On November 5, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed a complaint against a company in connection with its mobile banking app, alleging violations of Section 5(a) of the FTC Act and Section 4 of the Restore Online...more
On September 13, the CFPB filed a complaint against a nonbank corporation and its CEO, alleging that the company engaged in deceptive and abusive acts through misleading advertising and unjustified, exorbitant fees related to...more
9/16/2024
/ CEOs ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Credit Cards ,
Enforcement ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Misleading Statements ,
Nonbank Firms ,
Subscription Services ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On July 29, the FTC filed a stipulated order settling claims against an online career-training company on the grounds that it engaged in deceptive advertising. In addition to injunctive relief barring the company from...more
On June 28, the FTC announced it had filed an action in federal court against a California-based student debt relief enterprise for deceptive practices, including unlawfully obtaining advance fees for debt relief, and...more
On June 17, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed an order to resolve its 2023 lawsuit against the former CEO of a short-term small dollar lender and his spouse, in connection with a series of fraudulent transfers...more
On June 4, the CFPB issued a circular targeting the deceptive use of fine print in consumer financial contracts to include unlawful or unenforceable terms. In a press release issued the same day, the CFPB stressed that these...more
On May 17, the CFPB filed a lawsuit against a California-based fintech that operates a nationwide website and mobile-application based peer-to-peer lending platform through which consumers can obtain small-dollar, short-term...more
On May 9, the CFPB issued a new report highlighting the issues consumers encounter with credit card rewards programs. The report was released in conjunction with a hearing co-hosted with the Department of Transportation and...more
On May 1, the FTC announced a settlement in federal court in the Northern District of Georgia against a payment processing company, along with its former CEO and senior vice president, for the company’s role in handling...more
On April 25, the FTC took action against a Washington-based bill payment company and its two co-founders alleging that the company used misleading search ads to impersonate consumers’ billers and deceptive design practices to...more
On April 4, Kentucky enacted HB 88, which will amend laws related to unlawful trade practices, and prohibit entities that are not banks or trust companies from:
- suggesting that they are engaged in banking or trust...more
On February 21, the Minnesota Attorney General settled an action against executives of a Montana-based tribal lender for alleged predatory lending practices. In its complaint, filed in October 2023, the AG alleged the company...more
On January 2, 2024, New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced “a sweeping consumer protection and affordability agenda,” what she termed as the “most significant expansion of consumer laws since 1980.” As part of that agenda,...more
On November 21, the FTC voted 3-0 to approve the omnibus resolution authorizing the use of compulsory process in nonpublic investigations involving products and services that use or claim to be produced using artificial...more
12/11/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Biden Administration ,
Civil Investigation Demand ,
Competition ,
COPPA ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Investigations ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
UDAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On November 21, a Washington-based bank confirmed through a public filing that it entered into a consent order with the FDIC alleging that the bank engaged in unsafe or unsound banking practices, primarily related to products...more
On November 20, the CFPB, along with 11 state attorneys general and state regulators, entered into a stipulated final judgement and order with a Delaware-based company and two affiliated companies (“defendants”) in the...more
On November 7, the FTC and the State of Florida settled with a chargeback mitigation company and its owners for $150,000. The chargeback company was allegedly using deceptive practices, including referencing disclaimers that...more
On September 11, the FTC announced that it had reached a settlement with two “people-search” companies which would resolve charges that the companies had engaged in practices that violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act...more
On July 19, the CPFB filed a complaint against a lease-to-own finance company, alleging that the company has offered and provided millions of “lease-purchase” and “rental-purchase” financing agreements in ways that have...more
7/20/2023
/ Advertising ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Misleading Statements ,
Misrepresentation ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On May 15, the Pennsylvania Attorney General Attorney General Michelle Henry announced a $11 million settlement with a rent-to-own lender and its subsidiaries accused of engaging in predatory financing practices. Among other...more
On January 11, the CFPB and a debt-collection law firm it sued in 2019 for illegal debt-collection practices reached settlement. The CFPB included in its initial complaint against the defendant allegations that the law firm...more
On September 15, the FTC released a report, Bringing Dark Patterns to Light, that shows an increase in the use of sophisticated “dark pattern” design practices by retailers intended to manipulate consumers into making...more
On September 1, the FTC issued an administrative complaint and consent order alleging that a credit services company harmed consumers by making false claims of “pre-approved” credit offers, enticing many consumers to apply...more
On August 9, the US District Court of Georgia ruled that the FTC had provided “broad and detailed evidence” for its allegations that a tech company and its CEO engaged in deceptive advertising and unfair fee practices in...more
The CFPB recently published a circular clarifying liability under consumer financial protection law for financial companies that fail to safeguard consumer data. The circular describes how firms may be violating the CFPA’s...more