Search Results: Debt Collection

California Agency Enters into MOUs with Five Earned Wage Access Companies

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…

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California DFPI Announces Investigation of a Dozen Debt Collectors

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…

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Pennsylvania AG Halts Operations of Student Loan Forgiveness Company

​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…

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CFPB Settles with Debt Collection Company for Alleged CFPA and FDCPA Violations

​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…

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FTC Reaches Settlement With Debt Collection Company for “Debt Parking” Scheme

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…

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CFPB Settles with Telecommunications Debt Collector for Alleged FCRA and CFPA Violations

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…

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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Issues New Final Rule Modernizing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

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…

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CFPB Settles with Debt Collector for Over $15 Million

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),…

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CFPB, FTC, Federal and State Law Enforcement Crackdown on Corrupt Debt Collectors

On September 29, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with more than 50 federal and state law enforcement partners, announced a nationwide law enforcement and outreach initiative designed to protect consumers from phantom debt collection, and abusive and threatening debt collection practices….

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NY Attorney General Settles with Debt Collection Company Over Allegedly Unlawful Student Loan Debt Collection Practices

On September 14, 2020, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that she secured protections for thousands of student borrowers who defaulted on student loans and who were allegedly subject to misleading and unlawful actions by one of the nation’s largest debt collectors.  The settlement agreement resolves an investigation of…

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Pennsylvania AG Halts Bank’s Allegedly Aggressive Auto Loan Debt Collection Practices

On August 19, 2020, the Pennsylvania Office of the Attorney General announced that it had entered into a voluntary compliance agreement with a regional bank to stop allegedly aggressive auto loan debt collection practices. The agreement arose out of allegations made by the Pennsylvania AG that the bank engaged in unfair and manipulative practices,…

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​Massachusetts AG Reaches Settlement with Mortgage Servicer for Alleged Debt Collection Violations​

On June 22, 2020, the Massachusetts Attorney General announced ​a settlement with a Florida-based mortgage loan servicer following an investigation into the servicer’s debt collection practices. Specifically, the settlement resolves allegations that the servicer made excessive calls to distressed homeowners and failed to provide written notice of their right to…

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Federal Court Enjoins Enforcement of Massachusetts Attorney General’s COVID-19 Debt Collection Regulation

On May 6, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, in ACA International v. Healey, Case No. 1:20-cv-10767-RGS, enjoined Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (AG Healey) from enforcing provisions of the emergency regulation, 940 CMR 35.00, et seq. (Regulation), prohibiting debt collection calls and initiating lawsuits during…

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CFPB Holds Public Advisory Committees Meeting on Impact of COVID-19

On May 1, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau or CFPB) held a joint virtual meeting of its four advisory committees:  the Consumer Advisory Board, the Community Bank Advisory Council, the Credit Union Advisory Council, and the Academic Research Council.  The meeting—the Bureau’s first public event since the onset…

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COVID-19 and State Debt Collection Restrictions: What States Are Doing to Curb Debt Collection and the Industry’s Response

A number of state officials and regulators have taken steps to decrease the economic burdens stemming from COVID-19 on consumers in their states, including by placing additional restrictions on debt collection practices.  Among the more notable of these efforts took place on March 26, 2020, when Massachusetts Attorney General (AG)…

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