DC Protects Consumers From Unjust Debt Collection Practices Amendment Act of 2021

On March 15, the D.C. Council of the District of Columbia Committee of the Whole met in a full hearing, in part to hear amendments introduced to B24-0357 by Councilmember and Chair Phil Mendelson (D).

Nebraskans lost $19.7M to cybercrime in 2021, per FBI’s Internet Crime Report for 2021

OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — On Thursday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Omaha Field Office distributed the FBI's Internet Crime Report for 2021. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) determined in the annual report that Nebraskans lost $19.7 million, while Iowans lost approximately $33.8 million to cybercrime in 2021.

California’s low-income college students are stuck in unfair debt – TheHitc

As if remote learning, quarantines and sick family members were not enough, hundreds of thousands of California’s most financially vulnerable college students now face an additional challenge: surprise debts owed to their community colleges and public universities.

Hospitals can use Equifax to gauge patients’ propensity to pay, court rules

Hospitals can use financial reports from Equifax and other credit reporting agencies to help determine a patient's propensity to pay medical debt under Medicare rules, a federal district court ruled March 29.

100,000 student loan borrowers have had their debt forgiven under this policy fix

More than 100,000 borrowers will receive student debt forgiveness thanks to policy fixes made to the public service loan forgiveness program. The relief amounts to more than $6 billion, according to new data released by the U.S. Department of Education.

CFPB Issues Warning About Contractual Gag Clauses and Consumer Reviews

On March 22, 2022 the CFPB issued a policy statement on contractual “gag” clauses and fake review fraud.  While the bulleting indicates that financial companies will face consequences for illegally manipulating or suppressing consumer reviews, the message is one with broader implications for all digital marketers.

CFPB Report Shows Credit Card Late Fees Declining, Below Set Limits

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published on March 29 a report on credit card late fees where the regulator provided data about the amount of late fees charged by type of consumer. The main findings from the report are that credit card late fees have been in decline for the last few years and consumers with lower credit scores incurred more late fees than consumers with better scores. 

FY 2021 Office of Minority and Women Inclusion (OMWI) annual report to Congress

The FY 2021 OMWI annual report to Congress provides detailed information about the diversity and inclusion work of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from Oct. 1, 2020 through Sept. 30, 2021, unless otherwise noted. The diversity and inclusion work of the Bureau aligns closely with the Biden-Harris Administration’s Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government , the Executive Order on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce , with the Bureau’s Strategic Plan, and with racial and economic equity.

FTC Takes Action Against Multistate Auto Dealer Napleton for Sneaking Illegal Junk Fees onto Bills and Discriminating Against Black Consumers

The Federal Trade Commission and the State of Illinois are taking action against Napleton a large, multistate auto dealer group based in Illinois, for sneaking illegal junk fees for unwanted “add-ons” onto customers’ bills and for discriminating against Black consumers by charging them more for financing. Napleton will pay $10 million to settle the lawsuit brought by the FTC and the State of Illinois, a record-setting monetary judgment for an FTC auto lending case.

FDIC Consumer Compliance Supervisory Highlights

The FDIC’s Consumer Compliance Supervisory Highlights is a publication that features articles of interest to the banking industry. Its purpose is to enhance transparency regarding the FDIC’s consumer compliance supervisory activities and provide a high-level overview of consumer compliance issues identified in 2021 through the FDIC’s supervision of state non-member banks and thrifts. Topics include supervisory observations related to consumer protection laws, examples of practices that may be useful to institutions in mitigating risks, regulatory developments, consumer compliance resources, and an overview of consumer complaint trends.

Attorney General Bonta, Senator Talamantes Eggman, and Senate President Pro Tempore Atkins Announce Legislation to Strengthen Consumer Protections for Military Service Members

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton), and Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) today announced Senate Bill 1311 (SB 1311), which will extend additional legal and financial protections for active duty and reserve component service members and their families. SB 1311, jointly authored by Senator Talamantes Eggman and Pro Tem Atkins, and sponsored by Attorney General Bonta, stems from the California Department of Justice’s investigation and prosecution of businesses that have targeted service members and military families.

