A group of 16 state attorneys general recently wrote Richard Cordray, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a letter encouraging the CFPB to take immediate action to crack down on pre-dispute mandatory arbitration clauses in consumer agreements for financial products or services. Specifically, while acknowledging that additional actions may be necessary to “fully address
State AGs Call on FTC to Update Telemarketing Sales Rules
Thirty-eight state and territorial attorneys general recently sent a letter to the Federal Trade Commission requesting that it update its Telemarketing Sales Rules to help further protect against telemarketing fraud and abuse.
While the state attorneys general support existing Telemarketing Sales Rules, the group listed a number of concerns, including:
- An increase in the number
Pennsylvania A.G. Files Suit Against Payday Lender
Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen G. Kane recently filed a consumer protection lawsuit against Think Finance, a Texas-based company, for allegedly engineering an illegal payday loan scheme over the Internet. The lawsuit, filed in the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County, alleges that the company targets Philadelphia consumers in violation of state law.
The suit
Florida AG and FTC File Complaints Against Technical Support Services
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Federal Trade Commission filed two complaints against multiple companies operating “multi-million dollar schemes to sell tech support services to consumers nationwide,” according to a news release by the State Attorney General’s office.
According to Bondi and the FTC, the first complaint alleges that Inbound Call Experts LLC, Super
Maine’s Attorney General Issues Warning to Residents Regarding Calls from “Scammers”
On November 14, Maine’s Attorney General Janet T. Mills issued a warning to the state’s residents regarding calls from “scammers” demanding immediate payment on supposed debts. Mills’ warning stemmed from many recent reports to her office of aggressive calls from “scammers” attempting to get consumers to make payments by wire transfer or pre-paid debit card.
Business Aimed at Fraud Victims Suspends Operations while Litigating with FTC and Florida AG
Following lawsuits filed against it this month by the Federal Trade Commission and Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Consumer Collection Advocates Corp. (CCA) and its principal agreed to suspend operations in Florida, pending the outcome of the litigation.
According to the complaints by the FTC and the Florida Attorney General, CCA contracted with fraud
California Attorney General Releases Data Breach Report
California Attorney General Kamala Harris released a report on October 28 on the growing threat of data breaches on California residents. According to the report, data breaches in California jumped 28 percent last year, from 131 reported incidents in 2012 to 167 in 2013. The breaches affected 18.5 million Californians by putting their personal information
Minnesota AG Files Suit Against Texas Credit Card Firm
On October 15, Minnesota’s attorney general sued a Texas credit card processor, accusing the Apex Merchant Group (“Apex”) of using bait and switch tactics to rip off small businesses. Apex allegedly promised small businesses it could save them money on credit card processing services, then hit them with higher undisclosed fees.
According to Minnesota Attorney
Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Challenge to Disparate Impact
On October 2, the Supreme Court granted cert in a new Fair Housing Act disparate impact case, Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs v. The Inclusive Communities Project, Inc., No. 13-1371. The case takes aim at the viability of a concept at the heart of recent regulatory efforts in the auto finance space
Federal Judge Freezes Law Firm Assets in Multi-State Mortgage Rescue Scam Case
On September 24, U.S. District Judge James S. Moody, Jr., of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, issued a preliminary injunction against several law firms accused by the attorneys general of Connecticut and Florida of charging illegal upfront fees to distressed homeowners in a mortgage rescue scam.
Judge Moody agreed that