On May 18, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued a 24-page report regarding consumer usage and default patterns for vehicle title loans. Such loans are made to borrowers who sign over their car titles as collateral, and are commonly made to individuals with poor credit histories in need of fast cash. Although the borrower retains
Supreme Court Rejects Claim That Collection Letters on Attorney General’s Letterhead Sent By Private Debt Collection Attorneys Misled Borrowers
On May 16, 2016, a unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled that private attorneys hired by states to collect back taxes and other debts did not mislead investors by sending collection letters to borrowers using the state Attorney General’s letterhead. The Court found that the attorneys were acting as agents of the Attorney General and, therefore,
Debt Collector Pays $72,000 to Settle FCRA Charges
On May 9, the Federal Trade Commission announced that the debt collection agency Credit Protection Association will pay $72,000 to settle charges that the company violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (“FCRA”). This case is part of “Operation Collection Protection,” a program the FTC describes as “an ongoing federal, state and
FTC and Phone Billing Companies Settle Contempt Charges for Unauthorized Billing
The Federal Trade Commission and several telephone billing companies submitted a proposed stipulated order to the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas to resolve allegations that the billing companies violated a 1999 court order and permanent injunction concerning charges of phone bill cramming. The billing companies have agreed to pay $5.2
FTC Joins CFPB in Expanding Oversight of “Deceptive” Practices
On May 4, the Federal Trade Commission announced that it had reached a settlement with Very Incognito Technologies, Inc., d/b/a Vipvape, a hand-held vaporizer manufacturer. The settlement resulted from the FTC’s allegations that Vipvape violated the FTC Act by representing on its website that it was a participant in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Cross-Border Privacy
CFPB Attempts to Sound Death Knell for Consumer Class Action Waivers Used by Financial Institutions
On May 5, 2016, the CFPB announced proposed rules that would further restrict the ability of financial institutions to enter into mandatory arbitration clauses with consumers, including an outright ban on provisions that would prohibit consumers from pursuing class actions in court. The proposed rules do not forbid all mandatory arbitration clauses, however. Financial institutions
Eighth Circuit Joins Minority in Circuit Split as to Ascertainability Standard for Class Actions
On May 3, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit reversed a lower court’s rejection of class certification in Sandusky Wellness Ctr., LLC v. Medtox Scientific, Inc., a case brought under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”) relating to junk faxes sent by a lead testing company. In its opinion, the
Verizon Enterprise Publishes Data Breach Report
A recently published 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report by Verizon Enterprise reports that cybercriminals are continuing to exploit human nature as they rely on familiar attack patterns such as phishing, and increase their reliance on ransomware, where data is encrypted and a ransom is demanded in return for release of the encrypted data. The report,
U.S. Senate Passes Energy Bill with Cyber Security Provisions
On April 20, the United States Senate passed a sweeping energy bill that would give the Department of Energy authority to step in during a cyber attack and tell electric utilities what to do to protect the nation’s power grid. The bill also authorizes funding for cyber research and testing, and more clearly defines DOE’s
Missouri’s Action Against Charter for Improper Telemarketing Largely Survives First Legal Test
A government enforcement action against Charter Communications, Inc. for alleged violations of federal and state telecommunications laws has mostly withstood the first legal challenge. As we previously reported, Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster filed a federal lawsuit in October 2015 against Charter alleging violations of federal and state telemarketing and “do-not-call” laws. The lawsuit