Debt collection

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.

West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw filed a lawsuit Tuesday against seven unlicensed debt collection agencies he accuses of using unfair tactics to receive money from consumers.

When people think about big banks what is the first thing that comes to mind? It might be they have the best product selection, robust online banking services, convenient ATM/branch locations, the most competitive interest rates or any number of other appealing product and service items.

The Federal Trade Commission filed an injunction in federal court Monday charging that a web of defendants - including AMG Services Inc., several Internet-based lending companies and race car driver Scott Tucker - violated federal laws by deceiving consumers when providing and collecting on payday loans.

The 2011 complaint data in the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) recent report to Congress paints an inaccurate portrait of consumer complaints against the third-party debt collection industry, according to ACA International, the largest association for debt collection agencies.

It is hard to deny Richard Cordray's hiring to run the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau nearly four months ago is a flash point in continuing debates over regulatory appointments and implementing the Dodd-Frank Act.

John Tonetti, debt collection program manager for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, on Thursday told an audience of collection industry leaders that the regulatory agency is listening to debt collectors.

Until the mid 1980s, most fraud went undiagnosed or misreported. The debate today seems to be whether the increasing digital landscape ends up increasing or decreasing fraud overall.

Meade and Associates, a collection agency based in Westerville, Ohio, next month will begin trying to collect an estimated $900,000 in unpaid lunch money from nearly 6,000 Columbus (Ohio) City Schools students.

Since releasing 2011 litigation numbers, WebRecon LLC has revised the year-end total after finding some omissions that, as it turns out, had depressed the count.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court trustee in Pennsylvania wants a judge to dismiss the bankruptcy case of Michael J. Covatto, former president of defunct collection agency Unicredit America Inc., an Erie, Pa.-based firm that operated a fake courtroom allegedly to intimidate debtors (see story).