Debt collection

A medical debt relief bill in Minnesota would give consumers the right to go to court to stop a collection action on medical debt that violates federal IRS rules.

A lawsuit filed last month by four student loan debt collection companies against the U.S. Department of Education was dismissed Tuesday by a federal judge.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Navajo Nation announced Tuesday that they are taking action against companies and individuals who operated an illegal tax refund scheme.

Two debt brokers agreed to settle charges that they exposed highly sensitive information about tens of thousands of consumers while trying to sell portfolios of consumer debt on a public website.

Officials with Louisville Metro Corrections, in Louisville, Ky., are reviewing whether to hire a private debt collection agency to pursue booking fees owed to the jail. Two collection agencies submitted bids.

Federal and state of Illinois authorities moved to shut down a debt collection scam operation located in a western suburb of Chicago. The defendants are charged with illegally using threats and intimidation.

A federal court has temporarily halted Los Angeles-based Wealth Educators Inc. and its president from offering mortgage relief services after the Federal Trade Commission charged the operation with failing to provide the help promised to homeowners, while charging a large illegal upfront fee for services.

MultiCare Health Systems, a Tacoma, Wash.-based nonprofit, is the subject of a new report citing questionable billing practices and collection methods that leave some patients in endless cycles of debt.

Critics of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's proposals to rein in payday loans argue that onerous requirements could force many lenders to shut down, leaving cash-strapped Americans with few options for short-term credit. But the truth is payday loans often leave low-income borrowers in even worse straits.

Bank card and closed-end loan delinquencies rose in last year’s fourth quarter but were still near record lows, according to the American Bankers Association’s Consumer Credit Delinquency Bulletin.

Mortgage finance company Fannie Mae revealed details Wednesday of its first-ever large sale of non-performing mortgages, a move that could make it easier for some of the borrowers behind the loans to stay in their homes.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has filed a massive lawsuit against more than a dozen debt collectors, payment processors and related entities that the agency said failed to stop fraudulent collection tactics.

The agency announced Wednesday it had filed a massive lawsuit against more than a dozen debt collectors, payment processors and related entities that the agency said failed to detect fraudulent collection tactics. By including processors in its suit, observers said the CFPB's move resembles the Justice Department's Operation Choke Point.

Consumer borrowing to a record high in February, fueled by a large jump in auto and student loans. The value of non-revolving debt climbed by the most since July 2011.

Ninety-two percent of Americans are "very or somewhat confident" in their most recent big financial decision - such as picking a credit card, buying a car or refinancing a mortgage, according to a survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and NerdWallet.

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is suing Student Loan Processing and owner James Krause for allegedly charging consumers in the state “exorbitant and illegal” fees to help with their student loan debt.

If a new FICO score is to succeed, it's going to have to impress the Al Engels of the world.

PRA Group, a Norfolk, Va.-based debt buyer, was named a Global M&A Deal of the Year recipient in the M&A Atlas Awards for last year's $1.3 billion acquisition of Norway-based Aktiv Kapital AS.

An Oklahoma tribe is fighting for the right to offer Connecticut consumers payday loans, arguing that state restrictions on its offerings of high-rate, short-term loans are financially damaging.

The Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), in a recent study of payday lending in one state, found that nearly half of all borrowers default on a loan within their first two years of borrowing.