Category Archives: Debt Collection

Former CFPB Staffer Op-Ed in Weekly Standard Criticizes Proposed Debt Collection Regs

Here. The staffer, Ronald L. Rubin, has also served as senior counsel to the House Financial Services Committee and as a partner at a big law firm.  Excerpts: Nobody should be charged, harassed, or sued for a debt they've already paid or for someone else's debt. However, the CFPB's proposed solution is a hopelessly complex […]

Something I’m Wondering About: Are Consumers Ever Better Off by Paying Time-Barred Debts?

by Jeff Sovern Consumers have no legal obligation to pay time-barred debts and suing on such a debt or threatening to sue on one violates the FDCPA.  But are consumers ever better off, aside from feeling better for meeting their obligations, by paying such debts?  When a statute of limitations is less than seven years, as is […]

USA Today Editorial: Rogue Debt Collectors

Here.  Excerpt: While ACA maintains that its 3,500 members have "long been committed to making debt collection a more consumer-friendly experience," its idea of friendly stretches credulity. While the consumer bureau has proposed that collectors limit phone attempts to reach debtors to six a week, the ACA's idea was quite different — to limit "collection call attempts to no more […]

Journalist Emails Advance Cash Services for Comment on Story and Gets Asked to Pay Phantom Payday Debt

Journalist Bob Sullivan emailed Advance Cash Services to elicit a comment on a consumer's story of how she had been dunned for a phantom debt.  He didn't get the comment, but the collector sent him an email demanding he repay a payday loan that he never took out, for $935.76.  His story is here. 

Some First Thoughts About the CFPB’s Validation Proposal

by Jeff Sovern Brian posted this morning on the CFPB's debt collection proposal.  I wanted to focus just on the validation requirements.  Appendix F to the Bureau's proposal speaks to the validation notice.  The Proposal indicates that the Bureau has conducted and continues to conduct extensive consumer testing of validation notices.  I don't know what […]

Debt Collection Update: Our American Banker Op-Ed on Our Validation Notice Findings and More on the CFPB’s Field Hearing

by Jeff Sovern Here.  It has more information than the article abstract, but is a lot shorter than the article. The article itself is here. In other debt collection news, Law360.com has its preview of the debt collection rules here (behind paywall). The headline: CFPB Enforcement Actions Could Guide Debt Collection Rules. UPDATE: InsideARM.com reports […]