On Wednesday, July 15, CFPB Director Richard Cordray assured the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, as well as the public, that data collected by the CFPB could not be used to personally identify any consumer. A September report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that the CFPB collects information on 700,000 car
Debt Buyers + Collectors
Troutman Sanders Welcomes Keith Barnett
Troutman Sanders LLP announced that Keith J. Barnett has joined the firm’s Government Investigations, Compliance and Enforcement Practice as a partner in the Atlanta office. He joins the firm from Sutherland Asbill & Brennan.
Keith is a seasoned compliance and government enforcement lawyer with more than a decade of experience representing clients before government regulators,…
Judge Denies Law Firm’s Motion to Dismiss Debt Collection Lawsuit Filed by CFPB
On July 14, 2015, a federal judge in Atlanta denied a law firm’s Motion to Dismiss a claim against it filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act or the Dodd-Frank Act (“Dodd-Frank”).
The CFPB filed suit against a…
CUNA Calls for Additional Oversight of CFPB
Representatives from the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) addressed the Senate Banking Committee on July 14 in advance of the Committee’s July 15 Hearing with Director Richard Cordray of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
CUNA representatives recommended that Congress clarify and expand the CFPB’s exemption authority. This would permit the CFPB to further exempt …
FCC Issues Sweeping Order Expanding Reach of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act
On Friday, July 10, the Federal Communications Commission enacted major changes and clarifications to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”). Approved on a contentious 3-2 vote by the FCC commissioners, the FCC released its Declaratory Ruling and Order (FCC 15-72) formally stating its interpretation of numerous provisions of TCPA.
The TCPA…
Trade Groups Submit Comment Letter to CFPB Regarding Its Study on Consumer Arbitration
On July 13, the American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers Association, and The Financial Services Roundtable submitted a comment letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in response to the CFPB’s March 10, 2015 Consumer Arbitration Study.
This Arbitration Study has been widely viewed as potentially laying the groundwork for the abolition of mandatory…
CFPB Issues “Guiding Principles” for Financial Technology Payment Systems to Ensure Consumer Protections
On July 9, just weeks after initiating its first enforcement actions against payment processors, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued an outline of nine “guiding principles” for faster payment networks which will provide greater consumer protections. The CFPB indicated that new technology supporting payment systems must be secure, transparent, accessible, affordable to consumers, and have…
New York’s Highest Court Holds New York City Law Imposing Requirements on Lawyers Engaging in Debt Collection Practices is Not Preempted
On June 30, the Court of Appeals of New York answered questions certified from the Second Circuit regarding whether a New York City law imposing certain requirements on attorneys engaged in debt collection practices is preempted by state law.
Local Law 15, which was enacted in 2009, expanded an earlier definition of debt collection agencies…
West Virginia Attorney General’s Office Settles Debt Collection Allegations against CashPoint
On June 23, West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced that he had reached a settlement with Dominion Management Services, a vehicle title loan company that does business as CashPoint. The agreement will result in CashPoint forgiving about $2.36 million in consumer loan debt, and releasing liens on hundreds of titles of vehicles owned by…
FTC Sending Nearly $4 Million to Consumers Extorted in Credit Card Debt Collection Scam
As we discussed last year, the Federal Trade Commission announced in May 2014 that it settled charges against Asset Capital and Management Group for illegally extracting payments from consumers for credit card debt that it had purchased from creditors.
In addition to banning the defendants – which includes individuals behind the scheme, a network …