Last year, the CFPB provided some answers to the question: What is abusive conduct? For 10 years, industry waited on a policy statement regarding the framework that the CFPB would use in enforcement related to the catch-all category of “abusiveness” only to have the CFPB rescind the policy statement citing that it intended to “exercise its supervisory and enforcement authority consistent with the full scope of its statutory authority under the Dodd-Frank Act.”
Posts published in “Consumer Protection Defense & Compliance”
The Federal Trade Commission announced on Jan. 7, a settlement (by way of an administrative complaint) with a California-based company that operates an advertising platform within mobile game applications.
Last week the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its report from the Taskforce on Federal Consumer Financial Law. It is just shy of 900 pages and includes some 100 recommendations that, if implemented, would broaden the CFPB’s regulatory oversight powers.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recently announced a consent order against a subprime automobile finance company for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act resulting from systemic errors in data furnished to credit reporting agencies between January 2016 and August 2019.
In a year when society, families and business were forced to make immediate and radical adjustments, government offices also scrambled to proceed in a new environment. Regulators shifted resources in order to comply and respond to complaints of price-gouging while also continuing the investigations and enforcement actions already on the books.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on June 2 announced a settlement with a Tennessee-based company and its subsidiaries that provide short-term loans (payday or auto-title) for the lenders' conduct at all stages of their operations, including providing “deceptive finance charge disclosures … failing to refund overpayments ... and engaging in unfair debt collection practices.”
On March 26, the Texas attorney general acted swiftly, filing a lawsuit against Auctions Unlimited LLC over an online auction that ended on March 24. The auction sparked an article published by the Chicago Tribune entitled “more than 750,000 masks auctioned for huge markup in Texas while hospitals run out nationwide.”
Following its enaction, the Dodd-Frank Act left the financial services industry with uncertainty in many areas. For nearly 10 years, the industry has wondered and speculated about the inclusion of a prohibition against abusive acts and practices. What exactly is abusive conduct? Is abusive conduct different from false and misleading acts or unfairness? How will the CFPB handle enforcement?
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau filed a significant enforcement action on Jan. 9 against several companies and individuals marketing student loan debt-relief services for credit reporting violations, charging advance fees and deceptive conduct.
The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday announced a major consumer protection law enforcement action and settlement against a Texas-based company for engaging in an unlawful pyramid scheme. The company, its former CEO, and two top promoters are banned from engaging in any multi-level marketing business. In addition, the company and CEO have agreed to pay $150 million. During Wednesday’s press conference, Andrew Smith, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, noted that “multi-level marketing is not inherently illegal.” An illegal pyramid scheme encourages new business opportunities involving without looking at whether participants have a meaningful opportunity for selling products.…