The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled last week in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. Navient Corp. that the PA Attorney General could bring a parallel enforcement action against Navient, a servicer of federal...more
8/5/2020
/ Constitutional Challenges ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Department of Education ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Student Loans ,
Higher Education Act ,
Misrepresentation ,
Preemption ,
State Attorneys General ,
Student Loans ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The CFPB announced that it has entered into a proposed settlement with several of the defendants in the lawsuit it filed in January 2020 in a California federal district court that alleges the defendants obtained consumer...more
The CFPB has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s lawsuit against Navient Corp. The PA AG’s lawsuit includes claims that Navient violated the...more
9/6/2019
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Appointments Clause ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Navient ,
Regulatory Violations ,
State Attorneys General ,
Student Loans ,
Take Care Clause ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) has issued proposed regulations to implement the legislation enacted in April 2019 that requires servicers of student loans to be licensed, imposes servicing standards,...more
8/13/2019
/ Comment Period ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Cybersecurity ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Licensing Rules ,
Loan Servicer ,
NYDFS ,
Popular ,
Proposed Regulation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Student Loans ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The CFPB has issued an update to its 2016 advisory that contained recommendations for banks and credit unions on how to prevent, recognize, report, and respond to financial exploitation of older Americans....more
The Consumer Education Foundation, a California-based nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, has filed a petition with the FTC asking it to investigate the use of “secret surveillance scores” in the U.S. marketplace....more
7/2/2019
/ Algorithms ,
Analytics ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Data Collection ,
Data Management ,
Data Points ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Investigations ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
A new (and perhaps final) chapter was added to the tale of ITT Educational Services, Inc. last week with the CFPB’s announcement that it had settled the lawsuit it filed against Student CU Connect CUSO, LLC (CU Connect), a...more
6/20/2019
/ Abusive Acts ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Interest Rates ,
Loan Forgiveness ,
Private Student Loans ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Special Purpose Entities ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
At the end of last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced that they have entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) “to provide mutual assistance in the oversight and...more
12/18/2018
/ Advertising ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Department of Veterans Affairs ,
Educational Institutions ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Student Enrollment ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Veterans
The New York Attorney General has filed a lawsuit against a group of commonly owned and managed companies headquartered in New York that include companies operating retail jewelry stores in numerous states under the name...more
11/1/2018
/ Charitable Sales Promotion ,
Consumer Fraud ,
Credit Financing ,
Enforcement Actions ,
False Advertising ,
Interest Rates ,
Markups ,
Military Service Members ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Retailers ,
State Attorneys General ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Usury
Resolving tension between New York and federal law, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that a debtor must show that a debt collector's alleged false representation was material for it to be a "false,...more
8/3/2018
/ Consumer Financial Products ,
Creditors ,
Debt Collection ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Foreclosure ,
Judicial Intervention ,
Misrepresentation ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The CFPB announced that it has entered into a consent order with Security Group Inc. and its subsidiaries (Security Group) to settle an administrative enforcement action that charged the companies with having engaged in...more
6/15/2018
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA) ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Reports ,
Debt Collection ,
Enforcement Actions ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Popular ,
UDAAP ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
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
Safe harbor language is not always safe, as illustrated by a recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Boucher v. Finance System of Green Bay....more
A New York federal district court dismissed the counterclaims of the defendants in a CFPB enforcement action claiming that, pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act (EAJA), they were entitled to fees and expenses incurred....more
The Illinois House of Representatives and Senate have voted to override the veto by the state’s Republican governor of Senate Bill 1351, known as the Illinois Student Loan Servicing Rights Act. ...more
11/10/2017
/ Congressional Override ,
Consumer Complaint Management ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Governor Vetoes ,
Licensing Rules ,
New Legislation ,
Ombudsman ,
State and Local Government ,
Student Loans ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The FTC has entered a proposed consent order with Victory Media, Inc. (VMI) to settle the FTC’s charges that VMI violated Section 5 of the FTC Act by engaging in deceptive acts or practices in connection with its promotion of...more
10/27/2017
/ Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Continuing Education ,
Educational Institutions ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FTC Act ,
Marketing ,
Military Service Members ,
Misrepresentation ,
Promotional Items ,
Section 5 ,
Social Media ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices ,
Veterans
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
One of the hallmarks of the CFPB’s enforcement actions has been its use of those actions to announce new legal standards. Navient attacks this enforcement strategy in its motion to dismiss a recent case brought against it by...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
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed an action against nine auto dealerships and their individual owners in a California federal court that the FTC described as its "first action against an auto dealer for 'yo-yo'...more
10/14/2016
/ Advertising ,
Automotive Industry ,
Automotive Loans ,
Banking Sector ,
Car Dealerships ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Regulation M ,
Regulation Z ,
Retail Installment Sales Contracts ,
Title Loans ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
The CFPB announced that it has entered into a consent order with Bridgepoint Education, Inc., the owner of two for-profit colleges, to settle charges that the company’s representatives engaged in deceptive acts or practices...more
9/13/2016
/ Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Colleges ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Educational Institutions ,
For Profit Colleges ,
For Profit Education ,
Student Loans ,
Students ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
A recent Federal Trade Commission (FTC) consent order with two Ohio auto dealers creates uncertainty not only for auto dealers, but also for all other businesses advertising credit or lease offers. The order settled...more
7/20/2016
/ Auto Lease ,
Automotive Industry ,
Automotive Loans ,
Car Dealerships ,
Consent Order ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Lenders ,
Credit Ratings ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
False Advertising ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
FTC Act ,
Popular ,
Section 5 ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
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
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has finalized changes to its telemarketing sales rule (TSR) that will prohibit sellers and telemarketers from creating or accepting remotely created payment orders or checks, cash-to-cash...more