Debt collection

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.

Payday loans cost U.S. families an estimated $3.4 billion in fees annually, according to the Center for Responsible Lending.

While many retailers start year-end holiday promotions in September, or earlier, a TransUnion study found most consumers wait until later in the year to make the bulk of their holiday season credit card purchases.

Fifty-three percent of respondents to an online poll by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling have never noticed the phone number directing them to a credit counseling agency that's listed on their credit card statement.

New York City's Department of Consumer Affairs on Friday filed a complaint to ban National Credit Adjusters LLC, a Hutchinson, Kan.-based collection agency, from operating in the city.

Philadelphia's City Council has approved a bill that lawmakers hope will lead the city into selling tax liens to private collection agencies.

Pioneer Credit Recovery has been ranked No. 1 by the U.S. Department of the Treasury Bureau of the Fiscal Service for the third quarter ended Sept. 30 on a contract to recover past-due accounts owed to government agencies.

The defendants have collected and processed millions of dollars in payment for phantom debts, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Their practices generated almost 3,000 complaints to the FTC’s Consumer Sentinel.

Aaron’s Inc., a national, Atlanta-based rent-to-own retailer, agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it knowingly played a direct and vital role in its franchisees’ installation and use of software on rental computers that secretly monitored consumers including by taking webcam pictures of them in their homes.

Massachusetts homeowners facing foreclosure can expect improved protections under regulations filed by the state's Division of Banks that prevent national and state lenders from foreclosing on a property if an application for a loan modification is in process.

A newly created Louisiana state collections agency will seek to reclaim state funds given to 23 nongovernmental agencies that didn't comply with rules for using them.