Debt collection

An estimated 720 different collection agencies and creditors were sued between May 16-31, according to data from U.S. District courts. The number is up from the May 1-15 total of 605.

West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw's office is suing a Virginia title lender over its debt collection practices.

Foreclosure filings - default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions - were reported on 205,990 U.S. properties in May, an increase of 9% from April but still down 4% from the year-ago period.

A U.S. district court has halted an operation that allegedly preyed on financially vulnerable homeowners, convincing them to pay $1,995 or more by holding out false promises that they could help them avoid foreclosure and renegotiate their mortgages.

U.S. credit card debt decreased slightly in May, down .2% to $5,637 from April 2012, according to CreditKarma.com's U.S. Credit Score Climate Report released Wednesday.

Data broker Spokeo Inc., a firm that compiles and sells detailed information profiles on millions of consumers, will pay $800,000 to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it marketed the profiles to companies without taking steps to protect consumers as required under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

A Utah-based debt collection agency has settled charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission that it exposed sensitive information on its computers and networks to security risks by failing to implement reasonable security measures.

U.S. consumer borrowing rose less than expected in April, as Americans cut back on the use of revolving credit.

A U.S. district court granted a Federal Trade Commission request and has temporarily shut down a Florida-based operation that allegedly kept pitching bogus credit-repair services nationwide, despite a 2010 court order requiring it to stop.

Everyone is talking about “Big Data” and the opportunities it presents for the financial industry. The movement in the industry suggests that to make better credit decisions, you must use a lot more data.

A debt settlement operation that allegedly lured consumers with exaggerated claims agreed to a $3.3 million settlement of charges of deceptive practices brought by the Federal Trade Commission.

Credit Solutions of America, a Dallas-based debt resolution company, and owner Doug Van Arsdale must pay nearly $14 million in penalties and restitution to the state of Colorado and former clients for violating state laws, according to Attorney General John Suthers' office.

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) lawsuits filed this year through May 15 totaled 4,102, down 4.6% from last year's pace of 4,299, according to WebRecon LLC, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based firm that tracks the data from U.S. District courts.

Mention the word “collections,” and the stereotype that comes to mind for many customers is the unpleasant phone call that arrives during dinner or as they’re settling in to relax and watch TV for the evening.

The U.S. mortgage delinquency rate declined in the first quarter to the lowest level since 2008 as an improving job market helped more borrowers pay their bills and tighter lending standards resulted in fewer defaults, according to a report Wednesday from the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The national credit card delinquency rate (the rate of borrowers 90 or more days past due) dropped to 0.73% in the first quarter ended March 31, from 0.78% in the previous quarter, with current levels well below historical norms, according to TransUnion's Trend Data report.

Consumer credit card and mortgage spending slowed from a year ago, with the average credit card debt per consumer falling 13% to $5,650 and the average mortgage debt decreasing 3% to $166,631, according to CreditKarma.com's U.S. Credit Score Climate Report.

CFS II, a Tulsa, Okla.-based debt collection agency, is scouting offices in North Carolina to potentially open a call center with as many as 2,000 jobs, according to company officials.

An estimated 718 different collection agencies and creditors were sued between April 16-30, according to data pulled from U.S. District courts.

Two former executives at Oxford Collection Agency each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering and one count of wire fraud stemming from a $10 million fraud scheme against Connecticut-based Webster Bank, federal officials said Tuesday.