Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey issued on Tuesday the latest in a series of orders regarding debt collection in the face of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) outbreak. The most recent guidance document is aimed at protecting the relief payments that many Americans expect to receive in coming weeks thanks to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief,
As New York considers reopening the State’s economy after a months-long shutdown, legislators recently reached an agreement with private student loan servicers to provide financial relief to borrowers. Spearheaded by the New York State Department of Financial Services (“DFS”), the agreement supplements the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”), by extending
Earlier this year, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau created a Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law to “examine the existing legal and regulatory environment facing consumers and financial services providers and report to [the Bureau] its recommendations for ways to improve and strengthen consumer financial laws and regulations.” To assist the Taskforce, the Bureau recently
Please join Troutman Sanders’ attorneys, Andrew Buxbaum, Jon Hubbard, Mohsin Reza, and Elizabeth Briones for the Complimentary Webinar: “Lessons Learned from the Great Recession” on April 16, 2020 from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m. ET.
The economic consequences of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic are proving to be far-reaching as millions of American consumers are finding
On April 13, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a new interpretive rule that makes it possible for consumers to receive certain pandemic-relief payments through newly-issued prepaid accounts rather than paper checks. According to CFPB Director Kathleen Kraninger, the interpretive rule is designed to “ensure that consumers can receive these payments in a fast, secure,
The Supreme Court of the United States announced on Monday, April 13, that it would hear oral argument by telephone in a number of key cases remaining in the Court’s October 2019 Term. Among these cases is Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, which was originally scheduled to be heard on April 22.
Like most industries today, consumer finance services businesses are being significantly impacted COVID-19. Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton have developed a dedicated COVID-19 Resource Center to guide clients through this unprecedented global health challenge. We regularly update this site with COVID-19 news and developments, recommendations from leading health organizations, and tools that businesses can use
On April 6, the Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with Tapplock, Inc. for falsely claiming in its privacy policy that its fingerprint-sensing smart locks were “unbreakable” and that it followed “industry best practices” to ensure that a user’s personal information was protected. After three security researchers identified various physical and electronic vulnerabilities with the
A new bill was proposed on April 7 in the House of Representatives which, if passed, would amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The proposed bill aims to regulate how medical debts are handled under these statutes.
The bill’s current name is: “To amend the Fair Credit Reporting
Several coronavirus (“COVID-19”) response bills were introduced in the New Jersey Senate this past week. Among them is the “COVID-19 Financial Security for Consumers Act,” which aims to prohibit creditors and debt collectors from collection activities during the pandemic and requires health insurance carriers to cover treatment for COVID-19. A summary of the