The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued its Consumer Response Annual Report which includes complaints related to debt collection. As it did in its Annual Report on Debt Collection issued on March 20, the CFPB again represents having received “approximately 31,100 debt collection complaints” in 2013. This number, however, is far greater than the number of debt collection complaints appearing in its public database. So where are the missing complaints? Last week Eric Rosenkoetter of the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys provided some of his thoughts on where the missing CFPB complaints may have gone. Listen to Eric, David Reid of DBA…
Posts published in “CFPB”
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released a report today outlining its efforts and objectives in regulating, supervising and enforcing against debt collectors. The report is available here. Past CFPB reports have provided guidance on where the bureau might be headed in its regulation, supervision and enforcement efforts. This year’s report is no different. It notes the growth of medical and student loan debt collection. Expect more focus on these sectors right away. In addition the report examines: consumer complaints the CFPB and the Federal Trade Commission have received over the past year their enforcement activities the bureau’s supervision of debt collectors the bureau’s rulemaking,…
Earlier this week the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued its opinion in the consolidated appeals of McMahon v. LVNV Funding, LLC and Delgado v. Capital Management Services, L.P., concerning the collection of time barred debt without the threat of litigation. The result is not good for the credit and collections industry, principally because it further confuses application of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act across the nation. Background In both cases the debt collectors offered to settle the debts, without mention of a lawsuit or any legal action. Both suits claimed that the letters were false, deceptive and misleading, in violation…
Recent remarks from Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Deputy Director Steven Antonakes indicate that the CFPB remains particularly interested in data integrity during debt collection. Speaking at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition Annual Conference in Washington yesterday, Antonakes said the bureau is “concerned that the accuracy of account information degrades as it passed on from the original creditor to debt collection firms or debt buyers.” Antonakes also suggested that improvements in data integrity will further the bureau’s efforts “to ensure that collectors are seeking to recover debts from the right person in the right amounts.” Concerns over data integrity are consistent with the bureau’s policy statement in its…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today announced that 1st Alliance Lending, LLC, a mortgage lender, was assessed a civil monetary penalty of $83,000, arising from illegally splitting real estate settlement fees. In Yes, the CFPB is Serious About Self-Reporting!, I commented last August that the bureau is encouraging regulated entities to self-report, even if unsure whether their conduct violates law. Previously, self-reporting by US Bank had led the CFPB to forgo imposing a civil money penalty against that institution. While today’s announcement includes a civil monetary penalty, it is small compared to the tens of millions in penalties imposed by the bureau…
Speaking as an invited guest to a conference of the Mortgage Bankers Association yesterday in Orlando, Steven Antonakes, deputy director of the Consumer Financial Services Bureau, told the industry group he was “deeply disappointed” by their lack of progress in improving the mortgage servicing industry. Noting that “too many [mortgage] customers continue to receive erratic and unacceptable treatment,” Antonakes added that “[t]his kind of continued sloppiness is difficult to comprehend and not acceptable.” Pointing to the bureau’s new mortgage rules, which became effective Jan. 10, Antonakes warned the mortgage servicers “it is time for the paper chase to end.” The CFPB’s…
2013 brought some significant developments to consumer financial services law. It began early with a favorable Fair Debt Collection Practices Act decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, followed by several interesting Telephone Consumer Protection Act decisions. But what really set the year apart was the activity we saw from federal regulators. Here’s my list of some of the most significant developments from around the country, which will likely impact 2014. U.S. Supreme Court The year began with the Supreme Court’s decision in Marx v. General Revenue. The Supreme Court held that a plaintiff who is unsuccessful in a claim brought under…
The comment period for the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking concerning the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act has been extended to February 28. Several organizations, including the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys, had made requests for the extension. We will be presenting a free webinar on the “Repositories” questions posed in the ANPR on January 22. You can find out more about the webinar and how to register here.
I’ll be heading to Park City, Utah this weekend for the Winter Meeting of the American Bar Association’s Consumer Financial Services Committee. The focus of the CFSC is on all things in consumer financial services law — payment systems, deposit accounts, fair lending and yes, debt collection. This meeting is going to feature several panel discussions with officials from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission along with well-known consumer advocates all discussing issues surrounding debt collection. Enforcement actions, the recent ANPR, TCPA litigation and CFPB regulation of attorneys are among the topics we’ll cover. As always, this…
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced today it is seeking comment from the public about debt collection practices as the bureau considers new rules designed to protect consumers “without imposing unnecessary burdens” on the industry, according to the CFPB. The CFPB is gathering information from all sources — consumers, advocates and industry representatives — on a range of issues, including the accuracy of information used by debt collectors, how informed consumers are about their rights, and the methods collectors use to recover their debts. Regarding information accuracy, the CFPB is seeking comments about whether collectors have the correct person, the correct amount and the correct documentation when collecting a debt. The bureau also wants to…
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 . . .”…
If your organization might have violated a consumer financial protection law, should it disclose that potential violation to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? It seems that at least one CFPB insider believes that the potential violation should be self-reported. At today’s meeting of the Consumer Financial Services Committee in San Francisco, Peggy Twohig, CFPB Assistant Director, Office of Supervision Policy, offered a few remarks on whether a covered entity should self-report conduct where the law is not clear on whether the conduct violates consumer financial protection law. In concluding that an entity should self-report even these “grey issues,” Twohig noted that covered entities…