The CFPB announced that it has entered into a settlement with Afni, Inc. to address its alleged FCRA violations in furnishing consumer information to consumer reporting agencies (CRAs). Afni is a debt collector specializing...more
The CFPB filed an amicus brief in Hopkins v. Collecto, Inc., an appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in support of the debt collector’s position that it did not violate the FDCPA by sending the...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s judgment on the pleadings in favor of the defendants (a debt buyer and a collection agency) in a putative class action that alleged the...more
On October 4, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 1313, which prohibits postsecondary schools from withholding transcripts as a debt collection tool. The law is effective January 1, 2020.
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The CFPB has issued a new report on tradelines reported by third-party debt collectors as reflected on credit reports compiled by nationwide consumer reporting agencies. The third-party collector tradelines consist of those...more
7/23/2019
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Reporting Agencies ,
Credit Reports ,
Debt Buyers ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Medical Debt ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Third-Party Service Provider
On June 14, 2019, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 996, which amends Chapter 392 of the Texas Finance Code dealing with debt collection. The amendments are effective September 1, 2019. ...more
6/24/2019
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Debt Buyers ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
New Legislation ,
Rulemaking Process ,
State and Local Government ,
Third-Party Service Provider
Plans announced on May 15 by the FCC to empower voice service providers to offer more aggressive call-blocking programs could create significant problems for creditors and debt collectors. ...more
One day after announcing its notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the CFPB held a town hall at the University of Pennsylvania to discuss the major aspects of the proposal,...more
The CFPB has issued its eighth annual Fair Debt Collection Practices Act report covering the CFPB’s and FTC’s activities in 2018....more
Debt collectors should take note of a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit holding that a Texas federal district court was justified in relying on "special circumstances"...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently ruled that an auto repossession company's alleged demand that a debtor pay an administrative property retrieval fee to retrieve personal property left in her...more
In Loja v. Main Street Acquisition Corporation, the plaintiff filed a lawsuit in federal district court for alleged FDCPA violations against Main Street Acquisition Corporation and the law firm it retained to file a state...more
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 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
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 U.S. Supreme Court announced on June 28 that it had granted a petition for a writ of certiorari to review the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, et al.,...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
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
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 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 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 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
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