WebRecon’s year-end data confirms that 2025 was one of the most active years for consumer litigation in recent memory. While Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) filings dipped slightly in December, filings under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) both rose substantially for the month, and complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) increased as well. What stands out most from the year in review, however, is that every major category of litigation and complaint activity was higher in 2025 than in 2024, underscoring the sustained, elevated litigation exposure companies have faced throughout the year.
For the final month of the year, FDCPA cases increased by more than a third compared to November, and FCRA filings grew by more than 15 percent. TCPA remained the one category that did not record a monthly increase, falling nominally from November’s totals. CFPB complaints rose almost 12 percent in December, continuing a trend of complaint growth that closed out 2025 at roughly double the level seen in the prior year. On a full-year basis, every statute tracked by WebRecon, TCPA, FDCPA, and FCRA, ended 2025 well ahead of its 2024 totals, and CFPB complaints jumped dramatically.
Key Statistics
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Complaints: 29,618 complaints filed in December (+11.7 % from November). Year-to-date (YTD) complaints nearly doubled, rising from roughly 159,000 in 2024 to over 302,000 in 2025.
- Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA): 458 cases filed in December (+36.3 % from November); putative class actions represented 9 % of filings.
- Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA): 749 cases filed (+15.6 % from November); class actions accounted for 1.3 % of filings.
- Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA): 222 cases filed (a slight decrease from November); TCPA class actions still represented a historically high 68 % of TCPA filings.
- Unique Plaintiffs: Approximately 1,168 unique plaintiffs filed consumer statute lawsuits in December.
- Repeat Filers: Roughly 44 % of December plaintiffs had filed at least one prior action.
- Total 2025 Lawsuits: 13,620 total lawsuits filed in 2025, including 4,534 FDCPA, 8,369 FCRA, and 2,810 TCPA. All above their respective 2024 totals.
- Unique Plaintiffs YTD: About 11,407 unique plaintiffs filed suit across consumer statutes in 2025.
Most Active Courts
- Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta (84 lawsuits)
- Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago (77)
- California Central District Court – Los Angeles – Western Division (51)
- Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale (47)
- Florida Southern District Court – Miami (47)
- Texas Southern District Court – Houston (45)
- Florida Middle District Court – Orlando (41)
- Florida Middle District Court – Tampa (41)
- California Southern District Court – San Diego (36)
- Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia (32)
Top States for CFPB Complaints
- Texas (4,657 complaints)
- Florida (3,369)
- California (3,174)
- Georgia (2,581)
- Arizona (2,013)
- North Carolina (1,071)
- New York (1,020)
- South Carolina (1,010)
- Pennsylvania (866)
- Illinois (845)
The 2025 year-in-review data underlines how persistent and pervasive litigation risk has been across the consumer protection landscape. Even with a slight monthly decline in TCPA filings in December, the volume of filings and complaints increased across nearly every category in 2025 compared with 2024. TCPA class actions, which comprised more than two-thirds of TCPA filings in December, remain at historically elevated levels and continue to pose disproportionate exposure. FDCPA and FCRA litigation both advanced significantly in December, and CFPB complaint volume closed the year near double its prior-year total.
