On January 27, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) published its updated annual list of consumer reporting companies for the purpose of encouraging consumers to seek access to their files, and sue if they believe there is a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) violation. The CFPB’s press release announcing the…
On January 26, 2022, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it resolved claims against the remaining defendants in an action concerning student loan debt relief products and services that commenced in 2019. As we previously reported, the FTC filed a complaint against a collection of interrelated companies in November 2019, alleging that they used fraudulent…
On January 7, 2022, the Massachusetts Appeals Court issued a decision concerning whether two insurance companies provided sufficient and timely notice to its Insured regarding the exclusion of coverage for Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) violations. In Addison Automatics, Inc. v. The Netherlands Insurance Co., Case No. 20-P-225, the Appeals…
On January 18, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had agreed to a settlement with a payment processing company, resolving allegations that the company assisted third parties in profiting from fraudulent services and products. The proposed stipulated judgment, if entered by the court, will resolve allegations that the company was processing…
On January 14, 2022, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it reached an agreement with a student loan servicer that had serviced loans under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program. The agreement resolves allegations that the loan servicer submitted false claims to the Department of Education (DOE) in violation of the False Claims Act (FCA)….
On January 13, thirty-nine state Attorneys General announced that they had reached a settlement with a national student loan servicer. The settlement resolves allegations that, since 2009, the servicer had been steering borrowers into higher-cost, longer-term forbearance arrangements. The Attorneys General alleged the practices increased borrower loan balances and violated various provisions of each state’s laws. …
On January 6, 2021, the Second Circuit issued an order criticizing and declining to adopt a Third Circuit ruling regarding the scope of the term “unsolicited advertisement” under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). In Katz v. Focus Forward, LLC, No. 21-1224-cv, the Second Circuit affirmed the judgment of the…
On January 10, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it filed a complaint against three New York-based debt collection companies and their owners. The CFPB alleged the companies sold debts to collection companies that used unlawful collection tactics. Specifically, the CFPB alleged the companies knew or should have known that the…
On January 7, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it had agreed to a settlement with a company that collected and generated leads for financial services products. In its simultaneously-filed complaint in the U.S. District court for the Central District of California, the FTC alleged that the company collected consumer data through a network…
A new essay published in the Emory Law Journal argues that two empirical studies of advertising by certain banks and payday lenders in Houston, Texas indicate that payday lenders steer African Americans and Latinos to their products, while banks market primarily to white consumers. The authors suggest that, consistent with…
On December 8, 2021, the Acting Comptroller of the Currency, Michael J. Hsu, gave remarks before the Consumer Federation of America’s 34th Annual Financial Services Conference where he expressed the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s (OCC) push for bank overdraft reform to benefit financially vulnerable consumers. Hsu opined…
On December 21, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it reached an agreement with a California-based fintech company that would require the company to cease “(1) making new loans; (2) collecting on outstanding loans to harmed consumers; (3) selling consumer information; and (4) making misrepresentations when providing loans or collecting debt or helping…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced this week that it is opening an inquiry into “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) services, which have become increasingly popular with online consumers. In a December 16, 2021 statement, the CFPB said that it is looking to “collect information on the risks and…
On December 17, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered into a proposed settlement with a Maryland company that offers lump sum payouts to consumers with structured settlements. The settlement resolves a 2016 complaint filed by the CFPB in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland alleging that the…
In response to recent changes at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), including the appointment of Director Rohit Chopra, Goodwin’s Consumer Financial Industry practice created a CFPB Hub to serve as a resource for companies in the consumer financial services space as they navigate regulatory developments. With specific regard to…
On December 14, 2021, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DPFI) announced that it entered what it described as a “novel” consent order with a Los Angeles-based automobile title loan lender prohibiting the company from marketing or servicing title loans under $10,000 with interest rates above 36 percent within the state of California for the next…
On December 13, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it reached a settlement with a group of South Carolina-based debt collection companies to resolve allegations that the companies violated the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The FTC’s complaint, originally filed in July…
On November 30, the District of Columbia Attorney General’s Office (DC AG) announced a settlement with an online lender targeting consumers with below-average credit, under which the lender agreed to pay $1.5 million in refunds to consumers and $250,000 to the District, and to waive over $640,000 in interest. Further, the agreement obligates the lender to reduce its interest…
On November 23, 2021, the New York Attorney General (“NYAG”) announced an agreement shutting down a Buffalo, NY based debt collection firm that the NYAG alleges violated the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (“FDCPA”), the Consumer Financial Protection Act (“CFPA”), and various provisions of the New York General Business Laws. …
On November 8, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Consumer Credit Fairness Act (the Act) into law. The Act will likely have substantial impact on debt collection lawsuits filed by creditors or debt collectors in New York. The Act not only reduces the statute of limitations for filing…