CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
A Pennsylvania federal judge has imposed sanctions and lambasted a law firm and its attorneys for having employees write falsified letters on behalf of clients involved in debt collection disputes.
Attorneys Travis Andrew Gordon, and Joshua P. Ward, and their firm, J.P. Ward & Associates, LLC, filed two suits suit on behalf of clients disputing debts.… Continue Reading
On August 15, 2024, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) and Arizona Attorney General announced a proposed settlement with an Arizona-based vehicle dealership to resolve allegations that the dealership misrepresented prices in online advertisements, engaged in unfair and deceptive practices related to the sale of add-on products, and discriminated against Latino consumers by charging higher interest rates and more expensive add-on charges.… Continue Reading
The Federal Trade Commission on August 14 announced a final trade regulation rule intended to fight fake reviews and testimonials by prohibiting their purchase or sale and by allowing the agency to seek civil penalties against violators.
The final rule, 16 CFR Part 465: Trade Regulation on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, follows a proposed rule issued in June 2023 and an informal hearing on the proposal that was held in February.… Continue Reading
We recently reported that on August 15, 2024 Solo Funding, Inc. (“Solo”) filed a motion to dismiss in its entirety an enforcement complaint brought by the CFPB against Solo (a company that facilitates peer-to-peer small dollar lending) in Federal District Court for the Central District of California (Los Angeles). The motion to dismiss was predicated in part on Solo’s argument that since September, 2022, the CFPB has been unlawfully funded by the Federal Reserve Board because the Federal Reserve System incurred losses starting then.… Continue Reading
In connection with its guaranteed home loan program, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced in Circular 26-24-17 requirements when a party assuming a VA guaranteed loan in connection with the purchase of a home also obtains a secondary mortgage to help finance the purchase. The VA notes that a VA guaranteed home loan, other than for repairs, alterations, or improvements, must be secured by a first lien and that when a party assuming an existing VA loan also obtains secondary financing, if the secondary loan is not processed correctly it can jeopardize the VA guaranteed home loan’s first lien position.… Continue Reading
The Introduction to the Complaint which was filed by the CFPB on May 17, 2024 against Solo Funding, Inc. in the United States District Court for the Central District of California – Western Division Los Angeles (Judge R. Gary Klausner) describes the CFPB’s claims as follows:
INTRODUCTION
Unsigned Terms and Conditions found in a preprinted car rental jacket are part of the contract between the parties under Florida, Arizona and Colorado law because they were properly incorporated by reference into the signed rental receipt, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
The case, Calderone v. Sixt Rent a Car, stems from allegations that Sixt did not follow the Terms and Conditions in its rental jacket when charging renters for auto repairs. … Continue Reading
The FTC has shut down Michigan-based Financial Education Services, a credit repair company that the agency says actually was a large pyramid scheme,
If approved by a federal judge in the Eastern District of Michigan, the settlement also will return $12 million to consumers harmed by the company, the FTC said.… Continue Reading
The CFPB and state regulators and legislators have medical debt in their crosshairs. In this episode, we’re joined by Chris Eastman, CEO of the Pendrick Group, a Cerberus portfolio company that specializes in financial services solutions for healthcare companies. We discuss the differences between medical debt and other types of debt, as well as how states have been regulating medical debt including the collection of medical debt.… Continue Reading
On July 30, 2024, Heights Finance Holding Co. f/k/a Southern Management Corporation and a group of its wholly-owned, state-licensed subsidiaries (collectively, “Southern”) filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings (the “JOP Motion”) in the lawsuit filed by the CFPB against Southern in South Carolina federal district court. That lawsuit alleges that Southern violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act’s (“CFPA’s) prohibition on UDAAPs by “churning payment-stressed borrowers in fee-laden refinances.”… Continue Reading
