Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an advisory opinion affirming that federal law often prohibits debt collectors from charging “pay-to-pay” fees. These charges, commonly described by debt collectors as “convenience fees,” are imposed on consumers who want to make a payment in a particular way, such as online or by phone. “Federal law … Read more
I’ve recently heard more about a group offering legal help to get people out of debt. People have mentioned similar names of companies, both Century Law Group and Century Law Firm. From a look at each company’s website CenturyLawInc.com and CenturyLawGroup.com it initially appears to me that the company primarily focused on selling debt relief … Read more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today sued United Debt Holding (UDH), JTM Capital Management (JTM), United Holding Group (UHG), and their owners, Craig Manseth, Jacob Adamo, and Darren Turco, for illegal debt-collection practices. The Bureau alleges that the defendants placed consumer debt with, or sold consumer debt to, collection companies that used unlawful and … Read more
New York recently enacted Senate Bill (SB) 153, the Consumer Credit Fairness Act, significantly impacting debt collection lawsuits filed by creditors or debt collectors. A few of the key amendments include: Most collection lawsuits arising out of a consumer credit transaction will now have a 3-year statute of limitations rather than 6 years. Extensions and … Read more
Q: What happens if you don’t file bankruptcy but still have credit card debt or loans at the bank? A: You owe them. Q: A collection agency sent my debt to a lawyer with a court date do I have to acknowledge it? A: No, but you will then lose by default. Q: Do I … Read more
Defendants posed as police, attorneys to threaten consumers over fake debts An Atlanta-based debt collection company and its owners will be permanently banned from the debt collection industry under the terms of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission. In its complaint against Critical Resolution Mediation, LLC, along with Brian Charles McKenzie and Tracy Dottrice … Read more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently filed a proposed settlement to resolve a lawsuit against a debt collection enterprise and its owner. The CFPB alleges that Fair Collections & Outsourcing (FCO) violated federal law by failing to establish or implement reasonable written policies and procedures regarding the accuracy and integrity of the information it … Read more
A reader just submitted a scam report against a company named Capital Management Corp. The company charged the consumer $1,000 and said they could recover money he had won in a small claims lawsuit. It sure feels like a lot of red flags are waving on this one. A quick check of California records shows … Read more
It took a long time but an Illinois company, Stark Law, is finally repaying consumers some money from a suit that was originally started by the State of Illinois in 2016. In that suit, Stark Law, Stark Legal, Ashton Asset Management, CHM Capital Group, Capital Harris Miller & Associates, HKM Funding, Pacific Capital Holdings, Charles … Read more
South Carolina companies used robocalls, illegal threats to convince consumers to pay non-existent debts Defendants in two Federal Trade Commission cases will be permanently banned from the debt collection industry as part of settlements resolving FTC charges they threatened consumers with legal action to collect on debts that did not exist. In complaints filed as … Read more
U.S. Attorney Andrew Murray announced that Carissa Eugenia Brown, 33, of Charlotte, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge David S. Cayer and pleaded guilty to orchestrating a $1.9 million debt collection scheme. Matthew D. Line, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, Charlotte Field Office (IRS-CI) and Tommy D. Coke, Inspector … Read more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) issued a consent order against RAB Performance Recoveries, LLC (RAB) for threatening to sue and suing consumers to collect debts where it did not have a legally required license to do so. Through 2012, RAB, a New Jersey company, purchased and collected consumer debts from debt brokers, and through … Read more
The Federal Trade Commission has taken action against a debt collection company that allegedly placed bogus or highly questionable debts onto consumers’ credit reports to coerce them to pay the debts. Under a settlement with the FTC, the company, Midwest Recovery Systems (Midwest Recovery), is prohibited from the practice, known as “debt parking,” and required … Read more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has published the final rules that modify the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. These rules amend Regulation F, 12 CFR part 1006, which implements the FDCPA. If you really want to take a deep dive into the changes, read CFPB Updates Fair Debt Collection Practices Act – What You … Read more
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has issued its final rule to update the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The FDCPA provides the framework of rules that serve to protect consumers from abusive debt collection practices. [November 30,2020 – The final rules were published here.] The CFPB states the following important changes are part … Read more