On May 9, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had entered into a consent order with a Texas-based debt collector, stemming from allegations that the debt collector had violated the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA), Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the Duties of Furnishers of Information to Consumer…
On April 13, 2016, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (the “OCC”) assessed a $35 million dollar penalty against a national bank for billing practices alleged to be unfair and deceptive in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The penalty was assessed in connection with a credit…
On March 30, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that the Northern District of Illinois granted the FTC and Illinois Attorney General’s request for a temporary restraining order against an Illinois payday loan collection operation. The FTC and AG alleged the payday loan collector was in violation of the FTC Act, Fair Debt Collection…
On February 25, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that on February 16, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California entered a temporary restraining order against a debt relief provider that allegedly deceptively marketed home loan modification services and student loan modification services. The Complaint alleged that for several months…
On February 1, 2016, the FDIC announced that it reached a settlement with a Utah State nonmember Bank for $250,000, to resolve allegations of deceptive and unfair acts and practices under section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act for “failing to adequately inform consumers of promotion plan requirements concerning…
On January 27, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it has filed a complaint against a for-profit college for allegedly violating the FTC Act by engaging in deceptive advertising. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The FTC has requested a permanent…
On January 8, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and the Attorney General for the State of Florida (“Florida AG”) announced charges against a payment processing business relating to an alleged nationwide debt relief telemarketing scam. The amended complaint was filed on December 21, 2015 in the United States District Court for the Middle District…
On January 5, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that two online payday lenders reached a settlement with the FTC to resolve charges that payday lenders illegally charged consumers undisclosed and inflated fees. As part of the settlement, each company agreed to a penalty of $2.2 million and combined waived $68 million in uncollected consumer…
On December 23, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced that it settled claims against a Delaware bank alleging unfair, deceptive, unsafe, and unsound acts and practices in violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act (Section 5). According to the FDIC, the bank violated Section 5 by “failing to provide promised protections to…
On December 23, the FDIC and Federal Reserve each announced settlements in closely related enforcement actions against a bank and a company that distributed financial aid refunds. The FDIC settled its claims for deceptive practices in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act with each defendant. The Federal Reserve brought its Section 5…
On December 3, two telemarketers stipulated to a preliminary injunction preventing the companies from making allegedly misleading robocalls to consumers regarding reduction in credit card interest rates as part of a debt relief offering. In the underlying lawsuit, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the State of Florida filed a…
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 September 16, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had entered a stipulated order with a debt collection services provider over allegations that the debt collector violated the Federal Trade Commission Act and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by misrepresenting to payday loan recipients that they were delinquent on their debts, collected millions…
On September 8, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) settled with two national banks for alleged violations of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. The banks are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the same parent company. The FDIC alleged that the banks engaged in unfair and deceptive practices in connection with…
On September 3, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) agreed to settle allegations with a mortgage relief services company that allegedly charged homeowners an illegal fee for assistance the company never provided. The FTC brought its claims under section 5(a) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (“FTCA”), 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), the Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule (“MARS…
On July 30, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it will mail checks totaling over $969,000 to consumers who lost money as part of a credit card interest rate reduction scam. In June 2013, the FTC brought suit in the Middle District of Florida against a payment processor and telemarketing company,…
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…
On July 8, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that settlements were approved against companies and individuals who allegedly operated a fraudulent debt collection scheme that targeted Spanish-speaking consumers. According to the complaint, the defendants cold called Spanish-speaking consumers nationwide, and falsely held themselves out to be government officials seeking to collect a debt…
On June 10, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it entered into a consent order with an Arkansas car dealer over charges that the car dealer failed to display a “Buyers Guide” on used cars offered for sale. In connection with the settlement, the car dealer agreed to pay…
On June 10, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) announced that it unanimously approved consent orders with two Georgia car title lenders that the FTC charged had failed to disclose important conditions about financing for their title loans. In its complaint, the FTC alleged that the car title lenders violated the…