Written Testimony of Director Rohit Chopra before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

Chairman Brown, Ranking Member Toomey, and distinguished Members of the Committee, I am pleased to appear before you today in conjunction with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) submission of the Semiannual Report to Congress.

FTC Takes Action to Stop Voice over Internet Provider from Facilitating Illegal Telemarketing Robocalls, Including Scams Relating to the Pandemic

The Federal Trade Commission today took action against Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service provider VoIP Terminator, Inc., a related company, and the firms’ owner for assisting and facilitating the transmission of millions of illegal prerecorded telemarketing robocalls, including those they knew or should have known were scams, to consumers nationwide. Many of the calls originated overseas, and related to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the defendants allegedly failing to act as a gatekeeper to stop them from entering the country.

Comparing states with the highest and lowest personal debt and income levels

Americans collectively owe more than $15.3 trillion in personal debt, accrued by financing homes and cars, taking out loans to attend college, or simply by using credit cards. Debt isn’t necessarily a sign of borrowers living beyond their means or buying irresponsibly, though. It’s often used as a tool to achieve financial goals that can have long-term benefits, such as buying a home to build equity over many years. Debt and income profiles of every state vary significantly when factors such as housing prices, cost of living, and economic opportunities are considered.

OCC Launches Discussion Series on Financial Health

WASHINGTON—The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) today announced the launch of a discussion series to explore issues relating to the financial wellbeing of consumers.

CFPB Makes Move to Widen Supervisory Scope

On April 25, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) announced that it would begin invoking a provision in Dodd-Frank, previously used only infrequently, to conduct supervisory examinations over a greater number of nonbank financial companies that may “pose risks to consumers.”

CFPB criticizes transcript withholding by postsecondary schools

A recent CFPB blog post endorsed part of U.S. Department of Education Secretary Cardona’s keynote address for the 2021 FSA Training Conference that issued a call to end the longstanding institutional practice of transcript withholding in order to promote equity and diversity.  While the CFPB rings alarm bells in its blog post, it offers no data concerning the prevalence of this practice to explain why it finds cause for alarm.

40% of Credit Union Members Are Interested in Real-Time Payments

Forty percent of credit union members are “very” or “extremely” interested in real-time payments, according to the “Credit Union Innovation Playbook,” a PYMNTS and PSCU collaboration based on a survey of 4,832 U.S. consumers, 101 credit union decision-makers and 51 FinTech executives.

LAWSUITS UP ACROSS THE BOARD: WEBRECON STATS FOR MARCH 2022

Quick analysis: Lawsuits Up Across The Board CFPB complaints (+8.3%) and consumer litigation (FDCPA +10.6%, TCPA +10.1%, FCRA +17.3%) all spiked by double-digit percentages across all three major consumer statutes in March. However, only FCRA (+3.8%) is up YTD. CFPB complaints (-2.8%), FDCPA (-3.6%) and TCPA lawsuits (-39.8%) are all down compared to this time last year.

Debt Collection Attorney Outlook: The Future of the Industry

Debt collection attorneys work as a team with their clients to develop legal strategies to collect debts owed by nonpaying customers. This is also known as debt collection strategies. If your case proceeds to trial, they will often represent you in court. However, most of their job consists of preparing and submitting documents on your behalf.

American Credit Acceptance Improper Car Repossession $98M Class Action Settlement

American Credit Acceptance agreed to forgive over $98 million in deficient account balances to resolve claims of improper car repossession.

RMAI Is Excited to Present FinancialLiteracy.Rocks for Financial Literacy Month

April 26, 2022 (Sacramento, CA) – Receivables Management Association International (RMAI) is excited to provide a resource for financial success: FinancialLiteracy.Rocks (http://financialliteracy.rocks/).  RMAI is committed to protecting consumers and helping them reach their financial goals, manage debt, and create a stronger economy one financial decision at a time.  This website gathers helpful resources together for ease of access and discovery.  FinancialLiteracy.Rocks debuted in 2019 and is updated with new resources on an ongoing basis.

How fraudsters target mortgage lending

Across business and finance, dealing with cyber threats has become a regular part of life. Two years ago, researchers at Cybersecurity Ventures predicted that a new ransomware attack would occur every 11 seconds. Last year, a hack of the Colonial Pipeline’s billing infrastructure illustrated how large an impact cyberattacks could have. And at the end of the year, a security flaw in Apache Log4j framework posed a threat to any company using Java applications, putting banking services particularly at risk to Dridex malware. And in mid-April, five lenders and a title company reported data breaches which, combined, could affect thousands of customers.

TCPA Regulatory Update — FCC Partners with More States, Sends More Cease & Desist Letters, Clarifies Safe Harbors, and Responds to Congressional Queries

As we reported last month, the Federal Communications Commission has been partnering with various states to improve the federal-state collaboration in robocalling investigations. In April, the Commission’s Enforcement Bureau signed memoranda of understanding with Alaska, California, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and the state of Washington. With the addition of these states, a majority of U.S. states have now joined with the Commission in robocalling investigation partnerships. In announcing these new partnerships, Chairwoman Rosenworcel remarked that “[the new partnerships] show[] that we are united when it comes to fighting robocalls—urban, rural, north, south, east, and west.”

