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Posts published in September 2013

Consent Order Has Broad Impact on Consumer Collections Industry

Yesterday JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. and certain of its affiliates entered into a sweeping consent order with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency covering its practices for collecting debt, as well as the practices used by its third-party service providers, including lawyers. According to the consent order (available here), the bank, among other things: caused affidavits to be filed in court where the affiant did not have personal knowledge of the assertions made or had reviewed the relevant books and records; allowed the filing of “inaccurate sworn documents” that resulted in judgments with financial errors in favor of…

CFPB Provides Dispute Guidance to FCRA Furnishers on Enhanced e-OSCAR

Changes to the systems by which banks and other entities (also known as “furnishers”)  supply credit reporting agencies with consumer credit information prompted a Bulletin yesterday from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau emphasizing the greater role it sees documents playing in the consumer credit dispute process. In announcing its expectation that furnishers review “all relevant information” when responding to consumer disputes, the CFPB reiterates what is already required by FCRA’s section 1681s-2(b). When responding to a consumer’s dispute concerning information furnished by it to a credit reporting agency, a furnisher is required, among other things, to “review all relevant information provided by the CRA . . .”…

Federal Court Rules All Debt-Collection Calls Exempt from TCPA

A federal judge in Pennsylvania has ruled that the Telephone Consumer Protection Act does not apply to debt-collection calls, even calls made to cellular telephones. A copy of the decision is available here. Noting that Congress enacted the TCPA to address telemarketing, the decision relied upon a portion of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision in Meadows v. Franklin[ref]414 F. App’x 230, 235 (11th Cir. 2011)[/ref] which stated, “the [Federal Communications Commission] has determined that all debt-collection circumstances are excluded from the TCPA’s coverage.” The decision is certainly in the minority as nearly all courts examining the issue have determined that debt-collection calls made…