CFPB, Federal Agencies, State Agencies, and Attorneys General
On November 13, 2020, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET, we will present a webinar on the CFPB’s final collection rule. Click here for more information and to register.
Part 1 of the CFPB’s final debt collection rule, which was released October 30, applies only to “debt collectors” as defined by the FDCPA, as was the case with the proposed rule released in May 2019. … Continue Reading
On November 13, 2020, from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. ET, we will present a webinar on the CFPB’s final collection rule. Click here for more information and to register.
On October 30, the CFPB released “part one” of its long-awaited final collections rule, which restated and clarified certain prohibitions on harassment and abuse, false or misleading representations, and unfair practices by debt collectors under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). … Continue Reading
The CFPB filed an amicus brief in Hopkins v. Collecto, Inc., an appeal before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in support of the debt collector’s position that it did not violate the FDCPA by sending the plaintiff a letter that included an itemization of the plaintiff’s debt that indicated “$0.00” was owed in interest and collection fees.… Continue Reading
On September 29, the CFPB, in partnership with the FTC and numerous federal and state law enforcement agencies, announced a nationwide effort addressing “phantom debt collection” and abusive and threatening debt collection practices. The initiative has been titled “Operation Corrupt Collector.”
Phantom debt collection (also known as fake debt collection) covers a range of practices, including attempts to collect on obligations that consumers never took out or received, as well as efforts to recover loans without authorization from the creditor.… Continue Reading
Almost five years after entering into an administrative consent order with Encore Capital Group, Inc., Midland Funding, LLC, Midland Credit Management, Inc., and Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. (collectively, “Defendants”) to resolve claims relating to the Defendants’ debt collection practices, the CFPB, on September 8, 2020, filed a five count complaint (the “Complaint”) in a California federal district court against the alleging that the Defendants’ collection and other practices violated the FDCPA, the CFPA, and the terms of the consent order.… Continue Reading
Last week the CFPB and New York Attorney General filed a lawsuit against five debt collection companies and four individuals who own and manage the companies. The complaint alleges the defendants used deceptive, harassing, and otherwise improper methods to induce consumers to make payments to them in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).… Continue Reading
In a recent decision, Johnson v. Enhanced Recovery Company, LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment in favor of a debt collector based on the plaintiff’s failure to present any evidence beyond her own “speculation” that a debt collection letter was misleading in violation of the FDCPA.… Continue Reading
In a recent decision, a California federal district court ruled that a debt collector’s use of email to send the initial communication containing the validation notice without first obtaining the plaintiff’s consent to receive the notice electronically under the E-SIGN Act did not violate the FDCPA.
The FDCPA requires a debt collector to provide the validation notice in the initial communication or within five days thereafter. … Continue Reading
Our webinar yesterday, “Consumer Financial Regulatory and Litigation Fallout from the COVID-19 Crisis,” in which we were joined by special guest speakers Richard Cordray, former CFPB Director, and John Roddy, Partner at Bailey & Glasser and prominent plaintiffs’ class action lawyer, highlighted the regulatory and litigation risks the crisis is expected to create for members of the consumer financial services industry. … Continue Reading
Last week, in Ricco v. Sentry Credit, Inc., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not require a written dispute to avoid an assumption by the debt collector that the debt is valid. Declining the opportunity to be “the ‘legal last-man-standing’ among the courts of appeals,” the en banc decision ended a circuit split by overturning the contrary 1991 ruling of a Third Circuit panel in Graziano v.… Continue Reading
