Debt collection

Complaints against collection agencies have dropped nearly 20% in two years and debt collectors in 2015 earned a higher complaint resolution rate than the all-industry rate, according to the Council of Better Business Bureaus.

The agency posted its semiannual rulemaking agenda on a blog late Wednesday updating the next steps it will take on several areas of rulemaking. The CFPB expects to issue rules for prepaid reloadable cards, mortgage servicing and mortgage disclosures this summer but set no specific deadlines yet on overdraft and debt collection.

A debate Wednesday at a senate committee hearing discussed the effectiveness of the TCPA and how the the FCC has exposed businesses to litigation risk.

The National Consumer Law Center warned Congress on Wednesday that a change to federal law last year is troublesome because it now allows the government to use robocalls to collect debt.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is expected to unveil its formal proposal to restrict payday lending on June 2, the first national regulations of short-term, small-dollar loans.

Rep. Maxine Waters, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, introduced legislation Thursday to reform consumer credit reporting.

Data through April released by S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian shows a consumer credit default composite rate of 0.86% in April, down seven basis points from March.

An appeals court panel has questioned whether Sallie Mae and SLM Corp. had actual knowledge of for-profit California Culinary Academy’s alleged scheme to prey on students and whether the lender perpetuated that lie to students.

One in five short-term auto title loan borrowers have their vehicle seized because they cannot pay the loan, according to a study released Wednesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

MuniServices LLC, a business of debt-buying giant PRA Group, will offer aspiring municipal leaders a chance to learn about strategic financial administration through a new certification program.

A recent story in American Banker reported that at least three banks are planning to launch new small-dollar loans products after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's payday lending rule becomes effective.

The San Jose (Calif.) City Council is reviewing the best way to recover the overdue fines without also chasing people away.

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that private attorneys hired by states are not in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when using official letterhead to collect a debt. The case has been watched closely by financial institutions for its interpretation of “false, deceptive or misleading” practices.

Two Ohio law firms did not use illegal tactics when they mailed debt collection letters on stationery bearing the name of Ohio’s attorney general, according to a unanimous Supreme Court ruling Monday.

Complaints against debt collectors filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dropped last month from 3,505 complaints in March to 2,816 complaints in April, a 19.7% decrease.

The May issue of The Atlantic contains an insightful story that puts a face to one of the biggest economic issues facing this country: the erosion of household savings in America and the resulting traumatic impact on the middle class.

Real Time Resolutions Inc. has acquired Account Outsourcing Group’s call center in Jamaica. Financial details of the deal have not been disclosed.

A new survey indicates more future college students plan to take out loans for their education and their parents are more willing to help them with the costs.

The state of Illinois has spent more than $900 million on penalties for not paying its bills on time over the past six years, according to the Chicago-based government watchdog group, Civic Federation.

The total balance of write-offs year-to-date through March for first mortgages, home equity lines of credit and home equity loans is $9.5 billion, a nine-year low for Q1 and a year-over-year decrease of 22.7%, according to Equifax's National Consumer Credit Trends Report.