Extending the student-loan payment pause is a ‘shortsighted’ and ‘unfair deal for the vast majority of Americans,’ a GOP senator says

Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, along with Sen. Chuck Grassley, introduced the STUDENT Act last week, which would provide borrowers applying for student loans an estimate of the total amount of interest they would pay based on a ten-year repayment plan. As pressure is mounting for President Joe Biden to extend the pause on student-loan payments, Ernst said her legislation should be considered, instead.

Attorney General James Urges Former Students Deceived by DeVry University to Apply for Federal Loan Discharge

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James today sent letters to thousands of former students who attended DeVry University or DeVry/New York, Inc. (DeVry) to encourage them to apply for a federal loan discharge if they believe they were deceived by the university when they applied. State and federal investigations into DeVry found that the university inflated its job placement statistics and salaries in marketing materials to lure students.

Overdraft fees can price people out of banking

In 2019, banks and credit unions collected an estimated $15.5 billion from their customers through overdraft and non-sufficient funds fees. These fees are charged when the financial institution determines that a customer’s checking account does not have the funds to cover an expense. They are often assessed for reasons people do not expect or understand, chip away at needed income including public benefits, and take a heavy toll on families living paycheck to paycheck. And, overdraft fees can ultimately drive people out of banking altogether.

Short-term personal loan rates plunge to new record low in March

Personal loans are a popular financing tool because they offer fast, lump-sum funding that you repay in predictable monthly installments at a fixed interest rate. Since this is an unsecured loan, lenders may deposit the funds directly into your bank account as soon as the next business day upon loan approval. 

CFPB Sanctions Edfinancial for Lying about Student Loan Cancellation

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today sanctioned Edfinancial Services, a student-loan servicer, for making deceptive statements to student loan borrowers and misrepresenting their forgiveness and repayment options to them. Edfinancial deceived borrowers, with Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP), loans about their eligibility for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF). The Bureau is ordering the company to contact all affected borrowers, provide them with accurate information, and pay a $1 million civil money penalty.

CCPA Data Privacy Trends Report: Data Subject Requests Indicate California Consumers Are Quick To Assert Their Privacy Rights

The 2022 Data Privacy Trends Report from privacy management platform DataGrail examines the ongoing impact of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and finds that consumers are taking full advantage of these expanded rights to protect their privacy. Among other metrics, data subject requests doubled from 2020 to 2021 and more people are asking for data deletion and to opt out of the sale of their data to third parties.

California DFPI Shares Progress on Implementing Consumer Financial Protection Law

A year after implementing one of the most expansive consumer protection laws in the U.S., California’s Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (DFPI) announced it has collected close to $1 million in restitution for consumers, fielded hundreds of additional complaints related to the law, and launched more than 100 investigations using its expanded authority under the California Consumer Financial Protection Law (CCFPL), according to a news release.

Sun Sets on Increased Subchapter V Debt Limit for Now

A key bankruptcy-related response to the pandemic has ended as the increased debt limits under subchapter V of chapter 11, passed by Congress in the CARES Act, have expired. In an effort to provide bankruptcy relief and access to subchapter V of chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code to a greater number of small businesses, Congress raised the debt limit for subchapter V eligibility from the original $2,725,625 to $7.5 million via the CARES Act, passed in March of 2020.

CFPB’s Chopra Proposes Structural Remedies for Repeat Offenders

In a speech at the University of Pennsylvania Monday (March 28), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Director Rohit Chopra urged regulators and enforcers, including the CFPB, to step up their game against repeat offenders — and in particular, against large financial institutions. The tone of the speech was hard, and it didn’t spare anybody involved in the financial markets. From the beginning, it accused companies of not doing enough to comply with the rules, but it also had a message to regulators for years of “lax enforcement.”

Dismantling Unjust Interest Rates for Debt Collection Judgments

The costs of credit and debt collection, which are inextricably linked, are frequent battlegrounds for consumer financial products and services regulation.

Attorney General Bonta, Senator Talamantes Eggman, and Senate President Pro Tempore Atkins Announce Legislation to Strengthen Consumer Protections for Military Service Members

SACRAMENTO – California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton), and Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) today announced Senate Bill 1311 (SB 1311), which will extend additional legal and financial protections for active duty and reserve component service members and their families. SB 1311, jointly authored by Senator Talamantes Eggman and Pro Tem Atkins, and sponsored by Attorney General Bonta, stems from the California Department of Justice’s investigation and prosecution of businesses that have targeted service members and military families. It also draws from previous discussions between the Attorney General and military personnel, JAG legal assistance attorneys, command financial counselors, and other members of the military and veterans community, including a July 2021 roundtable event at Naval Base San Diego. If passed, the bill would establish stronger consumer protection laws for California’s service members. 

