The debt collection industry continues to be a major focus of the Federal Trade Commission’s enforcement efforts, as shown by the agency’s decision to simultaneously announce two settlements last week with Tennessee and New...more
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that it has entered into a settlement with one of the nation’s largest credit repair companies and its owners for alleged violations of the Credit Repair Organizations Act...more
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced a consent order with a subprime auto lender for alleged violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act), the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and the Fair...more
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced two more settlements with data brokers for alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The settlements with Instant Checkmate, Inc., InfoTrack Information...more
A new joint publication of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) serves as a reminder to employers of the risks that come with the use of background information when making...more
The FTC wants the debt collection industry to know that it does not intend to take a backseat to the CFPB when it comes to FDCPA enforcement. In announcing the release of its annual summary of debt collection activities, the...more
Servicemembers now have more channels for submitting complaints relating to their higher education. In addition to their ability to submit complaints about student loans via the CFPB’s complaint system, servicemembers using...more
The Federal Trade Commission continues to aggressively enforce the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) against data brokers, as shown by its recent settlement with TeleCheck Services, Inc. The settlement requires TeleCheck to...more
The Federal Trade Commission announced last week that it had entered into proposed consent orders with nine auto dealers in six states that were charged with deceptive advertising in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act....more
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced the settlement of its first enforcement action for alleged violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) risk-based pricing rule (Rule). The settlement demonstrates that...more
Last month, the CFPB, jointly with the FTC, filed an amicus brief in Sykes v. Mel S. Harris and Associates LLC, a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case on appeal to the Second Circuit. This represents the third FDCPA case...more
Charles A. Harwood, Deputy Director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Federal Trade Commission, testified before a U.S. Senate committee last week about military consumer protection issues. Deputy Director Harwood's...more
The CFPB recently filed its first amicus brief in a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) case. This brief, like the amicus brief the CFPB filed in August 2013 in the Seventh Circuit in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case,...more
The Federal Trade Commission recently announced that it had settled a case representing its first action challenging a debt collector’s use of text messages.
In its complaint, the FTC alleged that the defendant debt...more
A new amicus brief filing by the CFPB recently appeared on the CFPB’s amicus program webpage. On August 14, 2013, the CFPB, jointly with the FTC, filed an amicus brief in Delgado v. Capital Management Services, LP, et al., a...more
The Federal Trade Commission recently accepted agreements containing proposed consent orders from two car dealers who were charged with deceptive advertising in violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act....more
Collection documentation and medical debts proved to be the focus of much of yesterday’s Senate Banking Committee hearing on the debt industry. The witnesses were Corey Stone, CFPB Assistant Director, Office of Deposits,...more
The Federal Trade Commission’s recent announcement that it entered into a record settlement with “the world’s largest debt collection operation” demonstrates that it intends to continue its vigorous enforcement of the Fair...more
The Federal Trade Commission has proposed changes to its telemarketing sales rule (TSR) that would prohibit sellers and telemarketers from accepting or requesting remotely created checks or payment orders, cash-to-cash money...more
A Florida federal court has rejected the Federal Communication Commission's 2008 ruling that by providing a wireless number to a creditor on a credit application, a consumer has given "prior express consent" as required by...more
The Federal Trade Commission continues to keep Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) enforcement at the forefront of its activities, as shown by its recent warnings to operators of six websites that provide information about...more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s second annual report to Congress on enforcement of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) confirms that debt collection will continue to be a major CFPB focus in 2013....more
The Federal Trade Commission’s continuing focus on the debt collection and debt relief industries was clearly demonstrated by several recently announced lawsuits and settlements....more
The Federal Trade Commission has issued a report, The Structure and Practices of the Debt Buying Industry, which the FTC has described as “the first of its kind” empirical study of debt buyers. ...more
The Federal Trade Commission recently released its decision to retain its rule requiring disclosure of a buyer’s right to cancel door-to-door sales of consumer goods and services (Cooling-Off Rule)....more