In an ominous sign, Americans’ total debt hit another record high, rising to $13.5 trillion in the last quarter, as student loan delinquencies jumped, according to Reuters. Specifically, flows of student debt into serious delinquency – of 90 or more days – rose to 9.1 percent in the third quarter from 8.6 percent in
As Congress’ emboldened majority has sought to lessen the federal government’s regulatory footprint, the states have not always been quiet, as one summertime example amply shows.
In 2017, two congressmen introduced two bills which, if enacted, would expand the scope of federal preemption to include non-bank entities. Introduced by Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.), the
On November 16, Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the current chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the committee and the author of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, unveiled the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence Act (“TRACED Act”). Among other things, this bill would require carriers to eventually
The West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act (“WVCCPA”) is a remedial statute designed to protect West Virginia consumers from improper debt collection. Only “consumers” have standing to file a lawsuit under the WVCCPA. The term “consumer” is defined as a natural person that owes a debt or allegedly owes a debt. But does a
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed summary judgment in a recent Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case where the plaintiff alleged that a repossession company demanded payment before she would be allowed to recover personal property left in the vehicle. The Court held that the plaintiff’s testimony did not create a
Earlier this week, InsideArm identified a subtle change to the Massachusetts Attorney General’s website that may reflect an unannounced change in the regulations governing third-party collection agencies in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Attorney General’s website now indicates the following:
The Attorney General has issued debt collection regulations that establish standards by defining unfair and deceptive acts
The states of most complaint, you ask? – California, Florida, Texas, New York, and Georgia.
In October, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its Complaint Snapshot, which supplements the Consumer Response Annual Report and provides an overview of trends in consumer complaints received by the Bureau.
The Snapshot revealed that the CFPB has received 1.5
On October 23, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington denied a defendant debt collector’s motion to dismiss a class action claim brought under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act based on the debt collector’s alleged failure to report a debt as disputed in violation of FDCPA § 1692e(8). The Court in
On October 31, the Eastern District of Pennsylvania issued an opinion in Guzman v. HOVG, LLC, No. 18-3013, (E.D. Pa. Oct. 31, 2018), denying a debt collector’s motion to dismiss a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act-based action because the validation notice included in the collection letter did not clearly state that the debtor can
In Cooper v. Retrieval-Masters Creditors Bureau, Inc., 16 C2827, —F. Supp. 3d—, 2018 WL 2299203 (N.D. Ill. May 21, 2018), appeal filed (7th Cir. June 20, 2018), available here, plaintiff Jack Wesley Cooper alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Protection Act (“FDCPA”), seeking statutory and actual damages and attorneys’ fees.
At a