Debt collection

One of the defendants in the IWorks scheme that allegedly took more than $280 million from consumers via deceptive trial memberships for bogus government-grant and money-making schemes has agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges.

The CFPB revealed Tuesday that exams of banks and nonbanks resulted in the remediation of $14.3 million to roughly 228,000 consumers. Debt collection and credit reporting violations were frequently cited as troublesome.

The CFPB's announcement Monday that it's accepting complaints about marketplace lenders is a sure of a move toward regulating the burgeoning industry. It comes as marketplace lenders also grapple with an uptick in delinquent loans and a decline in returns for loan buyers.

The uninsured rate in the U.S. has reached a record low from 2010, when the Affordable Care Act took effect, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Outstanding consumer credit, a measure of non-real estate debt, rose by a seasonally adjusted $10.5 billion in January from a month earlier, the Federal Reserve reports.

A Buffalo, N.Y.-based debt collector allegedly misled and coerced thousands of people into paying debts they possibly didn’t owe, according to a 41-count grand jury indictment.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau complaint portal showed the number of medical debt collection complaints, through early February, began to dip after August 2015.

Democratic lawmakers want the Department of Education to retract findings from a review of loan servicers that its inspector general called "unsupported and inaccurate."

A significant gap remains between the credit scores of women-owned companies and those owned by men, according to a Biz2Credit.com survey.

Total U.S. bankruptcy filings fell 1% to 64,662 in February compared to 65,064 in February 2015, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute, based on data provided by Epiq Systems.

Oversight of the four largest mortgage servicers' compliance with the national mortgage settlement is officially over, the watchdog supervising the process said Thursday.

Debt-buying giant Encore Capital Group has announced it expanded its consumer Bill of Rights to identify customers on active military duty, thus halting all collections on their accounts.

The CFPB took action Wednesday against online payment platform Dwolla for allegedly deceiving consumers about its data security practices and the safety of its online payment system. Dwolla must pay a $100,000 penalty and fix its security practices.

Ocwen Financial in West Palm Beach, Fla., is the target of a second Securities and Exchange Commission investigation into its mortgage servicing practices.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced Wednesday an application process for requests that areas not currently deemed “rural” receive that designation under federal consumer financial law.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has signed a Wisconsin Consumer Act amendment that eases rules for debt collectors and clarifies requirements for creditors to collect debts.

The mortgage servicer said it has received letters from the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding separate probes into its collection practices and fees.

The Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in October that could drastically expand the already swollen ranks of consumer claimants under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It could also make it much more difficult for businesses to successfully defend against such claims in the early stages of litigation.

DBA International has announced its Receivables Management Certification Program (CMCP) continues to be adopted within the industry with nearly 100 member companies and 200 individuals receiving certification.

Debt collection, identity theft and imposter scams were the most common categories of consumer complaints received by the FTC in 2015. Collection complaints took the top spot.