Debt collection

WASHINGTON — It may not be an outright ban on arbitration clauses, but the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's impending proposal to enable more class-action lawsuits comes close.

Approximately 17.6 million people over the age of 16 reported at least one incident of identity theft in 2014, according to a new report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Three collection agencies agreed Monday to pay a total of $493,670 in civil penalties to resolve allegations that they committed unfair practices.

U.S. bankruptcy filings totaled 629,570 in the first nine months of the year, an 11% decrease from the 705,728 total filings during the same period a year ago, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.

A fintech startup that wants to change the way lenders and consumers square bad debts has raised $10 million in financing from a group of prominent investors.

The head of a sham debt relief operation agreed to a judgment of more than $7.9 million to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that he deceived consumers and charged them thousands of dollars while providing nothing in return.

When Experian acknowledged Thursday that hackers had broken into one of its servers, it was bad news for everyone. Not just the 15 million T-Mobile customers whose personal information was compromised.

Collection agency Pioneer Credit Recovery on Thursday began a one-year contract to pursue nearly $3 million in unpaid Trenton (N.J.) Municipal Court fines from people who lost their traffic, drug or other court cases.

A server containing sensitive consumer information at Experian has been breached, with the records of as many as 15 million T-Mobile customers stolen, the companies said Thursday.

An auto finance company and its title lending arm must overhaul their collection practices and provide consumers $44.1 million in cash relief and balance reductions to settle federal charges.

A housing report released Thursday shows that buying a home was at the most affordable level in two years in the first quarter, despite the average home price increasing at more than twice the pace of the average weekly wage nationwide.

The FTC's second Debt Collection Dialogue event focused on regulatory compliance and the complexities of the current collections climate.

A handful of moderate Democrats supported a controversial bill to restructure the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, helping the House Financial Services Committee approve the legislation.

Federal prosecutors are seeking to seize hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Concord, N.C.-based debt collection company accused of using unfair and fraudulent practices.

Hospitals in Minnesota saw a 6% drop in uncompensated care in 2014, a trend state health officials attribute to more people having health insurance. But the news wasn't as favorable for bad debt.

The government appears to be speeding toward establishing uniform standards for student loan servicers in light of reports of pervasive problems in the administration of both private and federal loans.

The CFPB has released a report outlining widespread servicing failures reported by both federal and private student loan borrowers. Consumers describe companies using various sloppy, patchwork practices that create obstacles to repayment, raise costs and contribute to further harming struggling borrowers.

A new study indicates that careful evaluation of the current regulatory environment is necessary to ensure that the debt collection and debt buying industries are allowed to fulfill their role in the U.S. economy.

The mortgage delinquency rate in the U.S. dropped in August by the largest amount, based on a yearly comparison, since 2011, according to data from Black Knight Financial Services.

WASHINGTON — The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's method for detecting discrimination by indirect auto lenders can overestimate potential bias, resulting in higher payments for lenders cited by the agency, according to internal CFPB documents.