On January 4, 2023, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced settlements with two state-chartered credit unions, Bellco Credit Union (“Bellco”) and Canvas Credit Union (“Canvas”), over Guaranteed Automobile Protection (commonly referred to as Guaranteed Asset Protection, or “GAP”) refunds.  An investigation conducted by the Consumer Protection Section of the Colorado Department of Law found that the credit unions were not refunding GAP fees owed to consumers under state law. … Continue Reading

In an unpublished opinion, a New Jersey federal district court has ruled that a plaintiff did not have Article III standing to assert a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act based solely on her receipt of an allegedly misleading collection letter.

In Valentine v Unifund CCR, LLC; Distressed Asset Portfolio III, et al.… Continue Reading

Following an announcement last year that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) would use Section 5 of the FTC Act to aggressively police conduct it deems unfair (see our Legal Alert), the Agency kicked off the new year with two actions aimed at banning non-compete agreements between employers and workers.

On January 5, the FTC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking aimed at categorically banning non-compete agreements nationwide. … Continue Reading

The CFPB has published its Fall 2022 rulemaking agenda as part of the Fall 2022 Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions.  The agenda’s preamble indicates that “[t]he Bureau reasonably anticipates having the regulatory matters identified [in the agenda] under consideration during the period from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023.”… Continue Reading

The Federal Reserve Board, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency have issued a joint statement on crypto-asset risks to banking organizations.  The term “crypto-asset” refers to any digital asset implemented using cryptographic techniques.

The statement begins with the agencies’ observations that “[t]he events of the past year have been marked by significant volatility and the exposure of vulnerabilities in the crypto-asset sector” and that “[t]hese events highlight a number of key risks associated with crypto-assets and crypto-asset sector participants that banking organizations should be aware of.”… Continue Reading

The CFPB has issued its “Annual report of credit and consumer reporting complaints” that reports on consumer complaints submitted to the CFPB regarding the three largest nationwide consumer reporting agencies (NCRAs)—Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.  The annual report is required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act. 

The CFPB’s press release about the report includes a statement from Director Chopra indicating that the CFPB “will be exploring new rules to ensure that the [NCRAs] are following the law, rather than cutting corners to fuel their profit model.” … Continue Reading

After discussing the core features of the U.S. payments systems, we look at how those features have impacted the experience of U.S. business and consumers and why Professor Awrey believes they have resulted in a payments system that is worse, more expensive, and slower than payments systems in other large, developed countries. … Continue Reading

Mark Brnovich, the Arizona Attorney General, recently issued an opinion regarding whether earned wage access (EWA) products are “consumer lender loans” under the state’s Consumer Lenders Act (CLA) such that a person who makes, procures, or advertises an EWA product must be licensed as a “consumer lender.”  The AG concluded that an EWA product offered as a no-interest and non-recourse product is not a “consumer lender loan” under the CLA.… Continue Reading

On December 13, 2022, the FDIC issued a request for comment on a proposal to modernize the regulations governing use of the FDIC’s official signage and advertising of FDIC-insured status by insured depository institutions (IDIs), and to clarify regulations issued earlier in 2022 regarding misrepresentations of deposit insurance coverage.  The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on December 21, 2022 and comments are due no later than February 21, 2023.… Continue Reading

A Ninth Circuit panel affirmed the district court’s dismissal with prejudice of a class action complaint in which the plaintiff alleged that Meta Platforms, Inc. (Meta) violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) by sending unsolicited “Birthday Announcement” text messages to consumers’ cell phones.  Among other restrictions, the TCPA prohibits calls to cell phone numbers using an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) without prior express consent. … Continue Reading