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U.S. CFPB’s bid to curb late credit card fees faces strong opposition
March 06 (Reuters) - A U.S. consumer watchdog's proposal to slash late fees on credit cards is facing a rough road ahead as lenders gear up for what could turn out to be a fierce battle with the agency, industry experts and analysts said.
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CFPB Uncovers Illegal Junk Fees on Bank Accounts, Mortgages, and Student and Auto Loans
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a special edition of its Supervisory Highlights that reports on unlawful junk fees uncovered in deposit accounts and in multiple loan servicing markets, including in mortgage, student, and payday lending. These unlawful fees corrode family finances, force up families’ banking and borrowing costs, and are not easily avoided – even by financially savvy consumers. As described in the Supervisory Highlights, the CFPB continues rooting unlawful fees out of consumer financial markets.
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Supervisory Highlights Junk Fees Special Edition, Issue 29, Winter 2023
This special edition of Supervisory Highlights focuses on the Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau’s (CFPB or Bureau) recent supervisory work related to violations of law in connection
with fees. 1 As part of its emphasis on fair competition the CFPB has launched an initiative,
consistent with its legal authority, to scrutinize exploitative fees charged by banks and financial
companies, commonly referred to as “junk fees.”
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DOJ’s Top Ten Consumer Complaints List of 2022
To kick off National Consumer Protection Week (March 5-11), Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum today released the Oregon Department of Justice’s (DOJ) list of 2022’s top ten consumer complaints.
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Attorney General Yost Silences Texas-based Robocallers
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) — Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and seven other attorneys general announced two related judgments effectively shutting down a massive robocall operation that bombarded Americans with billions of illicit robocalls, including more than 69 million to Ohioans. “Stopping annoying robocalls is a lengthy process, but this judgment is a reminder that we can cut them off,” Yost said. “There are enough distractions in life – let’s not let spam callers interrupt our lives anymore.”
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Second Circuit Affirms Judgment in Favor of Law Firm in Meaningful-Attorney-Involvement FDCPA Class Action
On February 13, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the decision of an Eastern District of New York court and found that the defendant law firm, Mandarich Law Group, LLC (Mandarich), had conducted a meaningful attorney review of the plaintiff debtor’s account prior to mailing her a debt collection letter on the firm’s letterhead. The three-judge panel set forth the decision in a summary order, which does not have precedential effect.
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House to hold March 9 hearing on CFPB
On March 9, 2023, the House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Monetary Policy will hold a hearing entitled “Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: Ripe for Reform.” The witnesses for the hearing have not yet been announced.
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Mortgage demand recovers slightly, despite rising interest rates
After dropping to a 28-year low the previous week, mortgage demand recovered slightly, even though interest rates marched higher. Total mortgage application volume rose 7.4% last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.
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The rise of art-backed loans is spectacular—here’s how they work
There was a time when art, while hopefully pleasurable to own, was a non-performing asset financially. No longer. As the worlds of art and finance increasingly converge, leveraging art collections to unlock liquidity has become a healthily growing sector, according to its participants.
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BREAKING DOWN THE FTC’S PROPOSED BAN ON NON-COMPETE AGREEMENT
We previously reported on the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) Proposed Rule that has sparked quite a stir. The Proposed Rule aims to ban companies from forcing employees to sign non-compete agreements. These agreements prohibit workers from taking jobs with competitors for a certain period of time after leaving their current employer. The new rule wouldn’t just ban standard non-competes, though. It would also prohibit other restrictive contracts like non-disclosure agreements that prevent employees from sharing trade secrets and employment contracts that require workers to pay back training costs if they leave too soon.
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CFPB and NLRB Announce Information Sharing Agreement to Protect American Consumers and Workers from Illegal Practices
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) today signed an information sharing agreement, creating a formal partnership between the two agencies to better protect American families and to address practices that harm workers in the “gig economy” and other labor markets.
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PCI DSS Requirements: What Your Business Needs to Know
In a fast-evolving digital economy, there’s no time to waste when protecting data and ensuring robust information security. In fact, did you know that a cyber attack occurs somewhere on the web every 39 seconds? So let’s cut to the chase and get to the nitty-gritty.
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Medical debt affects millions, and advocates push IRS, consumer agency for relief
Dozens of advocates for patients and consumers, citing widespread harm caused by medical debt, are pushing the Biden administration to take more aggressive steps to protect Americans from medical bills and debt collectors.
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Attorney General James Releases Top 10 Consumer Complaints of 2022
NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James kicked off National Consumer Protection Week by releasing a list of the top 10 consumer complaints received by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) in 2022. The top complaints range from price gouging of infant formula and children’s medication, flight cancellations, and the dramatic increase in gasoline prices.
