In its latest monthly snapshot report, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau reported that it has handled approximately 285,800 debt collection complaints since July 21, 2011, making debt collection the most-complained-about product. Within the debt collection context, consumers’ most common complaint concerned attempts to collect on a debt that the consumer says is not owed.
Arkansas AG Files Suit Against Credit Repair Organization
On December 20, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge filed a consumer protection lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas against Florida-based Capital Credit Solutions Inc. and Willie J. McKenzie for alleged violations of the Federal Credit Repair Organization Act, the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, and the Arkansas Credit
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler Announces Resignation on Dec. 15, 2016, Signaling Potential Reform to the Telephone Consumer Protect Act (TCPA)
|
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler said Thursday that he’ll step down from his post on Jan. 20, 2017. Wheeler was appointed by President Obama three years ago to lead the FCC. Prior to his October 2013 confirmation as the 31st chairman of the FCC, Wheeler served as managing director at venture capital firm |
More Than One Call Per Day is Not Enough to Violate FDCPA; Consent Provided to Creditor Extends to Debt Collector Under TCPA
The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey recently held in Samuel Chisholm v. AFNI, Inc. that a debt collector “could not reasonably be found to violate” the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by calling a consumer 18 times on his cell phone over the course of 13 days. All calls were
Requesting Attorneys’ Fees in Court Summons Does Not Misrepresent Amount of Debt
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee recently held that a debt collector’s civil court summons requesting “reasonable attorney fees” does not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In Wilma Jones et al. v. Hospital of Morristown (Case No. 2:16cv13, 2016 LEXIS 153869 (E.D. Tenn. Oct. 6, 2016)), the plaintiff argued
FTC Files Lawsuit Against Bogus Debt Portfolio Seller
On December 16, the Federal Trade Commission filed suit in Kansas federal court against Joel Tucker and the business entities he purportedly controls, alleging that Tucker marketed, distributed, and sold counterfeit debt portfolios that purport to identify consumers who have defaulted on payday loans.
Specifically, Tucker and his companies allegedly sold spreadsheets to debt collectors
CFPB Signals Intent to Move Forward With System Allowing Consumers to Rate Companies’ Responses to Complaints
According to a Federal Register notice published on November 29, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is soliciting further comments on its proposal to provide consumers with the option to fill out a short survey on their satisfaction with companies’ resolution of consumer complaints. In the notice, the CFPB described the proposal:
The purpose of this
Attorney Collecting Debt For a Debt Collector May Not Rely on Client’s Validation Notice
A district court in the Seventh Circuit has denied a motion to dismiss filed by a collection attorney acting on behalf of a debt collector client, holding that the plaintiff in the case could pursue her claim based on the attorney’s failure to provide his own § 1692g validation notice in an initial communication, even
$11 Million Judgment Entered Against Debt Collectors in FTC Action
The United States District Court for the Western District of New York recently granted the Federal Trade Commission’s motion for summary judgment and entered a final order against a group of debt collectors who pretended to be affiliated with the government, and ordered them to pay nearly $11 million.
In Federal Trade Commission v. Federal
FCRA Lawsuits Increase in 2016
While the number of lawsuits filed under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act remained relatively steady or fell, claims under the Fair Credit Reporting Act rose sharply between October 2015 and October 2016. The total number of FCRA lawsuits increased from 283 to 355 – a 25.4 percent increase.