On July 14, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it had entered into a final consent order with Ohio auto dealers Progressive Chevrolet Company and Progressive Motors Inc. (collectively, the “Progressive Dealers”), which the FTC had “charged with deceiving consumers by using advertising that touted low monthly car lease payments and down payments but failed
FTC Approves Increasing Civil Penalty Amounts
The FTC recently approved increases to the maximum civil penalty amounts available for violations of statutes subject to FTC enforcement. The Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act of 2015 authorizes increases affecting sixteen statutes under FTC enforcement authority.
The amended maximums take effect August 1, 2016.
New maximum civil penalties for the following violations will
FTC and Florida Attorney General Settle with Lead Generator Over Technical Support Scam
On July 13, the FTC filed a proposed settlement agreement in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida between a group of lead generators and the FTC and the Office of the Florida Attorney General. The named lead generators included PC Cleaner, Inc.; Netcom3 Global, Inc.; Netcom 3, Inc.,
Federal Judge Rejects Challenge to CFPB Director’s Recess Appointment
On July 13, a federal judge tossed out a challenge to the recess appointment of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray.
In State National Bank of Big Spring et al. v. Lew et al., the State National Bank of Big Spring, Texas, joined by conservative advocacy groups The Competitive Enterprise Institute and
Connecticut Issues No-Action Letter That Is Great News for Consumer Collection Agencies
In a memorandum dated June 30, the Connecticut Department of Banking stated that it will take no action against licensed consumer collection agencies who collect student loan debt if the licensed consumer collection agencies do not have a license to service student loans. The Department stated that consumer collection agencies who collect student loan debt
CFPB Monthly Report Highlights Complaints About Various Consumer Loans
On June 28, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its Monthly Complaint Report, which aims to provide “a high-level snapshot of trends in consumer complaints” concerning products such as auto loans, installment loans, and title loans. The CFPB claims that since it began collecting such complaints in July 2011, it has handled a total
Don’t Call Me (Maybe): FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule Amendments Limiting Payment Methods Available to Telemarketers Go Into Effect
On June 27, the Federal Trade Commission issued an alert regarding new amendments to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (“TSR”) that are now in effect. The new amendments prohibit telemarketers from using three types of commonly abused payment methods: cash-to-cash money transfers (such as MoneyGram), PIN numbers from cash reload cards
Proposed House Bill Would Give States and Tribes an Exemption from CFPB Payday Rules
A recently introduced House bill would provide a mechanism to let states opt out of the CFPB’s newly announced rules regulating payday, auto title, and other short-term, small dollar loans. On June 21, Congressman Scott Tipton (R-Colo.) introduced H.B. 5552 which would effectively amend the CFPB’s recently proposed rules. If passed,
Settlement Between North Carolina and Payday Lender Serves as Reminder to Payment Processors
On June 6, the Attorney General for the State of North Carolina executed a settlement agreement with a payday lender, Future Income Payments, LLC, arising out of the payday lender’s alleged violation of that state’s usury laws. The settlement agreement requires the lender to pay North Carolina $50,000 in attorneys’ and investigation fees, plus a
FTC Announces $950K Penalty for Deceptive Tracking by Singapore-based Mobile Ad Company
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) issued a press release last week announcing it has assessed $950,000 in civil penalties against Singapore-based mobile advertising company InMobi for alleged violations of the FTC Act and the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (“COPPA”). The penalty is part of InMobi’s settlement with the FTC over allegations that