Debt collection

U.S. residential properties sold at an estimated annualized pace of 5,649,965, a 2% increase from the previous month and up 13% from October 2012, according to RealtyTrac.

The final six of 10 defendants named in an alleged “Rachel from Cardholder Services” scam have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that they misled consumers with bogus claims that they would lower their credit card interest rates.

The auto loan delinquency rate (the ratio of borrowers 60 days or more delinquent on their auto loans) increased to 1.04% in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, up on both a quarterly and yearly basis (from 0.87% in the previous quarter and 1.00% in Q3 2012).

Collections giant NCO Financial Systems is closing the health care program at its Columbus, Ohio office in January, putting 85 people out of work.

Joseph Bella, the operator of several collection agencies in the Buffalo, N.Y. area, agreed to pay $165,000 in restitution and penalties in a settlement announced Thursday by New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman's office.

The operators of an Atlanta-based company have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission allegations that they crammed charges on consumers’ cell phone bills without their consent, causing more than $10 million in consumer injury.

A federal judge has temporarily halted, and frozen the assets of, a Montreal operation that bilked more than $14 million from small businesses and churches in the U.S. for unwanted listings in online business directories.

The DBA International Certification Council announced the approval of several firms to perform independent third-party audits as part of DBA International’s Debt Buyer Certification Program.

With growing numbers of health care professionals urging patients to use medical credit card to pay for treatments not covered by insurance plans, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman issued a consumer alert Thursday on the risks linked to health care financing.

The West Virginia Supreme Court has overturned a $75,000 verdict against collection firm Green Tree Servicing, ruling that Circuit Court Judge Robert Burnside should have sent the lawsuit to arbitration.

New regulations under consideration by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom will drive up collection costs and hurt collection rates, according to an early finding from a study being released next month by FICO.

Average non-mortgage debt in Canada is rising at a relatively modest rate, according to a study by TransUnion. Low delinquency rates indicate that Canadians so far have been able to handle the increase.

The mortgage delinquency rate (the rate of borrowers 60 days or more delinquent on their mortgage) dropped 23.3% in the past year, ending Q3 2013 at 4.09%, according to TransUnion.

Consumer credit in the U.S. rose more than projected in September as borrowing for car purchases and education climbed.

Debt buyer Encore Capital Group Inc. on Thursday reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, including gross collections from the portfolio purchasing and recovery business of $379.7 million, a 54% jump over the $246 million in the year-ago period.

Store-branded credit cards are becoming more popular with major retailers and with consumers who have the option to save money on their purchases if they open one, according to new data from Equifax.

Two people found guilty of orchestrating an elaborate tax fraud and identity theft scheme involving a collection agency were sentenced to prison terms on Friday.

Completed U.S. foreclosures dropped to 51,000 in September from 84,000 in September 2010, a 39% decrease that marks the biggest annual decline since the housing downturn began in 2007, according to data from CoreLogic.

Debt buyer Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc. reported third quarter financial results that included record revenues of $197.8 million, up 31% from the year-ago period.

United Credit Recovery LLC, a Florida-based financial firm, allegedly attempted to collect overdue debts from consumers by creating phony legal documents that included cut-and-paste bank logos, according to a lawsuit filed by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson's office.