FCC

The case — the card issuer's third in six years — is an example of the legal peril that banks and other companies continue to face over the use of automated phone calls for debt collection and other purposes.

Regulatory efforts to protect consumers from harassment and robocalling are forcing big changes. Attorney Quyen Truong at Stroock & Stroock explains.

The agency's vote Thursday threatens to block many of the industry's communications with customers, though banks did win one concession.

Banking and mortgage groups are asking the Federal Communications Commission to issue new Telephone Consumer Protection Act rules that would make consumer lawsuits over robocalls harder to win.

The Consumer Bankers Association on Wednesday asked lawmakers to rein in regulations that were meant to prevent robocalls but that the group says have inadvertently captured legitimate calls.

Banks say that an appeals court’s decision to ease restrictions will allow them to warn customers more easily when loans are past due or accounts have been compromised. But consumer groups argue that the decision gives financial firms license to market their products more aggressively and could lead to more harassing phone calls over unpaid debts.

The newly installed chairman of the Federal Communications Commission voted against 2015 rules that largely rejected the banking industry's entreaties.