Year in Review and a Look Ahead: Navigating the Debt Collection Landscape — The Consumer Finance Podcast
Consumer Finance Monitor Podcast Episode: Recent Federal and State Debt Collection Developments
Keeping Up With the Bureau Episode 4: Hot Topics in Collections: Fees, Reg F Landscape, and What’s Next - The Consumer Finance Podcast
Fair Lending 101 for Debt Collectors - The Consumer Finance Podcast
Credit Eco to Go Podcast: Demystifying the Debt Collection Rule
Dancing to Their Own Tune: Empowering Consumers Through Self-Service
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20 Things a Debt Collector Can't Do
5 Reasons Consumers Should File an FDCPA Lawsuit
Why You Should Enter into a Payment Plan with a Junk Debt Buyer
Beginners Guide to Debt Collection Lawsuits by Portfolio Recovery Associates
Quick Guide to Stopping Collection Calls.
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The TCPA: Basics, Targeted Industries, and Trends
Can I collect my judgment if the other side is appealing?
CFPB Director Rohit Chopra on Thursday defended his agency’s proposed rule to prohibit the listing of medical debt on credit reports, contending that such debts are not a fair indication of a person’s financial health....more
On July 22, the Governor of New Jersey signed into law A 3861 (the “Act), also known as the Louisa Carman Medical Debt Relief Act, which codified the protection of consumers from “predatory medical debt collectors,” including...more
To keep you informed of recent activities, below are several of the most significant federal and state events that have influenced the Consumer Financial Services industry over the past week...more
On May 16, the Illinois legislature passed Senate Bill (SB) 2933. The bill amends the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act making it unlawful for a consumer reporting agency (CRA) to create a consumer...more
On May 9, the Governor of Connecticut approved SB 395 (the “Act”) banning health care providers from reporting medical debt to credit rating agencies. Further, the Act will prohibit hospitals and collection agents from...more
On April 11, the General Counsel of the CFPB, Seth Frotman, delivered a speech at the National Consumer Law Center/National Association of Consumer Advocates Spring Training, highlighting how the FDCPA and the FCRA cover...more
In a recent speech at the National Consumer Law Center/National Association of Consumer Advocates Spring Training, Seth Frotman, General Counsel of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau), focused on medical...more
Recently, a plaintiff sued under the FCRA, alleging that the defendant debt collector failed to conduct a reasonable investigation into a disputed credit report item. The plaintiff claimed to be a victim of identity theft and...more
A federal district court judge in Nevada recently denied competing motions for summary judgment in a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) furnisher investigation case, demonstrating the challenges FCRA litigants often face in...more
In this article, we share a timeline of our monthly "bites" for 2023 applicable to debt collection. If debt collection in 2023 had a theme it would be medical debt....more
On November 9, a magistrate judge in the Northern District of Georgia issued a Report & Recommendation to grant a motion to dismiss because the plaintiff’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claims were time-barred...more
Joining every other circuit to address the same issue, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently ruled that a consumer does not have to prove actual damages to recover statutory damages for willful...more
On Sept. 21, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) officially announced it is considering a rulemaking to address several consumer reporting topics under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). Under the process...more
Welcome to Balch's Consumer Finance Compass, where we'll navigate the complex regulatory sphere that is consumer finance. I'm Jason Tompkins, chair of the firm's Issues and Appeals Practice and member of the Consumer Finance...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is moving forward with a rulemaking proposal to change the process of reporting medical debt on consumer credit reports. Specifically, the rulemaking proposal the Bureau...more
In a recently published opinion by Fourth Circuit Judge Quattlebaum, Jr., the majority of the panel found there to be a genuine dispute of material fact in Plaintiff Mark Anthony Guthrie’s North Carolina Debt Collection Act...more
On July 28, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama granted summary judgment in favor of a defendant third-party debt collector in an FCRA and FDCPA putative class action, holding that the defendant...more
On April 11, 2023, Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion announced that they removed unpaid medical collections under $500 from consumer credit reports. The three companies, in July 2022, previously removed paid medical...more
The CFPB issued a new report, “Market Snapshot: An Update on Third-Party Debt Collections Tradelines Reporting,” that looks at trends in credit reporting of debt in collections from 2018 to 2022. It also published a new blog...more
On February 14, the CFPB released a report examining debt collection credit reporting trends from 2018 to 2022. The Bureau’s report, Market Snapshot: An Update on Third-Party Debt Collections Tradelines Reporting, is based on...more
In a blog post published last week, the CFPB looked at the connection between eligibility for financial assistance under policies mandated by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and medical collections. The ACA requires nonprofit...more
The CFPB recently published a report analyzing how certain actions announced earlier this year by the three largest national consumer reporting agencies—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion—will affect people who have allegedly...more
On March 1, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report highlighting the effect of medical collections on consumer credit reports. The CFPB found that medical collections tradelines appeared on 43...more
In March of this year, the three major nationwide credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) announced there would be substantial changes to medical collection debt reporting coming this summer in an effort...more
In Ramones v. AR Res., Inc., No. 19-62949-CIV-SCOLA/SEITZ (S.D. Fla. Apr. 8, 2022), the court refused to set aside an award of punitive damages based on violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, but it reduced the jury’s...more