Debt collection

The Federal Trade Commission filed charges Tuesday against the operators of a large-scale scheme involving dozens of companies that allegedly bilked consumers using fake newspaper subscription notices.

LifeLock Inc., an identity theft protection company that settled federal court order contempt charges for $100 million in December, has ramped up internet advertising, TV ad campaigns and direct mail programs to try rebuilding its service and attract new consumers.

PRA Group, a Norfolk, Va.-based debt buyer, announced the creation of a new leadership position - vice president, Office of the Consumer.

A federal court found BlueHippo Funding LLC, BlueHippo Capital LLC and Joseph Rensin in contempt for operating an allegedly deceptive computer financing scheme in violation of a court order the defendants agreed to in 2008.

With an improving economy, higher-quality originations and declining delinquencies, the market for mortgage servicing rights is catching fire.

The U.S. Department of Education has changed the student loan default rates at 21 colleges to allow them to continue receiving federal funding.

Forty percent of newly married people who responded to an Experian survey on finances reported they did not know their spouse’s credit score. One in three said their spouse’s spending habits were not what they expected.

An Oregon lawmaker wants to revive a bill next year that would make it easier to locate debtors who collectively owe the state more than $3 billion in back taxes and other debts.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Thursday unveiled new disclosures for federal student loans that would require servicers to offer borrowers several repayment choices.

The latest U.S. Economy in a Snapshot report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reveals consumer spending increased slightly in February.

Students used to leave college with two artifacts of their first experiments with credit — free T-shirts and, for better or worse, a credit file. Today they are leaving without either.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is set Thursday to propose new disclosures for federal student loans that would require servicers to provide several repayment options for borrowers.

A federal judge granted the Federal Trade Commission’s request for summary judgment in the agency’s lawsuit against Amazon Inc., alleging the company billed consumers for unauthorized in-app charges incurred by children.

Debt-buying giant PRA Group Inc. announced Wednesday the completion of its public tender offer to purchase shares of Warsaw, Poland-based DTP S.A., a mid-size debt buyer and collection agency active in Poland.

The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas has granted the government’s motion for summary judgment against Texas-based collection agency Commercial Recovery Systems Inc. and its president, Timothy Ford.

Pressler and Pressler responded to the CFPB's legal action announced Monday. The law firm points out that the settlement ultimately involves no consumer redress or restitution, no invalidation of judgments and no findings of the use of improper affidavit practices.

The CFPB ordered New Jersey-based collection law firm Pressler and Pressler LLP and debt buyer New Century Financial Services Inc. to stop churning out collection lawsuits allegedly based on nonexistent or flimsy evidence.

The expansion of Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act is reducing medical debt in collections for some low-income consumers, according to a study from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

Over the past year, threats of steep downgrades have chilled secondary investor demand for federally guaranteed student loans, but two recent securitizations suggest that the market is beginning to thaw.

The Department of Education wants to make student loan payments easier through the launch of a single Web portal for federal student loan borrowers.