It has been reported that, without announcement or warning, the regulations applicable to third-party debt collectors in Massachusetts may have changed. While the state’s Division of Banks (DOB) and the state’s Attorney General (AG) have traditionally regulated, respectively, third-party debt collectors and first-party creditors, the AG is reported to have changed its website recently to
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California Enacts Additional Limits on Collecting Time Barred Debts
By Heather S. Klein on
Beginning in 2019, all California “debt collectors”—including creditors collecting their own debts regularly and in the ordinary course of business—will be required to provide notice to debtors when collecting on debts that are past the statute of limitations and will be prohibited from suing on such debts. The new law is based on provisions in…
Five state regulators enter into settlement agreement with debt collectors for alleged federal and state law violations
By John L. Culhane, Jr. on
Regulators from the states of Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts, Minnesota and North Dakota (“Participating States”) have entered into a settlement agreement with three affiliated debt collection companies to settle allegations that the companies engaged in collection activities that violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the FTC Act, and state laws and regulations. The settlement requires…
Subsequent debt collectors must send FDCPA validation notice, Ninth Circuit rules
By John L. Culhane, Jr. on
Posted in Debt Collection
The Ninth Circuit has ruled that the FDCPA requirement in 15 U.S.C. §1692g(a) for “a debt collector” to send a validation notice either in “the initial communication” or “[w]ithin five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt” not only applies to the first debt collector that…
Solicitor General to participate in SCOTUS oral argument in FDCPA case
By Barbara S. Mishkin on
Posted in Debt Collection
On March 29, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case in which the CFPB joined the Solicitor General in filing an amicus brief in support of the plaintiffs. The court granted the SG’s motion to participate in the oral argument.
The plaintiffs in Sheriff v. …
CFPB enters into consent order with operator of consumer lead resale business
By James Kim on
The CFPB announced last week that it has entered into a consent order with an individual who had operated a defunct business that resold consumer leads to settle charges that the business sold leads to debt collectors who used the information to deceive and threaten consumers into paying debts they did not owe. The debt…
FTC provides advice to consumers on communicating with debt collectors
By Barbara S. Mishkin on
In a recent blog post, Dan Dwyer, a Staff Attorney with the FTC’s Division of Financial Practices, provided advice to assist consumers in communicating with a debt collector when the consumer does not recognize the debt. The post includes a link to a sample letter that consumers can use to dispute information on a…
New CFPB lawsuit targets payment processors for debt collectors
By Barbara S. Mishkin on
A new CFPB enforcement action filed in federal district court in Atlanta and unsealed last week targeting an alleged debt collection scam names as defendants not only the debt collectors and their individual principals but various companies alleged to have been “service providers” to the collectors, including payment processors. Both the CFPB and the FTC…
CFPB requires credit bureaus to identify furnishers and industries with highest dispute rates and issues study of collections tradelines
By John L. Culhane, Jr. on
Posted in Credit Reports, Debt Collection
In conjunction with its field hearing today on medical debt collection, the CFPB released a study that “describes characteristics of the medical and non-medical collections tradelines on consumers’ credit reports and the processes by which they appear and disappear.” However, what deserves to be the headline grabber is the CFPB’s accompanying announcement that “the major…
CFPB files amicus brief in Ninth Circuit FDCPA case
By John L. Culhane, Jr. on
Posted in Debt Collection
The CFPB, together with the FTC, has filed an amicus brief in Hernandez v. Williams, Zinman & Parham, P.C., a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case on appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
The case involves the FDCPA requirement in 15 U.S.C. §1692g(a) for “a debt collector” to send…