On July 26, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it filed a lawsuit against a regional credit union over alleged violations of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The SCRA prohibits lenders from repossessing servicemembers’ vehicles without a court order while servicemembers are on activity military duty. The DOJ alleged in…
On June 8, 2016, the Michigan Attorney General announced that a Michigan court entered a default judgment and permanent injunction against an automobile title loan company over alleged usurious loans that violated the Michigan Consumer Protection Act. According to the Attorney General, the company charged usurious interest rates on automobile title loans, engaged…
This time last year, LLW reported on the Department of Justice going after subprime auto lenders, and more recently we have reported on the CFPB’s targeting of subprime auto lenders. But Massachusetts has also gotten in on the regulatory action. On March 16, 2016, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office (MAG) announced that American Credit…
On March 16, 2016, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office announced that two financial services companies specializing in auto loans agreed to pay a total of $7.4 million in restitution to Massachusetts consumers over allegations the companies charged excessive interest rates on auto loans. According to the Massachusetts AG, the companies purchased loans from primary creditors…
On March 18, 2016, the Massachusetts Attorney General announced that it obtained a preliminary injunction against an online auto lender over claims the company originated loans with illegal interest rates and fees in violation of Massachusetts usury laws. According to the Attorney General, the company offered online title loans to…
On February 2, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a settlement with an auto manufacturer resolving claims of alleged discrimination under the Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Under the terms of the settlement, the auto manufacturer will pay “$21.9 million in restitution to thousands of African-American and Asian and Pacific Islander…
Scrutiny of the CFPB’s auto-lending supervision and enforcement practices was renewed last week when Republicans on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services issued another scathing report criticizing the agency, this time focusing on its handling of the distribution of the Ally Financial auto-lending settlement funds. Concurrently with…
On January 21, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into an administrative consent order with a Colorado “buy here, pay here” used car dealer related to its auto loan financing practices between January 2012 and May 2014. The consent order alleged that the auto dealer hid the total cost of…
On January 20, the New York Attorney General’s Office (Attorney General) announced that it had filed a complaint against several New York auto dealerships over allegations that the dealerships sold deceptive “after-sale” products to consumers. The lawsuit alleges that the dealerships partnered with an independent credit repair company to charge 1,426 consumers…
In December 2015, the CFPB took action against non-bank auto lender CarHop. In so doing, the CFPB continued to carry out its stated intention of expanding its regulatory oversight to large non-bank auto lenders. The CFPB ordered CarHop and its affiliated financing company, Universal Acceptance Corporation (Universal), to cease their…
On December 17, 2015, the CFPB announced a consent order and settlement with a Minnesota-based auto dealer and its affiliated financing company regarding their credit reporting practices in 15 states. The consent order asserts that the companies violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act…
On December 16, 2015, the CFPB announced a consent order and settlement with a small-dollar lender concerning its debt collection practices in 15 states. According to the consent order, the lender’s unlawful conduct allegedly included: in-person collection visits at consumers’ homes and workplaces and phone calls to supervisors, landlords, and…
On November 24, 2015, Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee released a report sharply criticizing the CFPB’s methodology for enforcing the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) with regard to indirect automobile lending. The report, entitled, “Unsafe at Any Bureaucracy: CFPB Junk Science and Indirect Auto Lending,” adds to the…
On November 24, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it reached a settlement agreement with two Ohio auto dealers relating to allegations that the auto dealers violated Section 184 of the Consumer Leasing Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1667c, and Section 213.7 of Regulation M, 12 C.F.R. § 213.7. Specifically, the FTC’s administrative complaint alleged that the auto dealers failed to disclose key…
On November 20, 2015, the CFPB published its current rulemaking agenda. Under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, the CFPB drafts and implements new regulations governing certain consumer finance products and services. The CFPB publishes its regulatory agenda twice a year, which summarizes the proposed regulations (or “rules”) the Bureau is…
On November 5, 2015 the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office announced that a national auto loan company agreed to pay $5.4 million in restitution to Massachusetts consumers to settle allegations it charged excessive interest rates on automobile loans. According to the Massachusetts AG, the company purchased loans from primary creditors that contained…
On October 28, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered an administrative consent order against an Ohio-based auto lender that specializes in loans to military servicemembers. The CFPB consent order, and the companion stipulated order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, resolve…
On October 20, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it approved final consent orders against two Law Vegas auto dealers for misrepresenting the cost of cars in advertising, which the dealers had agreed to settle back in June (available here and here). The complaints (available here and here) alleged that the…
On October 1, 2015, the CFPB announced an enforcement action and consent order with an indirect auto lender for illegal debt collection and other practices. It is alleged that the company’s actions violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Truth in Lending Act, and the Dodd-Frank Act. The illegal…
On September 23, 2015, the Vermont Attorney General’s Office announced a settlement with a regional automobile title loan company over allegations the company charged illegal interest rates and fees to borrowers. The company operated websites that offered automobile title loans to Vermont consumers. Consumers who were approved for the loans assigned…