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FTC Extends Public Comment Period on Its Proposed Rule to Ban Noncompete Clauses Until April 19
The Federal Trade Commission voted to extend the public comment period for its proposed new rule to ban employers from imposing noncompetes on their workers. With the extension, the FTC will now be accepting comments on the proposed rule until April 19. Originally, the deadline for submitting comments was March 20.
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Consumers keep spending. That might not be good news for them or the Fed
Minneapolis CNN—US consumers kept spending last year despite historically high inflation, not only shelling out for necessities but also splurging on restaurants, travel and other experiences impeded by the pandemic.
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Attorney General Todd Rokita shuts down massive robocall operation
INDIANAPOLIS — Millions of Hoosiers may now get fewer robocalls after a massive robocall operation was shut down, Attorney General Todd Rokita announced Monday.
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FTC Sends Nearly $2.4 Million to Raging Bull Customers After the Company Agrees to Settle Charges of Bogus Earnings Claims
The Federal Trade Commission is sending payments totaling nearly $2.4 million to consumers who paid subscription fees to the online stock trading site RagingBull.com, a company the FTC says used bogus earnings claims to trick consumers.
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Older mortgage applicants are more likely to be rejected, study finds
The older you get, the weaker your chances are at getting approved for a mortgage or refinance, according to a new study. Rejection rates spiked the most after borrowers crossed 70 and were most common among men, according to a brief from the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College that summarized a Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia study analyzing 5 million single-borrower loan applications from 2018-2020.
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Banks Hike Rates as Deposits See Historic Drop
Banks are raising their deposit rates to woo back consumers from higher-yield alternatives. A move to things like Treasury bills and money market funds has seen commercial bank deposits fall for the first time since 1948, Bloomberg News reported Monday (March 6), citing data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).
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On the heels of the pandemic, borrowers with low credit are falling behind on car loans
Borrowers with low credit scores are falling behind on their car loan payments as inflation eats away at consumer spending power.
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Ohio bill would require hospitals to post prices and limit collections if they don’t
A federal law says hospitals should be posting prices for some key services so patients can compare costs. But some Ohio lawmakers say that's not happening in most Ohio hospitals. And those legislators are sponsoring a bill that would make an Ohio law requiring hospitals to share that information publicly.
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Robocall Growth Slows, Spam Texts Explode According to Robokiller 2022 Phone Scam Insights Report
NEW YORK, March 6, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Americans received a whopping 225 billion robotexts, a 157% increase from 2021 and the most significant increase on record, according to Robokiller's annual phone scam report released today. Scammers haven't shifted too far away from robocalls yet, as those reached 78 billion in 2022, a modest 8% increase from the year prior.
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You won’t believe how much money hackers get from stealing your data
Hackers are constantly figuring out ways to steal your data, and it's almost always about one thing - the money. In fact, the price paid for this stolen information is astounding. We typically talk about how these data breaches happen and what their impact is after the fact.
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Justice Department Sues Jacksonville, North Carolina-based Goines Towing Company For Violating Rights of Servicemembers
The Justice Department today filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of North Carolina alleging that Billy Joe Goines, the owner and operator of Goines Towing & Recovery (Goines), auctioned off, sold or otherwise disposed of motor vehicles owned by servicemembers using court judgments obtained without filing proper military affidavits, in violation of federal law.
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Car loan payments push Americans ‘closer to the financial edge’ with severe delinquency rate the highest in 17 years
t’s hard to get a solid read on today’s economy, with the lowest unemployment rate in 53 years countering headlines of mass layoffs at companies like Amazon and Microsoft. CEOs and economists can’t seem to agree on whether it’s a recession or soft landing up ahead. One thing, however, is in little doubt: More Americans are struggling to make their car payments.
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More automation, not just additional tech talent, is what is needed to stay ahead of cybersecurity risks
The turbulence in tech — layoffs, slowing growth, and the hype and hope of AI tools like ChatGPT — is a reality for firms big and small. And as digital technologies become more prevalent across every type of company, there’s little doubt that CISOs are at the center of all this uncertainty.
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Arizona Court of Appeals Narrows Statute of Limitations Application
The Arizona Court of Appeals recently clarified how the state’s debt collection statute of limitations applies to debt created by a land sale contract. Arizona has a six-year statute of limitations to enforce installment debt created by a written contract, which is codified at A.R.S. § 12-548. A lender must enforce the debt through foreclosure or a lawsuit within six years after the cause of action accrues.
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National Consumer Protection Week 2023 Begins Sunday, March 5
National Consumer Protection Week 2023 begins this Sunday, March 5. The Federal Trade Commission and its partners, including consumer organizations, national advocacy organizations, and other federal, state, and local government agencies will participate in virtual and in-person events to promote consumers’ rights and protections against fraud, scams, and identity theft.
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What Now for Crypto Banking?
