On September 11, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring announced a crackdown on Virginia’s car-title loan industry. Car-title loans are made to borrowers who sign over their car titles as collateral, and are commonly made to individuals with poor credit histories in need of fast cash. Herring claims that such loans “are trapping a lot of
FTC Fines Texas Auto Dealer $82,777 for Violating Credit Reporting Requirements
A recent Federal Trade Commission settlement with an auto lender highlights two basic requirements under the Fair Credit Reporting Act for companies that furnish consumer information to consumer reporting agencies (CRAs): (1) furnishers are required by federal law to have written policies aimed to ensure the accuracy and integrity of the information supplied, and (2)
FCC Continues to Expand Its TCPA Reach with E-Faxes
On August 28, the Federal Communications Commission issued a declaratory ruling holding that electronic faxes or “e-faxes” are covered by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Junk Fax Protection Act. E-faxes are communications that originate as a fax, but are converted to electronic files during transmission and received as attachments to emails. This ruling
Fourth Circuit: South Carolina’s Automated Call Statute Is Unconstitutional
On August 6, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit affirmed a federal district court decision invalidating South Carolina’s statute banning automated calls for commercial or political purposes. The statute, enacted in 1991, restricted unsolicited automated calls “made for consumer, political, or other purposes.” All qualifying automated calls were prohibited with
FCC Levies Record $2.96 Million Fine Against Florida Company for Autodialed Calls
On August 11, the Federal Communications Commission handed down a $2.96 million fine against Travel Club Marketing Inc., related entities, and owner Olen Miller (collectively “Travel Club”), the largest fine in FCC history related to autodialed calls. The fine stems from allegations that the companies violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act in their telemarketing efforts,
California Supreme Court Upholds Validity of Standard Auto Sale Arbitration Clause
On August 3, to the relief of car dealerships and auto finance companies, the California Supreme Court upheld a standard arbitration clause from an automotive purchase agreement by a 6-1 majority decision in Sanchez v. Valencia Holding Co., LLC, which reversed both the trial court and Court of Appeal’s rulings invalidating the entire arbitration
Auto Finance, Credit/Debt Practices, and Identity Theft Top Consumer Protection Complaints
On July 29, the Consumer Federation of America and the North American Consumer Protection Investigators released their annual survey of consumer complaint data from state and local consumer agencies, which is based on 280,000 claims to thirty-seven agencies from twenty-one states and the District of Columbia.
Just as in 2013, the most common complaints arose
FCC’s TCPA Order Immediately Challenged in Court
As Troutman Sanders LLP previously reported, earlier this month the Federal Communications Commission issued a sweeping 147-page Declaratory Ruling and Order expanding the definition of an automatic telephone dialer system (ATDS), clarifying revocation of consent, and providing limited exceptions for reassigned numbers, health care, and financial calls and text messages. Since then, three entities
FCC Issues Sweeping Order Expanding Reach of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
On Friday, July 10, the Federal Communications Commission enacted major changes and clarifications to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”). Approved on a contentious 3-2 vote by the FCC commissioners, the FCC released its Declaratory Ruling and Order (FCC 15-72) formally stating its interpretation of numerous provisions of TCPA.
The TCPA
Las Vegas Auto Dealers Settle FTC Deceptive Advertising Claims
On June 29, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it had reached settlements with two Las Vegas auto dealerships, Planet Hyundai and Planet Nissan, over claims that they violated the Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 by advertising large discounts not available to the general public.
The allegations against Planet Hyundai and Planet Nissan involved