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),…
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….
On September 29, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had filed a pair of lawsuits in federal district court against two debt collection companies, related entities, and owners for allegedly violating the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTC Act”) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). The FTC…
On September 29, 2020 the Arizona Attorney General (AG) announced that it had filed a lawsuit in Arizona state court against two individual owners of debt collection businesses alleging that, on phone calls to consumers nationwide, they made false statements and threats to convince consumers to pay debts the defendants…
On September 16, 2020, the New York Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) announced it filed a statement of charges against a debt collector over the debt collector’s alleged failure to comply with New York State’s Debt Collection Regulation, Part 1 of Title 23 of the New York Codes, Rules, and…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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)…
On March 10, 2020, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it obtained a permanent injunction and monetary judgment from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (the Court) against three defendants that allegedly deceptively marketed student loan debt relief services. The Court’s order was entered on February 27, 2020, and…