Recently, in Velez v. Absolute Resolutions Investments., LLC, the district court for the Northern District of Illinois confirmed the long-standing principle that not all communications sent from a debt collector to a debtor are governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Instead, the communications must be in connection with the collection of
On January 3, DentalPlans.com (DentalPlans) filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking a declaratory ruling that: (1) renewal notifications do not constitute telemarketing or advertising under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), and (2) the language in its online enrollment forms and used by its customer service representatives during telephone conversations with
On December 23, New York Governor Hochul signed into law Assembly Bill A6328A amending New York Executive Law § 292, known as the New York State Human Rights Law, to add citizenship and immigration status to the list of covered protected characteristics. Among other things, the new law expressly prohibits discrimination against any applicants for
On Dec. 15, 2022, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s (FFIEC) Task Force on Consumer Compliance adopted revised examination procedures for the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and its implementing regulation, Regulation F.
The revised interagency procedures will apply to examinations conducted by FFIEC’s member regulators of their respective regulated institutions. FFIEC is composed
On January 4, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued its 2022 Fall Rulemaking Agenda containing pre-rule, proposed rule, and final rules under consideration. The CFPB releases regulatory agendas twice a year in voluntary conjunction with a broader initiative led by the Office of Budget and Management to publish a Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory actions across the federal government. In the preamble to the Federal Register notice, the CFPB states that the information is current as of September 30, 2022 and identifies regulatory matters the CFPB “reasonably anticipates” having under consideration during the period from December 1, 2022, to November 30, 2023. The CFPB has not yet posted a blog or issued a press release about the agenda.
Should credit reporting agencies (CRAs) be held liable under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) for alleged reporting inaccuracies that turn on legal disputes? According to the Second Circuit in a recent decision, the answer is no. The appellate court held the “FCRA does not require” CRAs to “resolve unsettled legal questions.” However, the
On January 4, the District Court of New Jersey dismissed a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) complaint against an unlicensed debt collector for lack of standing. In Valentine v. Unifund CCR, LLC, et al., the court held that merely receiving a letter from an unlicensed debt collector is insufficient to establish a concrete injury
Please join Consumer Financial Services Partner Dave Gettings and his fellow Partner Ron Raether as they discuss the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and its supervision of the tenant screening industry. During this episode, Dave and Ron also examine issues facing tenant screening companies and what can be done in the industry.
On January 4, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced that his office had reached settlements with Bellco and Canvas credit unions which will provide $4 million in refunds of unearned guaranteed automobile protection (GAP) premiums to consumers that the credit unions failed to provide previously. In June 2022, we posted here about the five prior settlements reached by the state AG over GAP refunds. Based on the AG’s comments in the press release, we expect continued scrutiny in this area. “When hardworking Coloradans pay for GAP coverage, they deserve to receive what they are owed … My office will continue to hold accountable companies that violate the law and leave Coloradans without the money they were due.”
On January 3, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its annual report detailing what it characterized as “improvements and deficiencies” in the nationwide consumer reporting agencies’ (NCRAs) responses to complaints. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) requires the CFPB to submit this annual report to Congress. While in last year’s report, the CFPB said