Debt collection

Consumers filed an estimated 524 consumer statute lawsuits in the first half of July, down from 567 in the second half of June.

Foreclosure activity decreased on a year-over-year basis in 178 out of the nation's 211 metropolitan areas with a population of 200,000 or more, according to RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosure properties.

JK Harris Co., a tax representation firm based in Charleston, S.C., will pay to settle claims by West Virginia's attorney general's office that it misled consumers about its tax-dispute resolution services.

William Ferguson, the former owner of Bush & Kennedy Inc., a Baton Rouge, La.-based collection agency, has been charged with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft that allegedly cost Hancock Bank more than $126,000.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine filed a lawsuit against Diversified Real Estate Consultants LLC (DREC), a foreclosure rescue company based in Florida.

Consumer credit card debt fell 10% during the first half of the year and 17% from a year ago, and now totals $6,472, according to data Credit Karma released Wednesday. Credit scores held steady since the start of the year at 667, down two points from June 2010.

Lawsuits filed against collection agencies and creditors jumped to 614 in the June 16-30 period, up from 584 in the second half of May and 500 in the first half of June, according to data pulled from U.S. District Courts.

Consumer credit rose by $5.08 billion in May, marking the eighth straight monthly increase, as credit card debt had its largest gain in three years, according to the Federal Reserve's monthly G.19 report.

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott on Friday charged debt buyer Encore Capital Group with robo-signing and falsifying affidavits, attempting to collect debts based on incomplete and inaccurate information and employing unlawful and deceptive collection tactics.

The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve Board have made final changes to the Risk-Based Pricing Rule to require creditors to disclose credit score information to consumers when a credit score is used in setting or adjusting credit terms.

The Federal Trade Commission will host a roundtable next month to gather information on consumers’ experiences in the sale and financing of motor vehicles at dealerships.

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday told Congress that consumers must be confident that their privacy will be protected if they are to be willing to take advantage of all the benefits offered by the Internet marketplace.

Experian announced Tuesday that it has signed an agreement to acquire Medical Present Value Inc. (MPV), a provider of revenue cycle management software, data and analytics to more than 75,000 U.S. physicians, for $185 million. MPV's assets will immediately become a part of Experian.

Teletrack Inc. has agreed to pay $1.8 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that it sold credit reports to marketers, a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

The Durbin amendment has caused more than just a stir in the banking world. Everyone has an opinion about who the winners and losers will be when it comes to limiting interchange fees.

The Federal Trade Commission filed an amicus brief in federal court opposing a class-action settlement that would require consumers to surrender protections provided by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and state laws in exchange for minimal payments.

A federal court banned three men and their company from the mortgage modification business and ordered them to pay nearly $19 million for consumer refunds, according to terms of a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.

New car sales are finally on a rising trend line. Despite production delays at some automakers – in some cases Tsunami-related – year-over-year sales figures are heading upward, in some cases by double digits.

The Federal Trade Commission settled two cases involving companies that failed to protect consumers' personal information, the agency announced Thursday.

A single lawsuit filed by a one attorney helped create a spike in Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) lawsuits filed in the May 16-31 reporting period, according to WebRecon LLC, a Grand Rapids, Mich.- based firm that tracks the data from U.S. District Courts.