Debt collection

The Federal Trade Commission has moved to shut down an international network of scammers that sent millions of unwanted text messages to consumers, using the lure of “free” gift cards and electronics to entice consumers into an elaborate scheme designed to take their money and target them for illegal robocalls.

PatientFocus, a medical billing company that deals with patient-pay collections before bad debt, reached an agreement with specialty medical product distributor Choice Medical Inc.

The study quantifies the sizes of each market segment and their historical growth rates, reviews the key factors behind the figures, incorporates input from interviews with industry figures and sets out a market forecast.

In a case against a payday lending operation, a judge has ruled that American Indian tribes are subject to the FTC Act.

Premiere Credit of North America, a collection agency based in Indianapolis, will be adding 100 new jobs to its Batavia, N.Y. call center that opened early last year.

One of the largest privately owned collection agencies in the United Kingdom, known as dlc, has announced the creation of a first-party outsourcing service division to meet the demands of clients.

Americans are projected to owe the federal government $1 trillion in student loan debt as the growth rate soars ahead of credit card debt.

The Federal Trade Commission told a U.S. Senate subcommittee Tuesday that it is cracking down on illegal debt collection practices through a program of vigorous law enforcement, education and public outreach, and research and policy initiatives.

For the second consecutive month, lawsuits citing violations of three key collection laws fell, according to data from U.S. district courts.

The Federal Trade Commission has settled with five companies charged in a joint law enforcement sweep last year that involved millions of illegal pre-recorded robocalls claiming to be from “Rachel” and “Cardholder Services” and pitching credit card interest rate reduction services.

A new survey of risk managers in financial services points to stability in the auto finance sector ahead of other lending categories.

The Federal Trade Commission told a U.S. Senate Commerce Subcommittee that it has been fighting the problem of illegal commercial robocalls through enforcement of the requirements of the Do Not Call program while seeking to spur technological solutions to block unlawful telemarketing calls.

Expert Global Solutions (EGS) and its subsidiaries have agreed to pay a $3.2 million civil penalty – the largest ever obtained by the Federal Trade Commission against a third-party collector.

Consumer borrowing rose higher than expected in May as Americans charged away on their credit cards, according to the Federal Reserve's G.19 report released Monday.

Equifax announced Monday that is acquired TrustedID, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based specialist in identity protection.

U.S. consumers kept paying down debt in the first quarter ended March 31, as household wealth rose higher than the pre-recession peak, the American Bankers Association reported Tuesday.

The Federal Trade Commission filed suit in federal court to halt a mortgage relief scheme that allegedly deceived and preyed on distressed homeowners by charging them $2,000 to $4,000 based on bogus foreclosure rescue claims.

Parallon Business Solutions, a provider of healthcare business and operational services, announced Monday it has completed the acquisition of St. Louis-based The Outsource Group, a national healthcare revenue cycle management firm.

Debt buyer Encore Capital Group announced Tuesday it has closed the $177 million acquisition of Janus Holdings Luxembourg S.a.r.l., the indirect holding company of United Kingdom and Ireland-based Cabot Credit Management.

An estimated 2.5 million Californians had personal information put at risk in 2012 through some type of electronic data breach, according to a report from Attorney General Kamala Harris' office.