Links in “Debt Collection”
- FTC to Debt Collection Agency: You Can’t Do That
Southern California debt collection operation Asset Capital and Management Group will pay more than $4 million for consumer redress to settle with FTC over charges of extorting payments and threatening consumers. [5/22]
- CFPB Releases Study That Gives Evidence to Underestimated Credit Scores
Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is releasing a study on how the collection of medical debt affects a consumerâs credit score. The study found that the credit scoring models accounted differently for medical debt in collections and medical debt that is repaid by the borrower. In short, scores could be more predictive if they treat medical debt and non-medical debt differently. [5/21]
- Legislation Seeks to Overturn Supreme Court FDCPA Decision
In 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a debt collector can be awarded costs even when the suit wasn't brought in bad faith. If it passes, new legislation would amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to limit that provision to when the plaintiff brings a suit in bad faith or for the purpose of harassment. [5/14]
- NY’s Debt Collection Reforms: Cutting Edge or Too Consumer Friendly?
A look at how NY's proposed debt collection reforms stack up against other states, including Maryland. Some consider the revisions cutting edge; others see it as the court giving legal advice to consumers. [5/9]
- ABA: How the CFPB Should Fix Proposed Debt Collection Survey
ABA issues its recommendations for how the CFPB could improve its proposed debt collection survey, from distinguishing between creditors collecting their own debt (as opposed to third-party collectors) to shortening the list of 77 questions. [5/8]
- Settlement on Statute of Limitation Violations on Debt Collections
Two debt-buying companies settle with New York for seeking court judgments against consumers after the statute of limitations on the claims had expired. The companies will pay fines and ask the courts to reverse $16 million in judgments. [5/8]
- New York Judge Proposes Debt Collection Rules
Judge proposes new rules to help New York courts navigate their way through a flood of debt-collection lawsuits. Proposal includes requiring banks and other debt collectors to support the accuracy of the debt claims with more documentation, including the original agreement between the bank and the borrower. [5/2]
- CFPB’s Mid-Year Report on Private Student Loans Released
17-page report notes the receipt of 4,600 complaints over six-month period associated with direct funding of student loans as well as debt collection related to such loans. Key topics including impact of co-signers default on student loans and complications with co-signer releases. [4/22]
- “Auto Defaults” on Student Loans Hit CFPB’s Radar
Some student lenders demand borrowers pay back the entire student loan upon the death or bankruptcy of a cosigner, even if the borrower has never missed a payment, a practice that the CFPB is criticizing. [4/22]
- Debt Collection Complaints Outpacing Mortgage Complaints
CFPB official says that while 2013 say more complaints about mortgages than debt collection, debt collection complaints have now eclipsed mortgages for the top spot at a pace of about 5,000 complaints per month. [4/3]