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina M. Khan Announces Senior Agency Leaders

Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina M. Khan announced the appointment of two senior agency leaders: General Counsel Anisha Dasgupta and Office of Policy Planning Director Elizabeth Wilkins.

Broadcasters Urge FCC to Regulate Big Tech

Representatives from ABC Television Affiliates Association, the CBS Television Network Affiliates Association, the FBC Television Association and the NBC Television Affiliates (The Four Affiliates Associations) sent a letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) on April 21, claiming that digital platforms do not fairly compensate broadcasters and urging the regulator to modify existing rules to impose stricter requirements on Big Tech. 

CFPB Signals Foray into Protecting Small Businesses from Abusive Debt Collectors

On April 15, the CFPB and FTC announced the release of a joint annual report to Congress administering the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).  The annual report highlights both agencies’ efforts to protect and provide debt collection relief to consumers, particularly in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic hardship.

CFPB Invokes Dormant Authority to Examine Nonbank Companies Posing Risks to Consumers

Washington, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it is invoking a largely unused legal provision to examine nonbank financial companies that pose risks to consumers. The CFPB believes that utilizing this dormant authority will help protect consumers and level the playing field between banks and nonbanks. The CFPB is also seeking public comments on a procedural rule to make this process more transparent.

Medical debt is a leading source of consumer credit complaints

Medical debt on a consumer’s credit report can result in reduced access to credit, increased risk of bankruptcy, avoidance of medical care and difficulty securing employment — even if the bill itself is inaccurate or erroneous. Not surprisingly, medical debt is one of the leading categories of complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Gen Z Helps Drive More Than One in Four Property Managers to Report Rent Payments

An increasing number of renters are benefitting from having their rent payments reported to credit reporting agencies, and the number is likely to grow as the youngest generation — Gen Z — is most interested in this practice. New TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) tenant and employment screening research found that more than one in four property managers (27%) who are aware of the practice now report rent payments to credit reporting agencies, with nearly one-third doing so since January 2020.

CFPB and NY Attorney General Sue Repeat Offender MoneyGram For Leaving Families High and Dry

Washington, D.C. – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and New York Attorney General Letitia James today announced they are filing a lawsuit against MoneyGram International, Inc. and MoneyGram Payment Systems, Inc. (MoneyGram)—one of the largest remittance providers in the U.S.—for systemically and repeatedly violating various consumer financial protection laws and leaving families high and dry. The lawsuit specifically alleges that the company stranded customers waiting for their money when it failed to deliver funds promptly to recipients abroad.

Director Chopra’s Prepared Remarks on the Lawsuit Against MoneyGram

Millions of individuals from around the world sacrifice proximity to their loved ones to seek a better life and financial stability in our country. But they know that on the other side, when their money transfers are received, they are supporting elderly parents, siblings, spouses, and sometimes their own young children. Each year, American families send more than $100 billion abroad using international money transfers, also known as remittances.

MoneyGram Responds to Baseless Litigation and Claims by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director and the NY Attorney General

DALLAS, April 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- MoneyGram International, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGI), a global leader in the evolution of digital P2P payments, responded to the meritless civil lawsuit filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") and the New York Attorney General ("NYAG") and baseless claims issued by the CFPB and its director. The Company issued the following statement: As the industry leader in compliance and consumer protection, MoneyGram is deeply disappointed that the CFPB and NYAG chose to file yesterday's meritless lawsuit and that the CFPB chose to issue two press releases littered with gratuitous and inaccurate statements about the Company and the allegations in the case. The Company is fully prepared to vigorously defend itself and expose the meritless nature of the lawsuit in court.  

CFPB Signals Increased Scrutiny Over Education Lenders

On April 18, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau) published a blog post, scrutinizing the practice of withholding transcripts from students with delinquent accounts and who are attending an institute of higher education.

Utah Becomes Fourth State to Enact Comprehensive Data Privacy Legislation

Utah recently joined California, Colorado, and Virginia as the fourth state to enact comprehensive data privacy legislation.  On March 24, 2022, Utah Governor Spencer Cox signed the Utah Consumer Privacy Act (“UCPA”) into law, which is set to go into effect on December 31, 2023. 

You have rights and protections when you send money abroad

Today, we announced our lawsuit against MoneyGram and its subsidiary company for alleged violations of the Remittance Transfer Rule, which protects the rights of people who send money to others in foreign countries.

Consumer complaints up 31% since 2018 about collection attempts for medical debt not actually owed, federal watchdog finds

For some consumers, medical debt they don’t even owe appears to ends up haunting them anyway. Complaints jumped 31% from 2018 to 2021 about debt collectors attempting to get consumers to fork over amounts that already were paid or otherwise not owed, according to a new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a federal watchdog agency that handles such complaints.

Collection and Recovery Solutions 2022

Resource Management Services, Inc.

RMAi Executive Summit 2022

RMAi

DCS2022 – Debt Connection Symposium and Expo 2022