On May 27, 2014, the Federal Trade Commission issued a long-awaited report on the data broker industry. The report, titled “Data Brokers: A Call for Transparency and Accountability,” is the result of an eighteen-month study of certain data brokers that represent a cross-section of the industry.
The report encouraged Congress to step in to enact
On May 22, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued its spring 2014 supervisory highlights report. The report zeros in on the debt collection and consumer reporting industries, highlighting numerous violations uncovered at payday lenders, debt collection firms, and consumer reporting agencies. Specifically, it appears that the CFPB’s largest concerns with these groups surrounds
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently issued guidelines aimed to increase clarity regarding the Truth in Lending Act-Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (TILA-RESPA) integrated mortgage disclosure rule. The CFPB stated that the “TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure Rule Small Entity Compliance Guide” makes mortgage disclosures easier for consumers to understand and use, while also helping
On April 30, 2014, New York State’s chief judge, Jonathan Lippman, announced that he would institute new court rules and protocols aimed at the issue of obtaining default judgments against debtors. These rules offer more protection to debtors.
In a speech, the judge claimed that many debtors are never served papers and only learn a
On Thursday, May 1, 2014, the White House issued a report outlining initiatives to supposedly better protect privacy in light of the growing realm of big data, the term used to describe a collection of large and complex data sets. The report, titled “Big Data and Privacy: A Technological Perspective,” was presented to the President
On Wednesday, the New York Department of Financial Services (DFS) became the first state financial regulator to use the Dodd-Frank Act’s “UDAAP” consumer protection standards against a corporation when it filed a lawsuit against an auto lender. The 2010 Dodd-Frank Act gives state regulators the ability to sue companies for engaging in unfair, deceptive, or
On April 15, 2014, a federal judge in New Jersey approved the settlement of a class-action suit against a law firm that allegedly violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Plaintiffs claimed that Mattleman, Weinroth & Miller, whose principal office is in Cherry Hill, NJ, and Executive Credit Management, located in Stanhope, NJ, had
On April 8, 2014, Senate Democrats introduced a bill that addresses a laundry list of frequent criticisms by federal and state regulators of the consumer reporting industry. The legislation, titled the Stop Errors in Credit Use and Reporting (SECURE) Act, is aimed at increasing the accuracy of consumer reports and assisting consumers who have information
On March 27, 2014, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) issued two declaratory rulings regarding the definition of “prior express consent” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”). In the first ruling, Cargo Airline Association obtained an exemption under the TCPA’s “prior express consent” restriction on autodialed and prerecorded telephone calls and text messages to wireless