On July 21, 2026, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced a proposed settlement order permanently banning Dennise Merdjanian — a key operator of a Nevada-based student loan debt relief scheme — from the debt relief industry and from telemarketing. The order resolves the FTC’s charges that Merdjanian and her co-defendants took more than $45.9 million from consumers by impersonating the U.S. Department of Education and making false promises of student loan forgiveness.
New York City is moving aggressively into consumer protection territory that federal regulators have largely stepped back from. In January 2026, Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed two executive orders directing the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) to crack down on hidden fees and subscription tricks and traps. DCWP has now followed through, finalizing a first-of-its-kind municipal click-to-cancel rule (previously discussed here and here) and publishing a proposed citywide “junk fee” ban.
It has been reported that the New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) has pushed back the effective date of its amended debt collection regulations, known as the SHIELD Rule, from September 1, 2026 to January 1, 2027. The delay, which has not yet been confirmed on the DCWP’s official website, was announced to provide regulated entities additional time to make operational adjustments and to allow the agency to address outstanding questions from industry stakeholders.
Congress enacted the TCPA in 1991 to address the proliferation of unwanted telephone solicitations. The statute defines “telephone solicitation” as “the initiation of a telephone call or message for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services.” 47 U.S.C. § 227(a)(4) (emphasis added).
On July 8, the New Jersey Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Diana, delivering a decisive and long-awaited victory for debt buyers operating in New Jersey. The court’s ruling — affirming the dismissal of a putative class action brought by a borrower seeking to void his credit card debt — definitively closes the door on a theory of liability that has dogged the debt-buying industry in New Jersey for years.
The Consumer Data Industry Association (CDIA) and the Metro 2 Task Force announced that they have approved a new Special Comment Code, DS — Debt Settlement, in response to industry requests for clearer identification of consumer debt settlement activity in credit reporting. An implementation date has not yet been established, but CDIA anticipates that furnishers will be able to begin reporting the DS code in Q2 2027.
The New York City Department of Consumer and Worker Protection (DCWP) recently published new compliance resources for its amended debt collection regulations, known as the SHIELD Rule, which are scheduled to take effect on September 1, 2026.
As we have previously reported, the litigation over the attempted shutdown of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) has continued to move quickly through the courts. By way of background, the D.C. district court had granted a preliminary injunction requiring the CFPB to reverse its shutdown efforts, reinstate its workforce, and continue performing its statutory duties, finding that Acting Director Russell Vought’s actions were inconsistent with the Bureau’s statutory obligations under Title X of the Dodd-Frank Act. In our August 2025 post, we covered the D.C. Circuit panel’s decision vacating that preliminary injunction, holding that most of the National Treasury Employees Union’s (NTEU) claims belonged in the Civil Service Reform Act regime and that the remaining claims did not target reviewable final agency action. In our December 2025 post, we reported on the full court’s decision to grant rehearing en banc, vacate the panel’s judgment, and set an expedited briefing schedule. With the panel decision vacated, the en banc court took up the case with the partial stay continuing to govern the parties’ conduct in the interim.
On April 8, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger signed HB 444, the Uniform Consumer Debt Default Judgments Act, into law. The Act establishes pleading and notice requirements in certain consumer debt collection actions that must be met for a creditor to obtain a default judgment against a consumer. This Act is based on a model drafted by the Uniform Law Commission, similar versions of which have been enacted in Washington and introduced in Pennsylvania. HB 444 will take effect on July 1, 2027.
On June 10, President Trump sent to the Senate his nomination of Brian Johnson to serve as Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) for a five-year term. The CFPB has been without a confirmed, full-time director since former Director Rohit Chopra was fired on February 1, 2025 (discussed here).