Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)

Expert strategies for in-house and outside counsel on navigating class actions, litigation, and government enforcement actions in the consumer finance industry.

January 26-27, Viceroy Miami, Miami, Florida

We are pleased to announce that John Lynch, partner at Troutman Sanders LLP, will speak on: Consumer Finance Class Action Litigation and Settlement Strategies, Procedural Considerations, Emerging Theories

Last month, Republican staff members on the Committee of Financial Services in the U.S. House of Representatives issued a Report criticizing tactics used by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the auto finance area.  The Staff Report generally questions the CFPB’s disparate-impact claims under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (“ECOA”) and the Bureau’s use of

Section 612 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) provides consumers with the opportunity for a free disclosure of their file, with certain exceptions, during any 12-month period.  For file disclosures for which the FCRA allows consumer reporting agencies to charge, the statute sets the price of these disclosures at $8, subject to a yearly

On November 24, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a Compliance Bulletin (2015-06), warning companies that they must ensure that consumer authorization is obtained before automatically debiting a consumer’s account and that required notifications to consumers must clearly describe the terms of the preauthorized electronic funds transfers (EFTs).

Importantly, for the first

On November 20, the CFPB once again released its latest rulemaking agenda update.  The previous update, issued last May, extended debt collection rulemaking pre-rule activities from April 2015 until December 2015.  This latest update extends debt collection pre-rule activities scheduled through February 2016. 

In extending the pre-rulemaking period, the CFPB stated as follows: 

The

On November 18, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed an administrative action against online lender Integrity Advance, LLC, and its CEO, James R. Carnes, for deceiving consumers about the cost of short-term loans.  

According to a press release, the CFPB alleges that Integrity Advance violated the Truth in Lending Act and the

According to the October debt collection litigation and complaint statistics report from WebRecon, consumer litigation in October under the FDCPA, TCPA, and FCRA marked the first time since September 2011 that an increase from both the prior month and year-to-date occurred.  “For the first time in several years, overall consumer litigation is up dramatically,”

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s latest monthly report revealed that credit card complaints represent approximately 11% of total product complaints from consumers.  Late fees and credit report problems due to confusing payment processing schedules are the most frequent complaint topics for consumers.  Other problems identified by consumers include:

  • Billing issues related to surprise late fees

On November 3, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced that it has revised its appeals process and issued a new appeals policy.  The announcement was made in conjunction with the release of the CFPB’s Fall 2015 Supervisory Highlights.  According to the Bureau, the “revisions reflect experience gained in the appeals process so far, and

On October 29, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) announced the settlement of an enforcement action against two affiliated consumer reporting agencies under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”) based on these companies’ employment background screening practices.  The consent order requires these background screeners to pay a total of $13 million in penalties and