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Stefanie takes a holistic approach to working with clients both through compliance counseling and assessment relating to consumer products and services, as well as serving as a zealous advocate in government inquiries, investigations, and consumer litigation.

On April 18, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) published a blog post, scrutinizing the practice of withholding transcripts from students with delinquent accounts and who are attending an institute of higher education.

The practice of withholding transcripts as a collections tactic has never been popular with regulators or consumer advocates. As

On April 14, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) published a report titled Student Loan Borrowers Potentially At-Risk when Payment Suspension Ends. The publication uses data from the CFPB’s Consumer Credit Panel to identify which types of borrowers may struggle to make their scheduled loan payments based on five potential risk factors:

On April 11, the White House published a fact sheet, outlining the Biden administration’s actions to lessen the burden of medical debt and increase consumer protection. The plan includes four focus areas:

  1. Holding Providers and Collectors Accountable: The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will evaluate how providers’ billing practices impact access and affordability

On March 15, the D.C. Council of the District of Columbia Committee of the Whole met in a full hearing, in part to hear amendments introduced to B24-0357 by Councilmember and Chair Phil Mendelson (D).

B24-0357 is the Protecting Consumers from Unjust Debt Collection Practices Amendment Act of 2021, and was raised by Mendelson in

On March 18, the three nationwide consumer reporting agencies — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion (NCRAs) — announced plans to change how medical debt will be reported on credit reports. The joint measures will result in the removal of nearly 70% of medical collection debt records from credit reports.

The announcement included the following three major

Wednesday, March 9 • 3:30 – 4:30 p.m. ET

Please join us on March 9 for a complimentary webinar to discuss how Regulation F represents a sea of change to how consumer and debt collectors will approach lawsuits brought under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. This webinar will explore the new safe harbors and

*Garrett Kelly is not licensed to practice law in any jurisdiction; his bar application is pending in Virginia.

On March 1, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its “Medical Debt Burden in the United States” report, which questions whether consumer credit reports should include unpaid medical billing data.

According to the

The filing lawsuits under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) increased dramatically in the first month of 2022 when compared to the number of filings in January and December 2021, per a report released recently by Web Recon LLC. The number

On February 24, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) released a blog post, outlining multiple auto lending topics in the wake of rising vehicle prices. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the consumer price index has risen 40% for used cars and trucks and 12% for new cars since January

On February 22, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals held oral argument in Hunstein v. Preferred Collection and Management Services Inc. (Case Number 19-14434). Almost a year ago, on April 21, 2021, the Court of Appeals issued the original Hunstein v. Preferred Collection and Management Services Inc. opinion, which held that (1) a consumer