Debt collection

In the U.S., approximately 1.7% of credit card accounts are more than 30 days past due, which includes people who have let their bills go unpaid for more than 60 and 90 days, according to 2014 third quarter data from Experian Intelliview.

Verizon Communications Inc. has paid the state of Massachusetts $1.3 million to settle charges that it overbilled the state for phone service.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published a notice this week in the Federal Register to collect comments on its request for approval of a consumer response intake form under the Paperwork Reduction Act.

A nonprofit behavioral health provider in New Mexico submitted more than $4 million in overbillings, according to an audit conducted for New Mexico's Human Services Department, which included a case-by-case review of 150 reimbursement claims.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is urging the Department of Defense to finalize its proposal to extend the Military Lending Act to cover more types of credit than the current rule.

More than 1.1 million households in the U.S. used auto title loans in 2013, according to a survey by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. - the first time the agency has included such loans in its annual survey.

Experian announced Monday that it will begin offering FICO credit scores through its direct-to-consumer products.

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuits dropped to a more typical 713 cases (including 66 class action cases) filed in November after a spike to more than 900 in October. Fair Credit Reporting Act lawsuits decreased to 173 (including 14 class action cases) in November from more than 225 a month earlier.

The financial services company Santander's subprime auto lending business is under investigation by Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley's office over concerns it may have been engaged in predatory lending practices.

A data broker operation sold the sensitive personal information of hundreds of thousands of consumers to scammers who allegedly debited millions from their accounts, the Federal Trade Commission charged in a complaint.

An appeals court has upheld the four-year prison term of a former collection agency executive who was the mastermind behind a $12 million fraud scheme from January 2007 to March 2011.

WASHINGTON — Medical debt may prove to be one of the complex areas that the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will tackle in its highly anticipated rulemaking on debt collection next year.

A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office reveals a drop in state funding for public universities is making it tougher for students to pay for college.

Rozanne Andersen, chief compliance officer at Ontario Systems, is named as a nominee on the 2015 Shortlist for the Women in Compliance Awards. Andersen was twice named one of the top achievers in collections by Collections & Credit Risk for her role in shaping the industry's legislative priorities.

Colorado's Attorney General John Suthers has sued two more foreclosure law firms for fraud, accusing them of inflating costs charged to homeowners.

A Defense Department proposal to strengthen financial protections for military personnel is still too weak, according to attorneys general from 20 states.

In Thailand, the National Legislative Assembly on Friday passed a draft law outlining a ban to protect people from being targeted by rogue debt collectors.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sen. Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) is calling for joint action between the Department of Education, Department of Treasury and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to address student loan industry issues - including debt collection and loan servicing.

T-Mobile has agreed to fully refund its customers for unwanted third-party charges it placed on their phone bills, paying at least $90 million to settle a Federal Trade Commission lawsuit filed earlier this year.

The Securities Exchange Commission charged the co-owners of Buffalo, N.Y.-based Reliance Financial Advisors with fraud for allegedly misleading clients about risks associated with a hedge fund managed by a former debt collector.