Debt collection

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuits decreased for the second consecutive year in 2013, down 10 percent from 2012, which itself was down 7 percent from 2011. Telephone Consumer Protection Act litigation exploded in 2013, up 69 percent from 2012.

New York regulators have reached a settlement with Western Sky Financial LLC, CashCall Inc., WS Funding LLC and their owners, Martin Webb and J. Paul Reddam, for violating the state's usury and licensed lender laws in connection with personal loans they made over the Internet.

California's plan to halt payday loan services owned by Indian tribes was dealt a setback this week after a state appeals court ruled tribal sovereign immunity stands in the way.

The latest Equifax National Consumer Credit Trends Report indicates that the automobile lending sector continues to thrive. The total number of new auto loans originated from January through October 2013 was 20.2 million, totaling $405.2 billion and representing the highest origination total for that time in eight years.

A Michigan woman charged with embezzling $135,000 from collection agency Mid-Michigan Collection Bureau, where she was employed, received a sentence of one year in jail and an order to pay restitution, Clinton County (Mich.) Circuit Court Judge Michelle Rick announced this week.

The British Columbia Supreme Court in Canada has ruled that TransUnion can’t keep consumer credit data such as late payments on its records for more than six years.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's office received more than 2,400 collection complaints in 2013, with hundreds of those complaints involving potential scams.

TeleCheck Services, Inc., one of the nation’s largest check authorization service companies, along with its associated debt collection firm, TRS Recovery Services Inc., have agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

The number of U.S. properties saddled with foreclosures last year dropped 26 percent from 2012, according to RealtyTrac, an online real estate firm.

Terms of a settlement between Apple Inc. and the Federal Trade Commission require Apple to provide full refunds to consumers, paying a minimum of $32.5 million, to settle charges that it billed consumers for millions of dollars of charges incurred by children in kids’ mobile apps without their parents’ consent.

The South Florida-based defendants in an alleged mortgage relief scam will surrender their assets and be banned permanently from providing mortgage relief and debt relief to consumers under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

A Worcester, Mass. resident has notified the Better Business Bureau of Central New England about an unsolicited phone call involving a caller claiming to be from the FBI.

A U.S. district court has halted and frozen the assets of an Orlando, Fla.-based operation that used pre-recorded telephone calls, also known as robocalls, to pitch purportedly free medical alert devices to senior citizens by falsely stating the devices had been purchased for them by a relative or friend.

All of the typical measures of mortgage distress continue to improve, according to CoreLogic's National Foreclosure Report for November. The report contains a supplement featuring quarterly shadow inventory data as of October 2013.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's office is warning residents in the state about a scam involving callers telling consumers they are late on their Frontier phone bill payments, then asking for personal information and demanding an immediate payment.

Gains in student and auto loans fueled an increase in consumer borrowing in November, according to the latest Federal Reserve G.19 report.

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson sued collection agency Bradstreet and Associates on Wednesday for charging steep interest rates on overdrawn checking accounts at two big banks.

Convergys, based in Cincinnati, agreed Monday to buy rival call center giant Stream Global Services for $820 million.

A lawsuit filed by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey's office against Nevada debt settlement company Legal Helpers Debt Resolution alleges the firm collected advance fees from customers but provided no services or help.

A U.S. district court has temporarily shut down a telemarketing operation that allegedly targeted Hispanic consumers with false promises that they could make money by reselling high-end goods such as Gucci and Ralph Lauren, and then charged them between $400 and $490 upfront for off-brand products.