Debt Buyers + Collectors

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BrandRep, the defendant in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act putative class action lawsuit pending in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, recently settled putative nationwide class claims on an individual basis, resulting in dismissal of the case.  The settlement came on the heels of BrandRep’s assertion of counterclaims that put…

Congress recently reintroduced a bill titled United States Call Center Worker and Consumer Protection Act of 2016, which attempts to deter companies from employing offshore call collection centers.  

The bill would require a business that employs 50 or more call center employees to notify the Department of Labor at least 120 days before relocating …

The United States District Court for the Southern District of California recently granted summary judgment in favor of defendant United Student Aid Funds, Inc. (“USAF”) in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act class action, holding that the plaintiff had failed to prove that USAF is vicariously liable for the acts of its third party servicers.…

In Hinderstein v. Advanced Call Ctr. Techs., No. 15-100017 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 27, 2017), a case alleging violation of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and California’s Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act before the United States District Court for the Central District of California, the Court found that a relatively high call …

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently sued three law firms in the United States District Court for the Central District of California for collecting advance fees from consumers seeking debt relief.  CFPB Director Richard Cordray stated that “[t]he defendants exploited consumers who were already suffering financial difficulties by tricking them into paying steep, illegal fees.”…

On February 27, the Federal Trade Commission filed a stipulated order, which includes a $9 million judgment, against another debt relief provider, United Debt Counselors, LLC, its owners, and officers (collectively “United”) for violating the FTC Act and the Telemarketing Sales Rule.  This serves as another warning from the FTC that debt relief companies need …

On February 8, 2017, the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice quietly issued new guidance on corporate compliance programs for companies implicated in misconduct. Specifically, the Criminal Division posted a set of “important topics and sample questions that the Fraud Section has frequently found relevant in evaluating a corporate compliance program” to the…

Plaintiff Yvette Palmer filed a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case against defendant debt collector, Enhanced Recovery Company (“ERC”), for ERC’s alleged concealment of its identity as a debt collector while attempting to collect a debt and to obtain information to collect debt.  ERC filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing …

On February 13, the Federal Trade Commission sent a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau director Richard Cordray summarizing its 2016 debt collection activities for inclusion in the CFPB’s annual report to Congress on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

In its letter, the FTC describes “its aggressive law enforcement activities against abusive, unfair, and…

The United States District Court for the Southern District of California recently dismissed all of a plaintiff’s claims in the putative class action Matthew Stuppiello v. Southwest Credit Systems, L.P.   The Court held that a validation notice does not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by including a request for payment “and explain[ing] …