On June 27, 2014, Magistrate Judge Orlando L. Garcia of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas recommended denial of a plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment in an FDCPA action implicating settlement letter language for time-barred debt. The case, Schreve v. First National Collection Bureau, Inc., involved time-barred debt that…

The CFPB is seeking approval from the Office of Management and Budget to conduct a national telephone survey of 1,000 credit card holders as part of its study on which the CFPB may base its decision to limit or prohibit the use of arbitration clauses in credit card agreements.

The CFPB’s “study” of the use…

On May 1, 2014, Spokeo, Inc. filed a writ of certiorari in the United States Supreme Court requesting the Court decide whether a plaintiff has Article III standing in a federal court when he or she has suffered no actual harm besides the violation of a statute alone.  Resolution of this question could have a …

A Texas-based credit repair organization has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that it violated federal law by making misrepresentations to consumer reporting agencies and charging consumers up-front fees before providing its services.

In its complaint filed in October 2011, the FTC charged that RMCN Credit Services, Inc. and its individual owners, Doug and…

On June 9, 2014, the House of Representatives unanimously passed H.R. 3211, the Mortgage Choice Act, which amends the Truth in Lending Act and the definition of “qualified mortgage” under the Dodd-Frank Act.  The legislation was introduced by Representatives Bill Huizenga (R-MI) and Gregory Meeks (D-NY), and is intended to afford low and moderate income…

On June 10, 2014, CFPB Director Richard Cordray appeared before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs in conjunction with the May 2014 release of the Bureau’s fifth Semi-Annual Report.  Cordray highlighted a variety of topics, including mortgages, student loans, complaint numbers, and proposed data collection efforts.

Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) questioned…

Contrary to industry expectations, the CFPB announced on Wednesday, June 11, 2014 that it would be delaying its prepaid card regulations until the end of the summer.  The announcement came during a presentation by CFPB Director Richard Cordray to the Senate Banking Committee. The rule had been expected this month.

This follows a pattern of…

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a Request for Information (“RFI”) this week regarding “the opportunities and challenges associated with the use of mobile financial services,” focusing particularly on unbanked and underserved consumers.  The RFI comes amid growing concerns that the proliferation of mobile financial services poses an increased privacy risk to consumers.

The Bureau…

Counsel for the National Association of Convenience Stores, the National Retail Federation, and the Food Marketing Institute, among other retailers, indicated this week that they will file a petition for certiorari to the United States Supreme Court for review of a March 2014 D.C. Circuit decision involving debit card “swipe fees.”

In 2011, the Federal…

On June 2, 2014, U.S. Federal Trade Commission member Julie Brill, speaking at the European Data Protection Supervisor’s workshop on privacy, consumer protection and competition in Brussels, said that companies’ privacy protection regimes focused on limiting or stopping harmful uses of data overlook the potential damage to consumers’ privacy through the incremental accumulation of small…