On March 5, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a joint amicus brief in Buchanan v. Northland Group Inc., No. 13–2523 (6th Cir. Mar. 5, 2014), a putative consumer FDCPA class action challenging collection practices related to debts that were time barred (i.e., for which the
Ninth Circuit Rejects Argument that Credit Card Fees Violate Substantive Due Process
On February 11, 2013, a panel of the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected the argument of a class of credit cardholders that certain fees imposed by their card issuers were unconstitutional. Their class complaint alleged violations of the National Bank Act (“NBA”) and Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act (“DIDMC”). The
House Financial Services Committee Turns Up the Heat on Investigation into CFPB Disparate Impact Methodology
Democrats and Republicans in Congress can rarely reach agreement on anything these days, but one bipartisan effort that continues to gain steam is their repeated attempts to learn the methodology by which the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) and other federal regulators investigate auto lenders for purported fair lending violations. In a letter dated March
Recent FTC Report and CFPB Bulletin Highlight Importance of Investigating Identity Theft Claims
A report issued by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a bulletin issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) both highlight the continued federal regulatory interest in endemic identity theft as well as the significant risk to businesses that fail to address complaints related to identity theft.
The FTC’s Report on the Top Categories
U.S Chamber of Commerce Requests CFPB to Issue Rules on Auto Lending
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has sent a detailed letter, dated February 12, 2004, addressed to Director Cordray of the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) in which it expresses its disapproval of the CFPB’s approach of “regulation by enforcement settlement combined with issuance of brief guidance statements” in lieu of utilizing a formal rulemaking process
NADA Issues Guidance to Members on Dealer Reserve and Fair Lending Compliance
The National Association of Automobile Dealers (NADA) issued a comprehensive manual in late January that includes detailed recommendations to dealers related to dealer reserve and fair lending compliance, in an attempt to assist members with compliance with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) bulletin addressing indirect auto lending and the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA).
CFPB Calls on Credit Card Issuers to Provide Credit Scores to Consumers
On Thursday, February 27, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) encouraged credit card companies to offer consumers their credit scores for free online and in monthly statements – a practice that several issuers have already begun in an effort to distinguish their products in the industry. The CFPB recently sent letters to the nation’s
CFPB Releases Consumer Advisory in Wake of High-Profile Credit Card Data Breaches
On January 27, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published a three-page consumer advisory to help consumers protect themselves in the wake of the recent breaches of payment card and other data. The advisory encourages card holders to submit complaints about issuers’ inadequate responses to disputes related to data breaches. It also contains information
FTC Commissioner Advocates for New Data Broker Legislation
In a lecture at Princeton University last week entitled “Big Data and Consumer Privacy: Addressing Challenges and Finding Solutions,” the Federal Trade Commission’s Julie Brill joined others in calling for Congress to enact new legislation covering data brokers, in particular to improve commercial privacy laws regarding how and what personal information is collected.
Commissioner Brill
Third Circuit Exposes Furnishers to Significant FCRA Liability
In a published opinion on February 21, 2014, a unanimous panel of the Third Circuit in Seamans v. Temple University held that, even if information provided by a furnisher in response to a consumer’s dispute received from a consumer reporting agency (CRA) is technically correct, it may nonetheless be inaccurate in violation of the Fair