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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would impose new requirements for the blocking of text messages by mobile wireless providers and propose new limitations on senders of text messages. The document has been circulated for consideration by the FCC at its March 2023 open meeting and the FCC’s ultimate r...
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It’s clear: the CFPB is using the FCRA to advance its agenda. The Bureau wants to create a consumer-friendly credit reporting precedent and it is using FCRA-related lawsuits and enforcement actions to get it. It all started with the Bureau's recent instruction to remove some medical debts from consumer credit reports, argues Chris Capurso, Financial Services Associate, Troutman Pepper, in...
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In December 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued six opinions addressing Article III standing issues related to violations alleged under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). These opinions revisit the Supreme Court’s decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins and clarify that a plaintiff in an FDCPA case is required to provide proof of a concrete injury in fact to establish Article III standing. Advertisement...
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Part 2 is here and, at long last, we now have the complete final debt collection rule — Regulation F — from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau). This part of the rule relates to validation notices, time-barred debt, and passive debt collection. How did the final rule come down on these topics? Continue reading to find out....
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Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a policy statement outlining its supervisory and enforcement practices regarding credit reporting during the COVID-19 crisis. In the statement, the CFPB both encourages credit reporting agencies and furnishers to continue credit reporting while also providing some leeway i...
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Most collection agency compliance departments listen to and analyze thousands of calls each year. This makes compliance professionals uniquely positioned to identify trends and patterns and to raise the flag when they identify something interesting. Case in point, a little while back I was speaking with our compliance manager about call blocking and labeling technology. The conversation pivoted to a trend our compliance department was seeing where a collector would get stuck in a nonsens...
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On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5003, also known as the Fair Debt Collection Practices for Servicemembers Act, in an effort to provide stronger protections for servicemembers from debt collectors. The proposed legislation, sponsored by Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA), passed with a unanimous vote, 355-0. The bill is now being reviewe...
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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? On Jan. 24, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced the long-awaited policy s...
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What Is a Negotiation? A negotiation is a strategic discussion that resolves an issue in a way that both parties find acceptable. In a negotiation, each party tries to persuade the other to agree with his or her point of view. By negotiating, all involved parties try to avoid arguing but agree to reach some form of compromise. Negotiations involve some give and take which means one party will al...
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You’re taught about history, science, and math when you’re growing up. Most of us, however, aren’t taught how to identify or deal with our own emotions, or the emotions of others. These skills can be valuable, but you’ll never get them in a classroom....
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On May 7, 2019, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau finally released its long-awaited proposed rule for the debt collection industry. The release of the proposed rule signals the biggest development in the accounts receivable management industry since passage of the FDCPA nearly 40 years ago. ACA’s CEO, Mark Neeb, and other members of the ACA executive team will attend the CFP...
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Editor's Note: This article previously appeared on the Ontario Systems Blog and is republished here with permission. Once you understand how commercial text message services work and the type of text message service your agency will offer consumers, it’s time to draft your Terms and Conditions. Terms and conditions, like any e...
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This week, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of the United State Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify during confirmation hearings for his nomination to become an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. Kavanaugh was nominated by President Trump on July 9, 2018, to fill the seat of the long-serving Justice Anthony Kennedy, who officially retired on July 31, 2018. As we prepare for what may be a contentious el...
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[The article below is by Mike Bevel, Director of Education for the Compliance Professionals Forum. It first appeared in our Compliance Weekly newsletter - a concise and witty rundown each Wednesday, giving you just what you need to know on the compliance front. If you'd like to subscribe to that publication, click here. Note: Mike has conversations with himself. Your mileage may vary; feel...
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Effective communication sounds like it should be instinctive. But all too often, when we try to communicate with others something goes astray. We say one thing, the other person hears something else, and misunderstandings, frustration, and conflicts ensue. This can cause problems in your home, school, and work relationships. For many of us, communicating more clearly and effectively requires learning some important skills. Whether you’re trying to improve communication with your spouse,...
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ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, and businesses and organizations from a wide variety of industries secured a decisive victory last Friday from U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in its landmark case: ACA International v. Federal Communications Commission, et al.
In handing down its hotly-anticipated 51-page decision in the pivotal ACA Int’l case, ruling 3-0 in favor of business industries, the D.C. Circuit Court focused on the key issues ACA...
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The Internal Revenue Service issued an alert Feb. 13 warning consumers of “criminals” posing as debt collectors working on behalf of the IRS as well as a notice of a quickly growing scam involving erroneous tax refunds being deposited into their accounts.
The alert on the collection calls serves as an important reminder of the distinction between legitimate debt collectors working on behalf of creditors and government agencies to help consumers and fraudulent actors.
The IRS also offered a...
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In a memo sent yesterday to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) staff, Acting Director Mick Mulvaney provided insight and guidance into his intentions for the new direction of the Bureau.
He reiterated that he intends to enforce consumer protection laws. However he made it clear that this would look different under his watch than it did under former Director Richard Cordray.
He said,
"I think it is fair to say that the previous governing philosophy here was to aggressive...
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EY: i
Below is a summary of key industry measures derived from these two data sources:
• Agencies recovered approximately $78.5 billion in total debt in 2016, on which they earned close to $10.9 billion in commissions and fees. Removing these agency earnings from the total debt recovered leaves nearly $67.6 billion in debt that agencies returned to creditors. The five states with the highest total debt collected are New York ($7.3 billion), Texas ($7.3 billion), California ($5.2 billion), ...
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GoBankingRates’ latest survey on debt in the U.S. shows what most of us already know – consumers have various debts of various sizes.
Sixty-five percent of the 2,500 consumers surveyed have mortgage debt while 21 percent have medical debt. Fifty percent of the survey respondents have credit card debt, however the majority of balances are less than $500.
GoBankingRates also finds that 25 percent of respondents have student loan debt, with the most common balance being less than $1,000. Amon...
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