In addition to the states that, similar to Washington, have adopted “true lender” provisions, several states have recently enacted changes to their consumer loan licensing laws that expand the scope of the licensing...more
The Court of Appeals of Indiana recently upheld a lower court’s decision that a debt buyer who purchased a portfolio of defaulted student loans and placed an account with a collection agency qualifies as a “debt collector”...more
In a significant ruling on March 19, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals held that the CFPB can proceed with its lawsuit against a group of Delaware student loan trusts rejecting their claims that they are just passive...more
In November 2023, S.B. 668 was introduced in the Wisconsin Senate. S.B. 668 would make sweeping changes to the state laws governing financial service providers. The bill creates a pathway for the Wisconsin Department of...more
In a change of course, the Utah court of appeals has reversed the dismissal of a plaintiffs’ suit against a debt collector based on its alleged failure to register as a collection agency prior to filing collection suits....more
Colorado and New York are not waiting for the Fair Credit Reporting Act rulemaking to eliminate creditor use of medical debt announced by the CFPB in September 2023. As we previously blogged, in the past two years, Equifax,...more
On December 1, the State of Illinois’s Department of Financial and Professional Regulation promulgated final regulations implementing provisions of the Illinois Collection Agency Act. As previously covered by InfoBytes,...more
The Utah court of appeals has recently affirmed the dismissal of a plaintiff’s suit against a debt buyer based on its alleged failure to register as a collection agency prior to filing collection lawsuits. The court’s...more
The Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division in Jennifer Woo-Padva v. Midland Funding, LLC, recently affirmed the dismissal of consumer fraud claims brought against a debt collector pursuant to the New Jersey Consumer...more
In Hansen v. Mountain America Federal Credit Union, the plaintiff became delinquent on a credit card account with her credit union. The credit union then assigned the debt to a third-party collection agency. Following the...more
The Nevada Legislature recently passed Senate Bill 276 (“SB 276”), which permits employees of Collection Agencies to work from remote locations and exempts certain entities from qualifying as a “Collection Agency.” The...more
On March 21, the Connecticut Department of Banking fined a collection agency $10,000 and ordered it to cease and desist from collection agency activity for operating without a valid license. According to the order, the...more
Effective May 3, 2023, Utah House Bill 20 (Collection Agency Amendments) will repeal a majority of Utah's collection agency statutes located in Title 12 of the Utah Code. Signed by Utah Governor Spencer Cox on March 13, 2023,...more
With the new collection agency rule of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) having taken effect on November 30, 2021, we thought we could help round out your understanding of the collection agency laws by...more
With the CFPB having decided to leave the effective date of the Debt Collection Rule as November 30th, the push is on for debt collectors to ensure their compliance with the Rule by that date. As debt collectors make the...more
In This Issue. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a new Compliance Aid; the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed amendments to Form N-PX with the goal of making it easier and more...more
Every so often, the extent of state laws providing for the licensing of collection agencies needs to be re-examined. As every state, including two of the most prominent states, California and New York, historically had not...more
Over the past six months or so, creditors, servicers, and debt collectors alike have been forced to revisit disaster management policies in light of the unique and far-reaching impact of COVID-19: it is at once a nationwide...more
A recent decision out of the Eastern District of Wisconsin provides an important reminder to loan servicers that a statement in a debt collection letter could be considered misleading under the Fair Debt Collection Practices...more
Colorado’s UCCC Administrator has proposed amendments to the rules implementing the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (CFDCPA). The Administrator also announced that a Zoom stakeholder meeting will be held on...more
On September 21, 2018, the Attorney General for the State of Washington filed a lawsuit (see complaint) against several companies engaged in purchasing charged-off consumer debts, for operating as “collection agencies”...more
District Court Takes Expansive View of Deceptive or Misleading Practices under FDCPA - The FDCPA prohibits a debt collector from using "any false, deceptive, or misleading representation" in connection with the collection...more
The Seventh Circuit recently joined the Fourth and Ninth Circuits in holding that a debt collection discharges its obligation as to debt validation by verifying that its letters accurately conveyed the information received...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has partially lifted a preliminary injunction that prevented the U.S. Department of Education (Department) from placing defaulted student loans with private collection...more