Debt collection

Tobias Boyland, a principal of nine Western New York collection agencies under investigation for illegal practices, was sentenced today on weapons charges, receiving 15 years in prison and a $1,000 fine.

The telemarketing business will be permanently off limits to a pitchman whom the Federal Trade Commission sued last year for allegedly tricking consumers into paying hundreds of dollars for a credit card that could only be used to buy merchandise from his companies’ Web sites.

Dave and Buster's Holdings Inc., an entertainment and restaurant chain, has settled charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission that the company failed to adequately secure the credit and debit card information of customers, FTC officials said Thursday.

Barrett Burns, president and chief executive at VantageScore Solutions LLC, presented testimony this week before the House Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit entitled: "Keeping Score on Credit Scores: An Overview of Credit Scores, Credit Reports and Their Impact on Consumers."

The Iowa Senate approved a bill this week to hire a debt collection coordinator with "expert knowledge" of collections and an understanding of the workings of state government. The coordinator would be hired by the governor and confirmed by the Senate for a four-year term.

The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday testified it has taken steps to follow through on legislation aimed at ensuring consumers' credit reports are accurate, preventing identity theft and giving consumers a better understanding of their credit scores.

Consumers filed lawsuits naming an estimated 545 different collection agencies and creditors during the first half of March, up from 471 in the last two weeks of February, according to data from U.S. District Court complaint dockets.

Lawsuits filed in federal courts involving collection and credit issues surged in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 as more Americans struggled with foreclosures and consumer debt.

A promoter of credit repair and debt relief services agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that he deceived consumers into paying thousands of dollars based on false promises that he could help fix their credit and debt problems. The $2.5 million settlement will be suspended because of the defendant's inability to pay.

Lawsuits filed in U.S. federal courts involving collection and credit issues surged in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30 compared with the previous year - a jump linked to Americans struggling with foreclosures and consumer debts.

The use of data and analysis in collections has come a long way. The best collectors not so long ago would rely on the magical powers of knowledge and instinct to determine the accounts that were the most apt to pay and, if so, how to best secure payment.

Portfolio Recovery Associates Inc., a Norfolk, Va. debt buyer, announced today that it has acquired a controlling interest in the assets of Claims Compensation Bureau (CCB), a company that specializes in recovering funds and processing payments owed under class-action settlements.

The deadline to become compliant with the final rule on the “ability to pay” amendments to Regulation Z stemming from the CARD Act of 2009 passed last month. Financial institutions are breathing a sigh of relief and getting on with their business.

Mortgage modifications made permanent jumped 45% in February, according to newly released U.S. Treasury Department data.

U.S. revolving credit, 98% of which is credit card debt, fell to $864.4 billion in January from a revised total of $866.1 billion in December, marking the 16th consecutive month that saw Americans shed credit card debt, according to the Federal Reserve's latest G.19 report.

LifeLock Inc. agreed today to pay $11 million to the Federal Trade Commission and $1 million to a group of 35 state attorneys general to settle charges that the company used false claims to promote its identity theft protection services.

An estimated 764 different collection agencies and creditors are named in 899 consumer statute lawsuits filed nationwide in February, according to data from U.S. District Court complaint dockets. The numbers are up from a month earlier when 712 agencies and creditors were named in 851 lawsuits, according to research firm WebRecon LLC, which compiles the monthly data.

The state of New Jersey's Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee on Thursday approved a law designed to help consumers combat wrongful collection practices. The issue now moves to the full Assembly for a possible floor vote at an as-yet-unscheduled time.

Advantage Credit Repair LLC in Chicago and Mark D. Solomon, company president and owner, agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges filed last year for falsely claiming the firm would improve consumers' credit ratings.

Linda Almonte, a former assistant vice president at JP Morgan Chase, has filed a lawsuit against the banking giant claiming that its credit card unit misrepresented information about a portfolio of card debt for sale.