CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
Last week, the CFPB published additional frequently asked questions on Regulation F, its debt collection rule. The new FAQs address third-party communications, electronic communications, and unusual or inconvenient time and place provisions.
Prohibitions on Third-Party Communications. The FAQs address the following questions:
As discussed in an earlier blog post, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”) issued an Invitation for Comments on the Proposed Second Rulemaking under the Debt Collection Licensing Act (“DCLA”) on August 19, 2021. The Commissioner is now considering draft regulations related to the DCLA’s scope, annual report, and document retention requirements, and has issued an “Invitation for Comments on Draft Text for Proposed Second Rulemaking Under the Debt Collection Licensing Act.”… Continue Reading
The CFPB has issued an advisory opinion that addresses when the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act permits a debt collector to charge “pay-to-pay” or “convenience fees,” such as fees imposed for making a payment online or by phone.
FDCPA section 808(1) prohibits debt collectors from collecting “any amount (including any interest, fee, charge, or expense incidental to the principal obligation) unless such amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law.” … Continue Reading
In an announcement to its subscribers sent electronically on May 23, 2022, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”) notified applicants – and prospective applicants – for a license under California’s Debt Collection Licensing Act (the “Act”) that changes mandated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI’) to state agency protocols for requesting federal background checks have caused “unforeseen” and unavoidable processing delays.… Continue Reading
The CFPB has released the Spring 2022 edition of its Supervisory Highlights. The report discusses the Bureau’s examinations in the areas of auto servicing, consumer reporting, credit card account management, debt collection, deposits, mortgage origination, prepaid accounts, remittance transfers, and student loan servicing that were completed between July 2021 and December 2021. … Continue Reading
Just a little more than a month after issuing a report taking aim at medical debt collections, the CFPB has issued a new report on “Medical billing and collection issues described in consumer complaints.”
The report analyzes debt collection and credit or consumer reporting complaints submitted to the Bureau in 2021 that involved medical debt. … Continue Reading
The CFPB has issued its annual Fair Debt Collection Practices Act report covering the CFPB’s debt collection activities in 2021. The report incorporates information from the FTC’s most recent annual letter to the CFPB describing its 2021 activities in the debt collection market, including information about the FTC’s enforcement actions involving collection practices directed at small businesses.… Continue Reading
The CFPB has updated the section of its Supervision and Examination Manual on debt collection examination procedures. The update reflects the requirements of Regulation F, the Bureau’s final debt collection rule that implements the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Regulation F became effective on November 30, 2021.
A new CFPB report titled “Medical Debt Burden in the United States,” takes aim at medical debt collections, with the CFPB indicating that it intends to “[d]etermine whether policies should be implemented to eliminate unpaid medical billing data on credit reports altogether.”
The CFPB found that as of 2021, medical debt was the most common debt collection tradeline on credit reports, constituting 58% of all third-party tradelines. … Continue Reading
A new decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in two consolidated cases analyzes the requirements for Article III standing in a FDCPA case. It also addresses what a debt collector must show to establish that it maintained procedures reasonably adapted to avoid an error as required by the FDCPA’s bona fide error defense. … Continue Reading
