismissals ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Popular ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Robocalling ,
Standing ,
TCPA
A debt collection law firm did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by leaving a voicemail message for the plaintiff that identified the law firm but did not expressly state that the law firm was a debt...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has vacated the district court's decision in Bock v. Pressler & Pressler, LLP in which the district court ruled that a debt collection law firm violated the Fair Debt Collection...more
8/5/2016
/ Appeals ,
Article III ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Injury-in-Fact ,
Spokeo v Robins ,
Standing ,
Statutory Damages
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has moved a step closer to issuing a debt collection rule by releasing an outline of the proposals it is considering in preparation for convening a small business review panel....more
8/1/2016
/ Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Buyers ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Dodd-Frank ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Institutions ,
SBREFA ,
Small Business ,
Third-Party Service Provider ,
Time-Barred Debt
The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Consumer Protection issued a Staff Comment on June 16, 2016, supporting several of the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) proposed regulations implementing amendments to...more
In a new white paper, ACA International, a trade association for members of the credit and collection industry, argues that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) must be modernized to accurately reflect the current...more
In St. John v. Cach, LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently issued an opinion holding that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) does not prohibit debt collectors from filing collection...more
The New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) announced last week that it had entered into consent judgments with Webcollex LLC d/b/a CKS Financial (CKS) and National Credit Adjusters (NCA) for allegedly violating the...more
The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 (Act) amended the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to remove the prior express consent requirement for calls ''made solely to collect a debt owed to or guaranteed by the United...more
5/13/2016
/ ATDS ,
Banking Sector ,
Bipartisan Budget ,
Cell Phones ,
Comment Period ,
Debt Collection ,
FCC ,
Federal Loans ,
Mortgages ,
NPRM ,
Prior Express Consent ,
TCPA
The new Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) exemption for calls made to cellular numbers to collect debts owed to or guaranteed by the United States applies retroactively to calls made before the exemption's effective...more
4/18/2016
/ ATDS ,
Bipartisan Budget ,
Cell Phones ,
Debt Collection ,
Exemptions ,
FCC ,
Federal Loans ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Popular ,
Retroactive Application ,
TCPA
When a consumer's current balance will increase over time due to interest and late fees, a debt collection notice must disclose this information, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled. In Avila v....more
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently published a reminder to debt collectors of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) compliance risks that are created by the use of social media or text messages in connection...more
4/1/2016
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Cell Phones ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Facebook ,
FDCPA ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Popular ,
Risk Management ,
Social Media ,
TCPA ,
Text Messages
A recent letter from Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Tom Wheeler describes the regulations being considered by the FCC for implementing new Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) exemptions for calls made...more
3/16/2016
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Debt Collection ,
Exemptions ,
FCC ,
IRS ,
NPRM ,
Popular ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Robocalling ,
TCPA
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received more than 3 million consumer complaints in 2015 with debt collection topping the list, according to its newly released Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book. The annual report, which...more
A creditor that received a consumer's cell phone number through an intermediary had the consumer's ''prior express consent'' under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) to receive calls from a debt collector, the U.S....more
2/29/2016
/ Auto-Dialed Calls ,
Cell Phones ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Debt Collection ,
FCC ,
Health Care Providers ,
Popular ,
Prior Express Consent ,
Putative Class Actions ,
Summary Judgment ,
TCPA
A new white paper issued by ACA International takes aim at the use of CFPB complaint data by The Alliance for a Just Society in a report titled “Unfair, Deceptive, and Abusive: Debt Collectors Profit from Aggressive Tactics.”...more
A debt collector did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by leaving a voicemail message on a cell phone shared by the debtor with her boyfriend because it was not reasonably foreseeable that he would...more
The FTC has sent a letter to the CFPB summarizing the FTC’s debt collection activities in 2015. The letter is intended to provide the CFPB with information for its annual report to Congress on the federal government’s FDCPA...more