On October 1, 2014, in Williamsburg, VA, the Virginia Creditors Bar Association is hosting their Fifth Annual Collections Seminar. This event will feature comprehensive discussions on issues pertaining to Creditors’ Rights and Collections Law throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia, including, but not limited to, presentations regarding bankruptcy, authenticating business records, FDCPA defense, the CFPB, and…

On August 21, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has selected seven mortgage companies and five vendors to participate in a three-month pilot program that will aim to determine whether electronic filings could improve mortgage closings.  The pilot program is a part of the CFPB’s “Know Before You Owe” mortgage initiative.

Earlier this year in…

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has published proposed changes to Regulation C, which implements the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA).  The HMDA was enacted by Congress in 1975, and on July 21, 2011, the rule-writing authority of Regulation C was transferred to the CFPB.  HMDA requires covered depository and nondepository institutions to collect and publicly…

On August 12, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an order related to the advertising of mortgage rates that may provide valuable insight into the CFPB’s broader perspective on what constitutes misleading statements in advertising and publishing of rates.

The CFPB accused Amerisave Mortgage Corporation (“Amerisave”), its affiliate company Novo Appraisal Management Company (“Novo”), and…

State Attorneys General from Washington, Oregon and Vermont filed suit against Living Essentials, the manufacturer of the popular energy supplement, 5-Hour ENERGY®, for allegedly deceptive marketing.  The lawsuits seek injunctive relief as well as civil penalties and restitution to consumers.  In a statement late last week, Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said, “[p]lainly and simply,…

On August 20, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission jointly filed an amicus brief in Hernandez v. Williams, Zinman & Parham, P.C.  The case concerns the interpretation and enforcement of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and is currently on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.…

On January 2, 2014, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits collection agencies from charging consumers a percentage fee of the balance of their debt unless the consumer has explicitly agreed to such a fee arrangement.  In Bradley v. Franklin Collection Services, Inc., a unanimous…

Employers utilizing background checks in their applicant screening process often battle two competing forces – the need to screen and hire employees quickly and the requirement that they wait a reasonable time before taking adverse action under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  The District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania recently issued a decision…

As we discussed here, regulators have been keeping close watch on USA Discounters.  Today, the CFPB announced that it has “ordered the company to refund $350,000 to service members tricked into paying fees for benefits available for free.”  Last week, several senators wrote a letter urging the CFPB to investigate the findings of a…

The Federal Reserve recently published its quarterly “Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey on Bank Lending Practices,” based on a survey of large domestic and foreign banks.  The survey suggested that the implementation of Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage rule has resulted in lenders making fewer loans.  Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer…