On May 16, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held in Sheriff v. Gillie that an independent contractor to the Ohio Attorney General (OAG) did not mislead consumers in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) when it used the OAG’s letterhead in correspondence with consumers in collecting debts owed to the State
fair debt collection practices act
CFPB issues FDCPA 2015 report
The CFPB has issued its fourth annual FDCPA report covering the CFPB’s activities in 2014. The section of the report that reviews consumer complaints about debt collection received by the CFPB in 2014 recycles information contained in the CFPB’s latest Consumer Response Annual Report.
In the section of the report about the CFPB’s supervision…
CFPB files amicus brief in FDCPA case
A new amicus brief filing by the CFPB recently appeared on the CFPB’s amicus program webpage. On August 14, 2013, the CFPB, jointly with the FTC, filed an amicus brief
in Delgado v. Capital Management Services, LP, et al., a case on appeal to the Seventh Circuit. The brief urges the Seventh Circuit…
Debt collection regulations and more enforcement on horizon
The CFPB is poised to further ramp up its oversight of the debt collection industry. According to a Bloomberg report by Carter Dougherty, Director Cordray said in an interview earlier this week that the CFPB “will be looking to write” new regulations under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and will “continue to pursue…
Are all FDCPA violations by creditors and servicers potential UDAAPs: a difference of opinion
Jeff Sovern has written an interesting blog post about the CFPB’s recent Bulletin 2013-07 that warns creditors and servicers who are not covered by the FDCPA that their collection practices are subject to the CFPB’s authority under Section 1031 of the Dodd-Frank Act which prohibits “unfair, deceptive, or abusive” acts or practices (UDAAPs). In particular,…
Lost in translation? Ensuring appropriate documentation in the pre-litigation debt collection process
At yesterday’s joint FTC-CFPB roundtable on the debt collection industry, industry representatives advocated for a uniform, national standard for the documentation to be provided to debtors in the pre-litigation phase of the process. (Local court rules govern required documentation during litigation, making it unlikely that a national standard could be adopted for the litigation phase).…
Does the FDCPA need to get with the times?
At yesterday’s joint FTC-CFPB roundtable on the debt collection industry, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) was referenced together with the “1970s” a number of times. Commissioner Julie Brill, in an unscripted moment in her opening remarks, smiled at the thought that the FDCPA was enacted the same year she graduated from high…
CFPB issues second annual report on FDCPA activities
Debt collection will continue to be a major CFPB focus in 2013. That’s the clear takeaway from the CFPB’s second annual report to Congress on enforcement of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Another takeaway is that the CFPB’s supervisory authority in the debt collection arena continues to expand. Dodd-Frank gave the CFPB supervisory authority…
Supreme Court rejects CFPB position in FDCPA case
A prevailing defendant in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case can recover costs even without a court finding that the plaintiff filed suit in bad faith and for the purpose of harassment, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in Marx v. General Revenue Corp. The Supreme Court rejected the plaintiff’s argument that a court’s…