TCPA Lawsuits Move into Second Place

Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) lawsuits in April overtook Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) legislation as the number two largest category behind Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) cases.

FDCPA numbers experienced a rare rally in April, with an 8% increase to 947 lawsuits compared with 875 in March. The uptick, however, was not enough to ease the year-to-date decline from 2013. FCRA lawsuits were down in April.

April proved to be a healthy month for consumer complaints although Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaint numbers tracked slightly lower (1%) than the previous month. Still, if the current pattern continues, those numbers will rise over the next several weeks and probably see an increase by this time next month, according to WebRecon LLC, the Grand Rapids, Mich. company that tracks lawsuit and complaint statistics from U.S. district courts and the CFPB.

Litigation Statistics:

A total of 3,582 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors and 1,257 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes in April 2014.

Here is an approximate April breakdown:
    •    3,582 CFPB Complaints

    •    947 FDCPA
    •    235 TCPA
    •    213 FCRA

Litigation Summary:
    •    Of those cases, there were about 1,257 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
    •    Of those plaintiffs, about 453, or (36%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
    •    Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2289 lawsuits since 2001
    •    Actions were filed in 167 different US District Court branches.
    •    About 906 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:
    •    75 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
    •    54 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
    •    49 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
    •    41 Lawsuits: Colorado District Court – Denver

The most active consumer attorneys in April were:
    •    Representing 73 Consumers: Sergei Lemberg
    •    Representing 28 Consumers: John Thomas Steinkamp
    •    Representing 27 Consumers: David Michael Larson
    •    Representing 27 Consumers: Michael Anthony Eades

Statistics Year to Date -? 4,111 total lawsuits for 2014, including:
    •    3,294 FDCPA
    •    908 FCRA
    •    802 TCPA

CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 3,582 complaints filed against debt collectors in April.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 741

The types of debt behind the complaints were:
    •    994 Other (phone, health club, etc.) (27.7%)
    •    748 Credit card (20.9%)
    •    743 Unknown (20.7%)
    •    347 Medical (9.7%)
    •    304 Payday loan (8.5%)
    •    172 Mortgage (4.8%)
    •    104 Auto (2.9%)
    •    91 Non-federal student loan (2.5%)
    •    79 Federal student loan (2.2%)

Breakdown of complaints:
    •    1,321 Continued attempts collect debt not owed (36.9%)
    •    714 Communication tactics (19.9%)
    •    637 Disclosure verification of debt (17.8%)
    •    332 False statements or representation (9.3%)
    •    300 Improper contact or sharing of info (8.4%)
    •    278 Taking/threatening an illegal action (7.8%)

The top five subissues were:
    •    802 Debt is not mine (22.4%)
    •    458 Not given enough info to verify debt (12.8%)
    •    440 Frequent or repeated calls (12.3%)
    •    392 Debt was paid (10.9%)
    •    256 Attempted to collect wrong amount (7.1%)

The top states complaints were filed from:
    •    454 Complaints: California
    •    359 Complaints: Florida
    •    338 Complaints: Texas
    •    241 Complaints: New York
    •    145 Complaints: Ohio

The status of the month’s complaints:
    •    2,396 Closed with explanation (66.9%)
    •    582 Closed with non-monetary relief (16.2%)
    •    305 In progress (8.5%)
    •    130 Untimely response (3.6%)
    •    112 Closed (3.1%)
    •    57 Closed with monetary relief (1.6%)

Litigation Statistics:

3582 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors and about 1257 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes in April 2014. Here is an approximate breakdown:

  • 3582 CFPB Complaints
  • 947 FDCPA
  • 235 TCPA
  • 213 FCRA

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

  • Of those cases, there were about 1257 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
  • Of those plaintiffs, about 453, or (36%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
  • Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2289 lawsuits since 2001
  • Actions were filed in 167 different US District Court branches.
  • About 906 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

  • 75 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
  • 54 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
  • 49 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
  • 41 Lawsuits: Colorado District Court – Denver

- See more at: http://dev.webrecon.com/debt-collection-litigation-cfpb-complaint-statistics-april-2014/#sthash.yl2Pi7Eh.dpuf

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