CFPB Enters Consent Order with Lender Over Defective Disclosures

On December 20, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order with a mid-Atlantic financing company over allegations that the company entered into revolving-credit agreements with consumers without providing adequate disclosures.  The consent order alleged that the company violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA) and its implementing regulation (Regulation E) because its automatic funds withdrawal disclosures were not “clear and readily understandable.”  The CFPB also alleged that the company violated the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and its implementing regulation (Regulation Z) by failing to provide account-opening disclosures, such as the actual APR, when the company entered into revolving-credit agreements with consumers.  Finally, the CFPB also alleged that these violations constituted violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act’s (CFPA) prohibition on providing products or services that fail to conform with other federal laws.  Under the terms of the consent order, the lender agreed to ensure compliance with these laws, hire an independent consultant to investigate and report on the lender’s compliance, pay a $200,000 fine, and report regularly to the CFPB.

In 2014, the company entered into a consent order (2015 Consent Order) with the CFPB, as well as the Attorneys General of North Carolina and Virginia, concerning allegations that it used illegal debt collection tactics and failed to provide EFTA- and TILA-required disclosures.  The CFPB alleged that the 2015 Consent Order required the lender to make certain changes to its revolving credit agreements, which the lender failed to do.