To help you keep abreast of relevant activities, below find a breakdown of some of the biggest events at the federal and state levels to impact the Consumer Finance Services industry this past week:
Most consumers have signed up for subscriptions, automatic deliveries, or free trials that convert into a paid subscription. In this episode of The Crypto Exchange, Carlin McCrory welcomes colleagues Mark Furletti and Jill Dolan to discuss legal and regulatory developments related to autorenewals — the recurring payments for these subscriptions. Our panel examines state and federal laws pertaining to negative option offers, including Section 5 of the FTC Act; recent actions by state attorneys general on autorenewal and cancellation policies; and how companies can ensure compliance with relevant requirements.
In recent years, several lawsuits have challenged wilderness therapy program exclusions in health plans. Not only do members typically assert a claim for benefits, alleging a denial of wilderness therapy benefits was improper under their health plan, but they also insist the plan’s exclusion that serves as the basis for the denial violates the Mental
On March 15, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) submitted a report to Congress discussing its findings regarding the frauds, scams, and bad business practices that affect American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities and the FTC’s efforts to address these issues. Specifically, the FTC asserts that auto purchasing and financing, predatory lending, impersonation scams, tech
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) issued a final rule updating, among other things, the model form for the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) Summary of Consumer Rights and information that must be included in adverse action notices under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA). Specifically, the CFPB is correcting the contact information
On March 17, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced that it is rescinding its 2020 rule governing Fair Housing Act (FHA) disparate impact claims and restoring its 2013 discriminatory effects rule on the basis that it believes the 2013 rule is more consistent with how the FHA has been applied in
In February, Massachusetts Attorney General Joy Campbell announced a $6.5 million settlement with Safe Home Security, its CEO, and affiliated companies to resolve allegations that their practices violated state consumer protection laws by “trapping Massachusetts consumers in long-term auto renewal contracts” and engaging in illegal debt collection practices, among other activities.
According to the Consent
On March 2, Florida State Representative Doug Bankston introduced HB1353, the Florida Commercial Financing Disclosure Law, that would mandate covered commercial financing companies provide consumer-like disclosures for certain commercial financing transactions. The law would also define and prohibit specific acts by brokers of those transactions, including the collection of advance fees. New York, California, Utah
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it is launching an inquiry into the small business credit reporting industry. Specifically, it is ordering five firms to provide detailed information about their products and processes.
According to the FTC, the impetus for this inquiry is that unlike consumer reports, which are governed by the Fair Credit
On March 16, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a compliance bulletin entitled Unfair Billing and Collection Practices After Bankruptcy Discharges of Certain Student Loan Debts. The compliance bulletin focused on the treatment of certain private student loans following a bankruptcy discharge. It’s also another example of the CFPB’s efforts to expand bankruptcy