Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

On June 18, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau launched a pilot advisory opinion (“AO”) program in an effort to address some uncertainty in its existing regulations and make that process more public.

The program will allow entities to seek direct guidance on uncertainties they have with regulatory requirements that the CFPB oversees. The Bureau will

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a statement on June 3 relaxing the requirements for some electronic disclosures given for requests by consumers made via telephone for credit card plans. The CFPB acknowledged that credit card issuers are receiving more calls and may have limited staffing due to the pandemic. Many institutions are asking for

On May 21, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a report providing an analysis of the complaints it has received since the outbreak of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. Unsurprisingly, the number of complaints has increased dramatically.

The report shows that the CFPB received 36,700 consumer complaints in March and 42,400 in April, the two highest

The Democrats on the House Financial Services Committee are pushing their proposed package of bills aimed at responding to the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic. This time around, they are supporting the bill that would place a moratorium on debt collection activities for the duration of the pandemic.

A May 5 release from the Democrats on the

On May 13, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released two new FAQ documents outlining responsibilities of certain financial firms during the coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic, and a statement regarding billing error responsibilities of credit card issuers and other open-end non-home secured creditors.

The first new FAQ document is entitled, “The Bureau’s Payments and Deposits Rules FAQs

On May 14, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reached an $18 million settlement with mortgage lender Monster Loans (a/k/a Chou Team Realty LLC) and several individual, related entities to resolve allegations that they impermissibly and duplicitously obtained credit reports for their associated student loan debt-relief companies, which, in turn, used the consumer reports to deceptively

On March 30, several financial service providers filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission asking for clarification on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s emergency purposes exception in the context of the coronavirus (“COVID-19”). The comment period on that petition closed this week, with a further reply date of May 21, 2020. This follows the

The status of the Louisiana Public Service Commission’s (“Commission”) potential enforcement of the available emergency measures pursuant to the Do Not Call General Order (Docket No. R_29617, decided Oct. 11, 2006) (“DNC Order”) has been unclear. While these emergency measures generally have been imposed during prior emergencies, they presently remain unimplemented despite Governor John Bel

Overview

Earlier this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an interpretive rule intended to “make it easier for consumers with urgent financial needs to obtain access to mortgage credit more quickly in the middle of the [coronavirus] COVID-19 pandemic.” The rule clarifies how the right of consumers to waive certain protections provided in the

On April 22, the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia issued another amended emergency order extending court deadlines. The order can be found here. The Court’s new order delays all court deadlines for matters scheduled to occur during the emergency period from March 23, 2020 to May 15, 2020 until May 18, 2020.