Debt collection

The number of collection agencies and creditors sued between August 1-15 totaled 426, down from 488 sued in the July 16-31 period, but up from 389 in the first half of July, according to data from U.S. District Courts.

The Federal Trade Commission on Thursday told the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation that protecting financially distressed consumers from deceptive debt relief schemes is a top agency priority.

The number of collection agencies and creditors sued under various consumer statutes spiked to 480 in the second half of July, compared with 389 in the first half, according to data from U.S. District Courts.

Financial institutions have had no shortage of regulatory changes to manage in recent months. While the CARD Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act have occupied the majority of the headlines, there are other regulatory changes the financial sector is trying to navigate.

Social networking sites help people share personal and sometimes business information with others through an avenue designed to make it easy - whether it involves text, pictures, documents, music or videos.

The U.S. Justice Department has made the fight against money laundering and financing of criminal organizations a priority.

An estimated 389 different collection agencies and creditors were sued citing consumer statute violations in the first half of July, according to data from U.S. District Courts.

Two debt buyers reported July 29 that second-quarter profits topped Wall Street expectations.

For-profit companies that sell debt relief services by telephone, as of Oct. 27, will not be able to charge a fee before they settle or reduce a customer’s credit card or other unsecured debt, according to a new rule approved and announced July 29 by the Federal Trade Commission.

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced a settlement with a Buffalo-based collection agency that harassed and intimidated consumers, including some who did not owe the debt in question.

Having collectively made billions in consumer loans that have become delinquent at record rates since 2008, lenders now understand that relying on the credit score as a predictor of future consumer payment behavior is a bad business practice.

Colorado Attorney General John Suthers’ office filed a lawsuit last week against Westminster, Colo.-based Real Talk Network, alleging the company engaged in false and deceptive trade practices and violated the state's consumer credit laws.

In the second half of June, consumers sued an estimated 471 different collection agencies and creditors under various statutes - including 416 lawsuits citing at least one violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), according to U.S. District Court complaint dockets.

Eric Koppelman, a former mortgage title closer, was sentenced to four years in prison for playing a role in a scheme to steal more than $6 million of proceeds from home mortgage loans, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in New York.

Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc., a Norfolk, Va. publicly traded debt buyer, today announced that a Missouri court dismissed a case filed in August 2009 by the Missouri Attorney General's office against the company and its subsidiary, Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC.

For most lenders, making changes to credit policy is not an easy or expedited process. It often takes financial institutions at least nine months to develop, test and deploy a credit risk policy concept and more likely this process is somewhere closer to 12 to 18 months.

A federal court has halted an international scheme that used identity theft to place more than $10 million in charges on consumers’ credit and debit cards.

An estimated 541 different collection agencies and creditors are named in 503 consumer statute lawsuits filed nationwide in the first half of June, according to data from U.S. District Court complaint dockets. The numbers are up from the previous two reporting periods.

Several former attorneys at legal collection giant Mann Bracken LLP have formed a new collection firm.

Nearly six months after closing, collection law firm giant Mann Bracken is still receiving payments mailed from delinquent debtors. Figuring out who should receive the money is one of the biggest challenges facing the receiver appointed to oversee the firm's unwinding.