On August 12, 2021, the Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) announced a settlement with an online loan servicer, resolving allegations that the company engaged in abusive debt collection practices in violation of the AG’s debt collection regulations. After the AG’s Office conducted an investigation into the company, the Massachusetts AG alleged that the company, which…
On June 8, 2020 the Washington Attorney General’s office (Washington AG) announced that a consent order had been reached with a Colorado-based debt collection agency that would require the agency to pay $475,000 to approximately 5,000 Washington consumers to resolve a lawsuit originally filed in April 2020 in Washington state…
On May 14, 2021, the Seventh Circuit United States Court of Appeals issued a decision reaffirming the rule from “a slew of cases” that, without injury, a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claim alleging a bare procedural violation is not actionable. The case—Markakos v. Medicredi, Inc., No. 20-2351—involved an…
On April 14, 2021, the Indiana Attorney General (Indiana AG) announced that his office obtained a default judgment against an Illinois-based debt collection agency and the agency’s owner. The original complaint filed by the Indiana AG alleged the agency violated Indiana’s Deceptive Consumer Sales Act by improperly threatening borrowers with legal action, such as liens…
On April 22, the CFPB announced that it and the NY AG had filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of New York seeking to seize a $1.6 million home they allege was fraudulently transferred by the owner of a shuttered debt-collection scheme. According to the CFPB, after discovering the federal and state…
On April 13, 2021, the Minnesota Attorney General Office (Minnesota AG) announced that it reached a settlement with a California-based student-loan debt-relief company resolving alleged violations of Minnesota’s Debt Services Settlement Act, Prevention of Consumer Fraud Act, Minn. Stat. § 325F.69, et seq., and Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Minn. Stat. § 325D.43, et seq. The Minnesota…
On April 6, 2021, the Pennsylvania Attorney General (Pennsylvania AG) announced that it reached an agreement with a Texas-based debt buyer concerning a portfolio of student loan debt it purchased from a now-defunct for-profit college. According to the Pennsylvania AG, the debt purchaser purchased the portfolio of loans after the for-profit college abruptly closed in December 2018 due to…
On April 6, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered into a consent order with a third-party debt collection company and its former owner for alleged violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531, 5536 and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq. The CFPB alleged that…
On March 19, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its annual report to Congress regarding its administration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The CFPB and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) share government enforcement responsibility for the FDCPA, and work together to coordinate their respective efforts…
On February 8, 2021, the Delaware Attorney General (Delaware AG) announced that it filed an administrative lawsuit against a California-based debt-management services company for allegedly violating the Delaware Uniform Debt-Management Services Act, the Delaware Consumer Fraud Act, and the Delaware Deceptive Trade Practices Act. According to the Delaware AG, the debt-management company used misleading advertising to target elderly and…
On January 28, 2021, the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (DFPI) announced that it entered into five Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with five different earned wage access companies. Earned wage access companies provide consumers with advances or “on-demand pay” before their pay day for wages that they have earned but not yet received. According to…
On January 19, 2020, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) launched an investigation into a dozen debt collectors potentially engaging in unlawful, unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP) under California law. This represents the first major public action taken under the expanded oversight and enforcement authority of the California…
On December 16, 2020, the Pennsylvania Attorney General (Pennsylvania AG) announced a settlement with a California-based student loan forgiveness company for alleged violations of state consumer protection laws. According to the Pennslyvania AG, the company used false advertising tactics and posted fraudulent customer reviews on the Better Business Bureau website. Further, the company…
On December 9, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had filed a complaint against a Missouri-based debt collection company in federal court in the Western District of Missouri. The CFPB alleges the company violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692e and 1692g and the Consumer Financial…
On December 8, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) announced that it had entered into a consent order with a New Jersey debt collection company, resolving allegations that the debt collection company violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). The debt collection company was engaged…
On November 30, 2020 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had reached a settlement with a debt collection company for its “debt parking scheme” (also known as “passive debt collection”) in which the company allegedly placed bogus or questionable debts on consumers’ credit reports in an attempt to coerce them to pay the…
On November 16, 2020, the Maryland Attorney General (Maryland AG) announced a settlement with a Texas-based debt buyer regarding a portfolio of student loan debt the buyer purchased from a court-appointed receiver following the closure of a for-profit college. The $2,622,877 settlement immediately discharges any outstanding loans and refunds 75%…
On November 12, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order with an Illinois-based debt collector that collects debts on behalf of telecommunications companies and furnishes consumer-account information to credit reporting agencies. The CFPB alleged that the debt collector violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the…
On October 30, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a new final rule implementing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). According the CFPB’s press release, the new final rule is designed “to restate and clarify prohibitions on harassment and abuse, false or misleading representations, and unfair practices…
On October 15, 2020, the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau (CFPB) announced that it has reached a proposed settlement with the nation’s largest debt collector. The CFPB previously reached a consent order with this company in 2015 for alleged violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA),…