Attorney General James Warns Debt Collectors of New State Regulations Banning Lawsuits on Old Debts

NEW YORK – New York Attorney General Letitia James sent letters to the largest credit card companies and major debt collectors operating in New York, warning them of new state regulations that prevent them from suing consumers for old debts. The Consumer Credit Fairness Act of 2021 — which was signed into law last November — will go into effect next month and reduces the statute of limitations for consumer debt collection from six years to three years

AG: New NYS regulations ban lawsuits on old debts

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – New York Attorney General Letitia James sent letters to the biggest credit card companies and debt collectors operating in the state, warning them of new state regulations that prohibit lawsuits for old debts. The Consumer Credit Fairness act of 2021 will go into effect next month and will reduce the statute of limitations for consumer debt collections from six years to just three years.

Credit card late fees

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers had steadily been paying more in credit card late fees each year—peaking at over $14 billion in 2019. Late fees assessed by issuers declined to about $12 billion in 2020 given record-high payment rates and public and private relief efforts. Even during the pandemic, late fees accounted for over one-tenth of the $120 billion consumers pay in credit card interest and fees annually. In 2021, late fees were on the rise again.

CFPB Finds Credit Card Companies Charged $12 Billion in Late Fee Penalties in 2020

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a report today showing that credit card issuers charged $12 billion in late fees in 2020. Late fee penalties are charged in addition to interest when a cardholder does not make the minimum payment by the due date.

CFPB should study, appropriately regulate ‘buy now, pay later’ products

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau should carefully examine and regulate “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) companies, CUNA wrote to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Friday. The CFPB issued a request for information on BNPL products, following an inquiry into five companies offering the products.

How mortgage lenders are approaching a changed spring season

Originators produced a record $4.4 trillion in volume last year, reaching an all-time high purchase lending and a 17-year high in cash-out refinances. But today, the mortgage industry faces headwinds on many fronts, including rising mortgage rates and seemingly unstoppable home price growth with a current average of nearly $364K nationwide, according to Redfin. Residential construction lending is up but the pipeline has a long way to go in alleviating supply.

NEW LEGISLATION STREAMLINES ARIZONA’S FINANCIAL SERVICES LICENSING REQUIREMENTS

Phoenix, AZ - The Department of Insurance and Financial Institutions (DIFI) applauds the passage and signing of Senate Bill 1394, legislation proposed by DIFI that will streamline decades-old licensing requirements for businesses that currently must obtain separate licenses for trade names or assumed names - sometimes referred to as, “Doing Business As” or DBAs. 

The IRS’ Privatized Debt Collection Program Is Bringing In Less Revenue Than Expected and Underreporting Costs

A program Congress authorized in 2015 for the Internal Revenue Service to outsource the collection of some outstanding tax debt has brought in only about half as much money as projected, according to a new audit, while racking up costs the agency has not properly reported. 

Attorney General Bonta: CFPB Should Scrutinize Buy-Now-Pay-Later Financing to Address Compliance with Consumer Protection Laws

OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta today, as part of a multistate coalition, urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to closely scrutinize and initiate rulemaking to regulate Buy-Now-Pay-Later financing providers. Buy-Now-Pay-Later financing has exploded in popularity in recent years with the rise of online shopping, allowing consumers to pay for a purchase in installments instead of all at once. While these arrangements are often used for large purchases such as furniture, jewelry, and appliances, Buy-Now-Pay-Later financing is increasingly available for everyday expenses, such as filling up a tank of gas. While this financing is often advertised as a safe and affordable way to access credit, the coalition is concerned that this largely-unregulated financial product may instead trap vulnerable consumers into debt they are unable to afford and cause long-term damage to consumers' financial health.  

Eighth Circuit Holds Text System That Randomly Selects Phone Numbers From Database Does Not Qualify as ATDS

On March 24, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion, upholding separate district court decisions finding that a system that sends promotional text messages to phone numbers randomly selected from a database of customer information is not an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The concise opinion espouses a common sense reading of the word “produce,” finding that the word requires an ATDS to generate a random number, rather than to select a number randomly.

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