In a move that could have ramifications for lawsuits filed by former FTC and NCUA board members, by a vote of 6-3 the Supreme Court has issued a stay that prohibits the Democratic members of the National Labor Relations Board...more
5/28/2025
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Executive Authority ,
Federal Reserve ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Government Agencies ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Layoffs ,
NCUA ,
NLRB ,
Regulatory Agencies ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
SCOTUS ,
Seila Law LLC v Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ,
Trump Administration
The two Democratic FTC members who were fired by President Trump have filed suit in federal court challenging their dismissal....more
4/3/2025
/ Appeals ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Dismissals ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
FTC Commissioners ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Judicial Authority ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Removal For-Cause ,
SCOTUS ,
Seila Law LLC v Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ,
Trump Administration
President Trump on Tuesday fired the remaining two Democratic members of the FTC, leaving only two Republicans on the commission. The commissioners, Alvaro Bedoy and Rebecca Slaughter, announced their dismissals on social...more
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down the FTC’s controversial CARS Rule, saying that the commission violated its own procedural rules by failing to issue an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“ANPRM”) before...more
2/5/2025
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Appeals ,
Automotive Industry ,
Car Dealerships ,
CARS Rule ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
FTC Act ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
A federal judge has issued a temporary injunction against Superior Servicing and its operator Dennise Merdjanian, following FTC allegations that the company claimed to be affiliated with the Department of Education, collected...more
1/7/2025
/ Borrowers ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Education ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Lenders ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Statutory Violations ,
Student Loans ,
Telemarketing Sales Rule ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Justice Department is asking a federal court to issue a permanent injunction against cash advance firm Dave Inc. and its CEO Jason Wilk, alleging that the company uses misleading marketing tactics to deceive consumers...more
1/7/2025
/ Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Deposit Advances ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Hidden Fees ,
Marketing ,
Misleading Impressions ,
Mobile Apps ,
Permanent Injunctions ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Today’s podcast episode is a re-purposing of a webinar we recorded on November 12, 2024. Our special guests for that webinar were Colin Carr, Vice-President of Congressional affairs at the Consumer Bankers Association and Ian...more
A federal court has ordered Harris Jewelry to reopen its claims process and to again notify consumers that they may submit their claims for refunds from the jewelry company....more
11/22/2024
/ Consumer Complaint System ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Financing ,
Jewelry ,
Military Lending Act ,
Military Service Members ,
Popular ,
Refunds ,
Settlement Agreements
The FTC has filed a complaint against the online cash advance app, Dave, charging that the company used misleading marketing to deceive consumers about the amount of its cash advances and charged consumers undisclosed fees...more
A federal judge has ordered debt collector, Global Circulation Inc. (GCI) to temporarily halt operations, following an FTC complaint that alleged GCI tricked consumers into paying more than $7.6 million in bogus debt by...more
One of the country’s largest automotive retailers filed suit against the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) on October 4, arguing that the Supreme Court’s recent landmark decision in Securities and Exchange Commission v....more
10/25/2024
/ Add-ons ,
Administrative Authority ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Administrative Proceedings ,
Article III ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Jury Trial ,
Public Rights Doctrine ,
SCOTUS ,
SEC v Jarkesy ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Seventh Amendment ,
Standing ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On October 16, the FTC issued its final amendments to the Negative Option Rule, which now applies to all negative option programs and includes a “click to cancel” provision intended to make it easier for consumers to cancel...more
Invitation Homes, the nation’s largest landlord of single-family homes, has agreed to pay $48 million and to stop a significant number of its rental practices, including misleading renters about lease costs and charging...more
The most frequent consumer debt collection complaints filed with the CFPB in 2023 were attempts to collect debts that actually were not owed, the bureau said in its annual Fair Debt Collection Practices Act report....more
9/12/2024
/ Consumer Complaint System ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Cards ,
Debt ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDCPA ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry
On August 15, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and Arizona Attorney General announced a proposed settlement with an Arizona-based vehicle dealership to resolve allegations that the dealership misrepresented prices...more
8/21/2024
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Arizona ,
Borrowers ,
Car Dealerships ,
CARS Rule ,
Consent ,
Consumer Fraud ,
ECOA ,
Fair Lending ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Section 5 ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Federal Trade Commission on August 14 announced a final trade regulation rule intended to fight fake reviews and testimonials by prohibiting their purchase or sale and by allowing the agency to seek civil penalties...more
8/21/2024
/ Celebrity Endorsements ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Fake Reviews ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Marketing ,
Online Reviews ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Social Media ,
Testimonial Statements ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The FTC has shut down Michigan-based Financial Education Services, a credit repair company that the agency says actually was a large pyramid scheme...more
Career Step LLC, an online career training company has been ordered to pay $43.5 million in cash and debt cancellation to resolve FTC charges that the company “lured consumers, specifically servicemembers and their families,...more
8/14/2024
/ Cancellation of Debt (COD) ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Debt ,
Debt Collection ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Military Service Members ,
Online Advertisements ,
Online Education ,
Redress Payments ,
Students
CarShield, a company that sells vehicle service contracts (VSCs), will pay $10 million to settle FTC allegations that its advertisements and telemarketing pitches deceived consumers, the agency announced on July 31....more
8/13/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Advertising ,
Automotive Industry ,
CARS Rule ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Marketing ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Section 5 ,
Service Contracts ,
Telemarketing ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has set oral arguments for Oct. 7 in the challenge of the Federal Trade Commission’s Combating Auto Retail Scams Rule (“CARS Rule”). The petition, filed on January 5, 2024 by the National...more
7/23/2024
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Car Dealerships ,
CARS Rule ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Motor Vehicles ,
Oral Argument ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On May 20, 2004, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) sent its annual report to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) highlighting its enforcement actions and initiatives in 2023 under the Truth in Lending Act...more
5/30/2024
/ Annual Reports ,
CARS Rule ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Leasing Act (CLA) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Electronic Fund Transfer Act ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Late Fees ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulation Z ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On April 17th, the CFPB issued a consent order to a for-profit training school alleging numerous violations of law related to its use if income share agreements (“ISAs”). According to the Bureau, BloomTech, Inc. (“BloomTech”)...more
4/29/2024
/ Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) ,
Educational Institutions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Holder Rule ,
Income Share Agreements ,
Regulation Z ,
Regulatory Violations ,
Truth in Lending Act (TILA) ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The FTC recently issued a report to Congress on its collaboration with state attorneys general. Titled “Working Together to Protect Consumers: A Study and Recommendations on FTC Collaboration with the State Attorneys...more
Our special guest is Malini Mithal, Associate Director of the FTC’s Division of Financial Practices. In this episode, which repurposes a recent webinar, we review highlights of FTC regulatory and enforcement activity in 2023...more
4/4/2024
/ Advertising ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
CARS Rule ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Cryptocurrency ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Fees ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
On February 29, 2024, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued Consumer Financial Protection Circular 2024-01, Preferencing and steering practices by digital intermediaries for consumer financial products or...more