Author Archives: Allison Zieve

CFPB and CMS address illegal nursing home debt collection practices

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has "released an Issue Spotlight highlighting some of the difficulties and experiences heard from caregivers about being pursued over friends’ or family members’ alleged debts from nursing home facilities. Based on the findings in the report, the CFPB and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have issued a joint […]

Today at the CFPB

Two announcements today from the CFPB: CFPB Warns that Digital Marketing Providers Must Comply with Federal Consumer Finance Protections Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued an interpretive rule laying out when digital marketing providers for financial firms must comply with federal consumer financial protection law. CFPB Takes Action Against Hello Digit for Lying […]

CFPB analysis of potential impacts of medical debt credit reporting changes

This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau published an analysis of how actions announced by the three largest national consumer reporting companies – Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion – will affect people who have allegedly unpaid medical debt on their credit reports. “Nearly half of those with medical collections appearing on their credit reports will continue […]

CFPB issues advisory to protect privacy when companies compile personal data

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has issued a legal interpretation to ensure that companies that use and share credit reports and background reports have a permissible purpose under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. The CFPB’s new advisory opinion makes clear that credit reporting companies and users of credit reports have specific obligations to protect the […]

Regulators fine BofA $225 million over botched disbursement of unemployment benefits

Today, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau fined Bank of America $100 million for botching the disbursement of state unemployment benefits at the height of the pandemic. The CFPB said that "Bank of America automatically and unlawfully froze people’s accounts with a faulty fraud detection program, and then gave them little recourse when there was, in […]

Consumer protection and the Supreme Court’s new “major questions doctrine”

On the last day of its term, the Supreme Court issued its decision in West Virginia v. EPA—a decision highly anticipated, and perhaps dreaded, by federal agencies, administrative law experts, and members of the public who care about the ability of the government to act to protect public health, safety, consumer interests, and the environment. […]

CFPB moves to reduce fees charged by debt collectors

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last week issued an advisory opinion affirming that federal law often prohibits debt collectors from charging “pay-to-pay” fees. These charges, commonly described by debt collectors as “convenience fees,” are imposed on consumers who want to make a payment in a particular way, such as online or by phone. The press […]

FTC sues Walmart for facilitating money transfer fraud

The Federal Trade Commission yesterday sued Walmart for allowing its money transfer services to be used by fraudsters, who fleeced consumers out of hundreds of millions of dollars. In its lawsuit, the FTC alleges that for years, the company turned a blind eye while scammers took advantage of its failure to properly secure the money transfer […]