Crypto banking is in a mess. The collapse of the FTX exchange caused damaging runs on two U.S. regulated banks. One of them – Silvergate Capital Corp. – had to sell assets at a loss to repay depositors and lenders, and as a result has now warned that it may not be able to continue as a “going concern.”
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Washington state receives $163.4 million to fund innovative small business loan programs
OLYMPIA, WA – Washington state has been awarded $163.4 million from the U.S. Treasury Department to operate five capital access programs for small businesses. The new funding will be used to launch an updated version of the state’s highly successful Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) program, which was completed in 2016. SSBCI leveraged an original $19.7 million investment from the 2010 Small Business Jobs Act into $150 million in new capital for Washington small businesses.
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Education Department Takes Steps to Hold Leaders of Risky Colleges Personally Liable
Today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) released guidance outlining how it will implement long-standing provisions in the Higher Education Act that grant the Secretary authority to require leaders of private colleges that fail to operate in a financially responsible way to assume personal liability for the cost of unpaid debts owed to the Department of Education.
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US Consumers Received 4.3 Billion Robocalls in February, According to YouMail Robocall Index
IRVINE, Calif., March 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- US consumers received just over 4.3 billion robocalls in February, staying within the range of 4.2 billion and 4.7 billion calls per month we have seen since last August. The February volume marked a 4.0% decrease from January's volume.
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New Report Shows, Despite 2019 Law, Most Hospital Collection Practices Still Hurt Patients
A new report by the Portland nonprofit Dollar For carries a blunt title: “Pointless Debt.” The group looked at whether Oregon hospitals complied with a 2019 state law requiring them to evaluate whether patients can pay their bills before turning them over to collections.
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Report on the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Rule Voluntary Review
This report contains the findings of the Bureau’s voluntary review of the final rule on the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act the Bureau issued in October 2015 (2015 HMDA Final Rule) and related amendments (collectively, the HMDA Rule). Section 1022(d) of the Dodd-Frank Act requires the Bureau to conduct an assessment of each significant rule or order adopted by the Bureau under Federal consumer financial law.
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Mini-TCPA Laws You Should Know and That May Be Coming Soon in 2023
In April 2021, the US Supreme Court issued its decision in Facebook v. Duguid narrowly construing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) “automatic telephone dialing system” definition. In so doing, the Supreme Court effectively brought an end to the flood of TCPA lawsuits alleging violations of the statute’s restrictions on calls and texts made with an autodialer.
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CFPB Publishes New Findings on Financial Profiles of Buy Now, Pay Later Borrowers
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has published a new report analyzing the financial profiles of Buy Now, Pay Later borrowers. While many Buy Now, Pay Later borrowers use the product without noticeable indications of financial stress, the report finds that Buy Now, Pay Later borrowers are more likely to be active users of other types of credit products like credit cards, personal loans, and student loans.
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WEBRECON STATS: 2023 STARTS WITH SOME BITE
In January, CFPB complaints (+20.9%), FDCPA (+15.5%) and TCPA (+41.5%) were all up by significant margins, while FCRA (-2.7%) was down nominally. CFPB complaints (+12.2%) and TCPA lawsuits (+1.5%) are both up over last year January numbers, while FDCPA (-33.8%) and FCRA (-16.2%) are both down YTD.
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CFPB Announces Appointments of New Advisory Committee Members
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced today the appointment of new members to the Consumer Advisory Board, Community Bank Advisory Council, Credit Union Advisory Council, and Academic Research Council.
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Mortgage rates surge closer to 7%
Mortgage rates jumped higher this week, getting even closer to 7% and crushing homebuyer activity, which hit a 28-year low. The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage increased to 6.65% from 6.50% the week prior, according to Freddie Mac. Rates have climbed over a half-point in February, reversing declines since mid-November.
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White House aims to shift cybersecurity burden from individuals and small businesses to tech providers
The White House released its long-awaited National Cyber Strategy on Thursday, providing a road map for how the Biden administration aims to defend the U.S. from a rapidly growing number of online threats.
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Revolutionary or rogue? Ford’s future EVs may just repo themselves
Imagine waking up late one day, rushing outside to hop in your new Ford electric vehicle, only to find it has driven off on its own because you missed a payment. Well, this may soon be a reality, according to a new patent filed by Ford that would allow its future EVs to repossess themselves autonomously.
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Teaching collection managers and supervisors techniques for maximizing performance of collectors - Compliance, Coaching and Accountability. Instructor: Ken Evancic
Four Seasons Las Vegas ,
May 08 -
09 ,
2023 562-906-1101
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An invitation-only event for senior level Collection and Recovery Professionals
Four Seasons Las Vegas ,
May 10 -
12 ,
2023 Mark Naiman - Mark@collectionrecoverysolutions.com
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