The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has set its sights on debt collection practices again. In April, we wrote about the CFPB’s $63 million settlement with a mortgage servicer, Green Tree Mortgage, in part for Green Tree’s alleged treatment of mortgage debt. On July 8, 2015, the CFPB once again demonstrated it was…
On July 21, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued a consent order requiring a national bank and its subsidiaries to provide roughly $700 million in consumer relief due to the bank’s practices relating to its credit card services and add-on products. The consent order states that a CFPB review of the bank’s practices…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s recent action against two credit card vendors regarding credit monitoring and identity theft protection services is a reminder of the legal risks associated with certain add-on products. The July 1 settlement, in which the CFPB found that the vendors misled customers about the benefits of…
On July 7, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that a federal court entered a preliminary injunction halting an alleged nationwide debt relief telemarketing scam and freezing the defendants’ assets. The FTC claims that the defendants millions from consumers. The complaint, brought by the FTC and Florida Attorney General, alleged that the defendants contacted consumers…
On June 22, 2015, the US Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania filed an information charging Adrian Rubin of Jenkintown, PA, with: (1) one count of conspiracy to violate RICO, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d); (2) one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. §…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) took action against two credit card vendors, entering into proposed consent orders regarding the companies’ offerings of allegedly unlawful add-on products. Credit card companies offer consumers “add-on” services, such as credit monitoring or identity theft protection for a monthly or annual membership fee. Following an…
On Monday, June 29, 2015, the Florida Attorney General and the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) obtained an ex parte temporary restraining order from a federal court for the Middle District of Florida to shut down the operations of a Florida corporation operating in violation of the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule. Under the Telemarketing Sales…
A national bank can charge an interest rate that exceeds state law maximums, but the bank’s assignee cannot, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled recently, in a decision that could impact the ability of debt purchasers and others to rely on an originating bank’s federal preemption. The…
On May 19, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an announcement and released remarks prepared by Director Richard Cordray regarding a complaint filed by the CFPB against California and Maryland based online-payment services. The complaint, filed May 19 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland,…
On March 3, 2015 CFPB Director Richard Cordray appeared before the House Committee on Financial Services to deliver testimony regarding the Bureau’s work. Director Cordray spent much of his semiannual address touting the Bureau’s efforts in the mortgage space. In his written statement, Director Cordray commented on the Bureau’s Qualified…
On February 5, 2015, the New York Department of Financial Services (“NYDFS”) announced a settlement with a national bank over allegations that the bank improperly secured its retail credit card with an interest in the borrower’s home, and that certain mortgage loan files contained falsified or altered income documents. Under the…
On February 4, 2015, the CFPB announced that it had entered a consent order with a Delaware-based subprime credit card company and servicer concerning allegations that the company made false statements and charged illegal fees for credit cards in violation of the Truth in Lending Act. The company purportedly charged…
On February 3, 2015, the CFPB announced that it had entered a stipulation for an order and final judgment with a Texas-based company that had falsely intimated that its membership card was a credit card. The card was advertised and offered to union workers and charged a membership fee. Purchasers…
On September 3, 2014, the CFPB issued a Bulletin warning credit card issuers about deceptive marketing of promotional annual percentage rate (APR) offers. According to the CFPB, it has observed solicitations that offer an initial low APR for certain kinds of transactions (such as convenience checks, deferred interest rate purchases, or…
Synchrony Bank (formerly known as GE Capital Retail Bank) made two direct mail offers to its credit card holders, but it did not send the offers to Spanish-speaking customers. The Bank self-reported its actions, resulting in consent orders with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Department of Justice, which…