The CFPB filed a complaint earlier this week in a New York federal district court against three companies that purchase defaulted debts (Corporate Defendants) and three individuals who are owners and/or officers of the Corporate Defendants (Individual Defendants).  (Click here to read the statement from United Holding Group, LLC, one of the Corporate Defendants, about the lawsuit.)… Continue Reading

We recently wrote about a new report from the National Consumer Law Center that urges the CFPB to ban the collection of debts on which the statute of limitations has run.  In a blog post published last Sunday on the Consumer Law & Policy Blog, Peter A. Holland, a lawyer and consumer advocate, argues that while “banning the sale of time-barred debt is an excellent start,” the CFPB should go even further “and mandate that banks sell only legitimate accounts, and institute an outright ban on the sale of the bogus, “dirty” accounts.” … Continue Reading

Among the topics being examined by the CFPB in connection with its expected debt collection rulemaking are the debt collection practices of debt buyers.

Those practices could become the subject of a uniform state debt buying code if the committee authorized to be appointed by the Uniform Law Commission to study the need for and feasibility of such legislation concludes that a uniform code will produce significant benefits to the public. … Continue Reading

At yesterday’s joint FTC-CFPB roundtable on the debt collection industry, industry representatives advocated for a uniform, national standard for the documentation to be provided to debtors in the pre-litigation phase of the process. (Local court rules govern required documentation during litigation, making it unlikely that a national standard could be adopted for the litigation phase).… Continue Reading

At yesterday’s joint FTC-CFPB roundtable on the debt collection industry, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) was referenced together with the “1970s” a number of times. Commissioner Julie Brill, in an unscripted moment in her opening remarks, smiled at the thought that the FDCPA was enacted the same year she graduated from high school in 1977.… Continue Reading

While attending this year’s DBA International Annual Conference, I had the opportunity to hear remarks from Kent Markus, the CFPB’s Director of Enforcement, regarding the CFPB’s approach to enforcement actions generally, as well as with regard to the debt buying industry.   

Mr. Markus began his remarks by stating that the CFPB “believes that people should pay the debts that they legally owe” and that the CFPB recognizes that many debt collectors and debt buyers “play by the rules” and “add value” to the debt market.  … Continue Reading