Debt collection

A former clerk at Pioneer Collection Agency received three years probation today for stealing a $20,000 check intended for the New Jersey Division of Taxation.

CompuCredit Corp., an Atlanta financial services company, will close four collection call centers by March 31. An estimated 740 employees - mostly collectors - will lose their jobs as a result.

A home mortgage lender that previously settled Federal Trade Commission charges of discriminatory lending will have to hire an outside consultant to make sure it does not illegally charge higher prices to African-American and Hispanic consumers, according to the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection.

The general public has long held a belief that the collection industry is recession-proof. In 2009, if not before, that belief may have been proven wrong once and for all as most industry leading companies reported declining profits and liquidations and rising impairment charges.

Veterans whose tax refunds and benefits were withheld by the U.S. government will be repaid $7.4 million under settlement terms of a class-action lawsuit that questioned the government’s collection tactics. A total of 6,715 veterans will receive approximately $10,000 each. A federal judge in San Francisco approved the settlement.

The U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace in more than six years during the fourth quarter as businesses made less-aggressive cuts to inventories and stepped up spending, according to a report today by the Commerce Department.

As economists and government officials declare the recession over because of an artificially funded rise in GDP, the orphaned byproduct of the downturn - high unemployment - remains alive and well and will extend its tentacle of impact on consumer collections for many months.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, which increased in November and December, improved again in January. The index stands at 55.9, up from 53.6 last month. The baseline for the index, set in 1985, is 100.

The Commercial Collection Agency Association (CCAA) reports that its members received a record volume of business-to-business accounts for collection in 2009.

As the frontrunners in Florida's gubernatorial race debate who should regulate rogue collection agencies - each arguing the other failed to police the industry as required by their current political roles - the collection industry will closely track developments in the race leading up to the November election.

West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw sued credit card issuer Capital One Bank and four other companies for deceptive, unfair and "unconscionable conduct in connection with their credit card lending and collection practices," according to his office's Consumer Protection Division.

Maryland regulators, in the wake of collection law firm Mann Bracken LLP's closing, mailed letters to 1,400 licensed collection agencies in the state this week, instructing them to help connect debtors with the companies they owe.

An estimated 260 different collection agencies and creditors were named in 396 consumer statute lawsuits filed nationwide between Jan. 1 and Jan. 15, according to data from U.S. District Court complaint dockets compiled by research firm WebRecon LLC.

Weinstock, Friedman & Friedman P.A. in Baltimore, a large legal collection firm, is reviewing “huge volumes” of former Mann Bracken cases that were dismissed last week by Maryland District Court Chief Judge Ben Clyburn, Sidney S. Friedman, a managing partner at Weinstock, Friedman & Friedman, tells Collections & Credit Risk.

Wells Fargo & Co. yesterday reported a fourth-quarter profit of nearly $3 billion, but said chargeoffs also crept higher during the period. Chargeoffs totaled $5.4 billion, or 2.71% of average loans, up from $5.1 billion, or 2.5% of average loans, in the third quarter.

A mortgage broker who allegedly dumped 40 boxes of consumers’ financial records into a public trash bin paid a $35,000 civil penalty to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that he violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection office said today.

Editor's Note: Collections & Credit Risk has a 15-year tradition of honoring outstanding industry performers. In our series "Industry Champions" we look at those who have worked tirelessly to improve their field in a meaningful way. Nominations for this series are accepted and encouraged.

The financial services industry has witnessed mergers and acquisitions of the country’s largest banks, the collapse of some of the most trusted financial icons, the mortgage meltdown and government bailouts - namely TARP. All of this has taken place in the past 18 month.

Quick Collect Inc., a collection agency in Portland, Ore., did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) while trying to collect from a consumer, a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled this week. The decision upheld an opinion issued by a U.S. District Court judge in Washington.

An estimated 20,000 to 25,000 collection lawsuits filed in Maryland will be dismissed as a result of the collapse of legal collection giant Mann Bracken LLP, Maryland District Court Chief Judge Ben Clyburn's office confirmed today. Clyburn made the decision to dismiss the lawsuits after learning the firm had notified district court clerks across the state that it will shut down by the end of this month.