Debt collection

An estimated 452 different collection agencies and creditors are named in 482 consumer statute lawsuits filed nationwide in the second half of May, according to data from U.S. District Court complaint dockets. In the first half of May, consumers sued an estimated 425 agencies and creditors in 495 consumer statute lawsuits.

The Federal Trade Commission approved a final settlement order with Dave & Buster's Holdings Inc., an entertainment and restaurant chain. The final order settles charges that the company failed to secure customers' sensitive credit and debit card information, resulting in "several hundred thousand dollars" in fraudulent charges. The FTC did not release an exact total.

U.S. consumers took on $1 billion more in debts in April, even as credit card balances declined for the 19th straight month, according to the Federal Reserve's monthly G.19 consumer credit report.

Asset Acceptance Capital Corp., a Warren, Mich.-based debt buyer currently under federal investigation for its collection practices, said Friday that lenders agreed to loosen some restrictions in its own credit facility and increase its borrowing limit.

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo filed a lawsuit against several Western New York collection companies for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and several New York state collection laws.

Advanced Call Center Technologies, a Berwyn, Pa.-based collection agency, will pay more than $1.5 million to a Lewisville, Texas man after a jury found the agency harassed him with racially charged phone calls.

At the request of several members of Congress, the Federal Trade Commission is again delaying enforcement of the “Red Flags” Rule - this time through the end of the year while Congress considers legislation that would affect which entities are covered by the rule, according to an FTC statement.

Large or small, sooner or later, every business that sells on credit will have a collection issue. Selecting the right collection firm is central to overcoming that challenge and a critical long-term factor in the success of your business.

Editor's Note: The following is a news release based on a report issued yesterday. Collections & Credit Risk wants to know what you think about the report. Contact Darren Waggoner at 815.463.9008 or darren.waggoner@sourcemedia.com.

An estimated 425 different collection agencies and creditors are named in 495 consumer statute lawsuits filed nationwide in the first half of May, according to data from U.S. District Court complaint dockets. The 15-day total is the lowest for a two-week period since early February, when consumers sued 293 different agencies and creditors.

The collection industry is always up for a deal, and in the merger and acquisition landscape, there is always a deal to be made. Whether it is a good or bad deal is something entirely different.

A collection agency owned by a convicted felon, and recently accused of using strong-arm tactics, has been barred from collecting debts in Colorado, the state's Attorney General John Suthers announced today.

At the recent National Collections & Credit Risk Conference, financial experts shared their perspectives on managing collections in a presentation titled, “Decrease Defaults with Untapped Customer Information.” This article is a continuation of that discussion.

The Ohio General Assembly is considering legislation to keep payday lenders from trying to make up revenue shortfalls by hitting consumers with various fees.

Through the first four months of 2010, the number of lawsuits filed citing Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) violations is far ahead of the record pace set in 2009, according to data from the U.S. District Courts. Consumers filed an estimated 3,262 FDCPA cases through April.

TransUnion's Credit Risk Index (CRI) declined in the first quarter after five straight quarterly increases, indicating that consumer credit risk conditions in the U.S. are improving.

Several recent economic indicators show that the recovery is gaining strength, but still isn't growing fast enough to bring down the unemployment rate.

I just finished reading your article on legislation to restrict debt settlement firms. The information you presented accurately portrayed the negative allegations that were put forth recently. (See story.)

Banks and insurers are more optimistic and have made strides strengthening risk management, according to a survey of 346 senior risk management executives in the financial services industry conducted in February by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Madison Dearborn Partners LLC, a Chicago-based private equity firm, is acquiring a majority 51% interest in credit reporting company, TransUnion LLC.