The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a lawsuit in the United Stated District Court for the District of Maryland against FCO Holding, Inc. and its subsidiaries, as well as Michael E. Sobota, the chief executive officer and 100% owner of FCO Holding, Inc. The Maryland debt collector entities operate collectively under the name Fair Collections
On September 19, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission announced they will hold a joint public workshop on December 10 related to key issues of accuracy governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, including those related to the accuracy of both traditional credit reports as well as employment and tenant background
Over the past year, nearly twenty amendments were introduced to modify the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (“CCPA”). Now that the deadline to introduce new amendments has passed, we can start to visualize what the CCPA will look like in its effective form. Despite many attempts to dramatically modify the scope, application, and enforcement
On June 19, Maine Governor Janet T. Mills signed a new law, H.P 553 – L.D. 748, that provides relief for consumers suffering from “economic abuse.” Going into effect on September 19, 2019, the new law provides a set of procedures for debt collectors and credit reporting agencies to follow when consumers present evidence
We are pleased to announce that Troutman Sanders attorneys Ethan Ostroff and Ashley Taylor will be presenting during the 14th Annual Credit Grantor Consortium at the Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown, Washington DC. CCN Consortium will focus heavily on trending topics in credit reporting, including a bankruptcy update, TCPA, politics within the collection industry
On July 11, the Financial Services Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing entitled “Who’s Keeping Score? Holding Credit Bureaus Accountable and Repairing a Broken System.” The hearing involved a series of bills that would potentially reform the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The proposed bills, which were advanced on a party-line vote
As a part of her plan to address the homeownership gap for black families in America, Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris has proposed an amendment to the Fair Credit Reporting Act that will require credit reporting agencies to include rent, cellphone, and utility payments when calculating consumer credit scores.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has
On June 24, the Consumer Education Foundation (“CEF”), a California-based nonprofit consumer organization, filed a petition with the Federal Trade Commission requesting that it investigate the use of so-called “Secret Surveillance Scores” in the consumer market. The complaint alleges that consumer data points are covertly tracked and amassed by private firms to create a single
On June 14, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a settlement that effectively forgives $168 million in private student loans owed by former students of ITT Technical Institute, the for-profit college that filed for bankruptcy in 2016 in the face of regulatory scrutiny concerning its recruitment and student loan practices. The settlement is with Student
On May 21, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced Senate Bill 1581 that would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The bill is co-sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D–Conn.), Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.