Search Results: Debt Collection

Minnesota AG Announces Settlement with Student Loan Debt Relief Company

On April 13, 2021, the Minnesota Attorney General Office (Minnesota AG) announced that it reached a settlement with a California-based student-loan debt-relief company resolving alleged violations of Minnesota’s Debt Services Settlement Act, Prevention of Consumer Fraud Act, Minn. Stat. § 325F.69, et seq.,​ and Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act, Minn. Stat. § 325D.43, et seq. The Minnesota…

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Pennsylvania AG Settles with Student Loan Debt Buyer for $2.6 Million

Piggy Bank with a Graduation Cap

On April 6, 2021, the Pennsylvania Attorney General (Pennsylvania AG) announced that it reached an agreement with a Texas-based debt buyer concerning a portfolio of student loan debt it purchased from a now-defunct for-profit college. According to the Pennsylvania AG, the debt purchaser purchased the portfolio of loans after the for-profit college abruptly closed in December 2018 due to…

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CFPB Announces $860,000 Settlement with Debt Collection Company for Alleged Deceptive Practices and CFPA Violations

​On April 6, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it entered into a consent order with a third-party debt collection company and its former owner for alleged violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), 12 U.S.C. §§ 5531, 5536 and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et ​​seq. The CFPB alleged that…

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CFPB Releases Annual Report on Administration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

On March 19, 2021, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its annual report to Congress regarding its administration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).  The CFPB and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) share government enforcement responsibility for the FDCPA, and work together to coordinate their respective efforts…

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Delaware AG Files Lawsuit Against Debt-Management Services Company

On February 8, 2021, the Delaware Attorney General (Delaware AG) announced that it filed an administrative lawsuit against a California-based debt-management services company for allegedly violating the Delaware Uniform Debt-Management Services Act, the Delaware Consumer Fraud Act, and the Delaware Deceptive Trade Practices Act. According to the Delaware AG, ​​the debt-management company used misleading advertising to target elderly and…

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California Agency Enters into MOUs with Five Earned Wage Access Companies

On January 28, 2021, the California Department of Financial Protection & Innovation (DFPI) announced that it entered into five Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) with five different earned wage access companies.  Earned wage access companies provide consumers with advances or “on-demand pay” before their pay day for wages that they have earned but not yet received.  According to…

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California DFPI Announces Investigation of a Dozen Debt Collectors

On January 19, 2020, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) launched an investigation ​into a dozen debt collectors potentially engaging in unlawful, unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAP) under California law.  This represents the first major public action taken under the expanded oversight and enforcement authority of the California…

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Pennsylvania AG Halts Operations of Student Loan Forgiveness Company

​On December​ 16, 2020, the Pennsylvania Attorney General (Pennsylvania AG) announced ​a settlement with a California-based student loan forgiveness company for alleged violations of state consumer protection laws.  According to the Pennslyvania AG, the company used false advertising tactics and posted fraudulent customer reviews on the Better Business Bureau website.  Further, the company…

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CFPB Settles with Debt Collection Company for Alleged CFPA and FDCPA Violations

​On December 8, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) announced that it had entered into a consent order​ with a New Jersey debt collection company, resolving allegations that the debt collection company violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). The debt collection company was engaged…

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FTC Reaches Settlement With Debt Collection Company for “Debt Parking” Scheme

On November 30, 2020 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced ​that it had reached a settlement with a debt collection company for its “debt parking scheme” (also known as “passive debt collection”)​​ in which the company allegedly placed bogus or questionable debts on consumers’ credit reports in an attempt to coerce them to pay the…

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CFPB Settles with Telecommunications Debt Collector for Alleged FCRA and CFPA Violations

On November 12, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced ​​that it had entered into a consent order with an Illinois-based debt collector that collects debts on behalf of telecommunications companies and furnishes consumer-account information to credit reporting agencies. The CFPB alleged that the debt collector violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the…

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Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Issues New Final Rule Modernizing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

On October 30, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a new final rule implementing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).  According the CFPB’s press release, the new final rule is designed “to restate and clarify prohibitions on harassment and abuse, false or misleading representations, and unfair practices…

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CFPB Settles with Debt Collector for Over $15 Million

On October 15, 2020, the Consumer Protection Financial Bureau (CFPB) announced that it has reached a proposed settlement with the nation’s largest debt collector. The CFPB previously reached a consent order with this company in 2015 for alleged violations of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA),…

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CFPB, FTC, Federal and State Law Enforcement Crackdown on Corrupt Debt Collectors

On September 29, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with more than 50 federal and state law enforcement partners, announced a nationwide law enforcement and outreach initiative designed to protect consumers from phantom debt collection, and abusive and threatening debt collection practices….

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NY Attorney General Settles with Debt Collection Company Over Allegedly Unlawful Student Loan Debt Collection Practices

On September 14, 2020, New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that she secured protections for thousands of student borrowers who defaulted on student loans and who were allegedly subject to misleading and unlawful actions by one of the nation’s largest debt collectors.  The settlement agreement resolves an investigation of…

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