The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently ruled that a debtor must show that a debt collector's alleged false representation was material for it to be a "false, deceptive, or misleading representation" in...more
The CFPB (referring to itself as the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection) has filed what appears to be its first amicus brief since former Director Cordray’s departure....more
The CFPB has issued its seventh annual Fair Debt Collection Practices Act report covering the CFPB’s and FTC’s activities in 2017.
The CFPB’s previous FDCPA annual reports began with a message from former Director Cordray....more
A letter sent to collect a time-barred debt that makes a settlement offer can, even without a threat of legal action, violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act's (FDCPA) general prohibition against a debt collector's use...more
2/19/2018
/ Appeals ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Debt Collectors ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Motion to Dismiss ,
Settlement Offer ,
Statute of Limitations ,
Time-Barred Debt ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
Safe harbor language is not always safe, as illustrated by a recent decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Boucher v. Finance System of Green Bay....more
The CFPB has withdrawn its request to OMB to conduct an online survey of 8,000 individuals as part of its research on debt collection disclosures. Last month, the CFPB published a notice in the Federal Register that it was...more
12/19/2017
/ Banking Sector ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
FDCPA ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
Financial Services Industry ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Freeze ,
SBREFA ,
Surveys ,
Time-Barred Debt
A federal district court in Pennsylvania recently granted summary judgment to a debtor in a lawsuit filed against a collection law firm under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)....more
A debt collector cannot avoid claims under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by purchasing the debtor's lawsuit, according to a recent opinion from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. ...more
A debt-collection law firm's overstatements in a state court complaint of $3,000 in the principal amount due and 0.315 percent in the interest rate were actionable under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) as...more
Regulators from the states of Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota and North Dakota (“Participating States”) have entered into a settlement agreement with three affiliated debt collection companies to settle...more
Recently, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought against a foreclosure firm—Reimer, Arnovitz, Chernek & Jeffrey (the Reimer firm)—under the Fair Debt Collection Practices...more
In a 7-4 en banc decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled that the bona fide error defense in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) did not protect a debt collector who complied with...more
The CFPB has issued a new compliance bulletin (2017-11) to provide guidance on pay-by-phone fees. The guidance includes examples of conduct relating to pay-by-phone practices identified by the CFPB in its supervision and...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently affirmed the dismissal of a lawsuit brought against Midland Funding, LLC (Midland), and its collection law firm under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)....more
The West Virginia Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of a debt collector in an action alleging a violation of West Virginia’s Consumer Credit and Protection Act. In its June 12 decision, the court held that call volume,...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that a purchaser of defaulted debt did not qualify as a debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) because it did not collect debts "due another", but...more
A federal district court in New Jersey dismissed a putative class-action lawsuit against Total Card, Inc. (TCI), a South Dakota-based debt collector. The plaintiff alleged that TCI violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices...more
In a notice published earlier this week in the Federal Register, the CFPB announced that it plans to seek OMB approval to conduct an online survey of approximately 8,000 individuals as part of its research on debt collection...more
Filing a proof of claim in a debtor's Chapter 13 bankruptcy case on a debt that is "obviously time barred" does not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 5-3 decision....more
A collection letter potentially violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) because a box the plaintiff could check to indicate she disputed the validity of the debt was accompanied by a statement that a reason...more
A collection letter potentially violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) because a box that the plaintiff could check to indicate that she disputed the validity of the debt was accompanied by a statement that a...more
A law firm's letter, warning that a lien would be recorded against a woman's home if she failed to pay her annual homeowners association fees, is not exempt from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) as an attempt to...more
The CFPB has filed an amicus brief in support of the plaintiff in Arias v. Gutman, Mintz, Baker & Sonnenfeldt, PC and 1700 Development Co., a FDCPA case on appeal to the U. S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In its...more
11/17/2016
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Banking Sector ,
Banks ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Default Judgment ,
Elder Issues ,
FDCPA ,
Garnishment ,
Landlords ,
Rent ,
Social Security Benefits ,
Unfair or Deceptive Trade Practices
A federal district court in Florida has ruled that a debt collector did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by sending a collection letter in an envelope that allegedly revealed a barcode in which the...more
In its Fall 2016 Supervisory Highlights, which covers supervision work generally completed between May and August 2016, the CFPB highlights violations found by its examiners involving origination and servicing of auto...more
11/7/2016
/ Ability-to-Repay ,
Automotive Loans ,
Banking Sector ,
Consumer Contracts ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Debt Collection ,
Dodd-Frank ,
Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) ,
Fair Lending ,
FDCPA ,
Fees ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
HMDA ,
Industry Examinations ,
Limited English Proficiency (LEP) ,
Mortgage Loan Originators ,
Mortgage Servicers ,
Mortgages ,
Popular ,
Regulation E ,
Regulation Z ,
Student Loans ,
Supervisory Highlights ,
UDAAP