The CFPB’s Student Loan Ombudsman has issued a report on consumer complaints about student loans. Of particular interest is situation of private student loan borrowers, whose loans were securitized (bolding added by me for emphasis): While securitization is often closely associated with the mortgage market, securitization activity in the student loan market has also been… Read more
The Department of Defense is proposing to expand the reach of the Military Lending Act’s interest rate cap. The Act caps the interest rate on some kinds of loans to servicemembers at 36%. At present the Act’s cap applies to relatively few loans. Read more
The CFPB started collecting consumer complaints regarding debt collection in July, 2013. Fourteen months later, the data for Maryland paint an interesting picture of the collection industry’s activities in the state. Read more
CFPB has fined U.S. Bank over its sale of two identity & credit protection add-on products they offered credit card customers. “Privacy Guard” and “Identity Secure” were paid services sold to credit card customers between 2003 and 2012. Sold as add-ons for credit protection, CFPB found that some customers didn’t get the protections they were… Read more
On September 16, 2014, The CFPB announced that it would sue Corinthian Colleges, which runs over 100 school campuses for falsely advertising of job prospects and illegal debt collection practices. CFPB has issued this notice to past and current students. The CFPB’s complaint is here. Read more
In July the CFPB sued Frederick J. Hanna & Associates, a Georgia law firm, for its debt collection practices (complaint here), calling the firm a “lawsuit mill.” Hanna & Associates filed a Motion to Dismiss (copy hosted by CFPB monitor) in September, and the CFPB’s response (copy hosted by Consumer Financial Services blog) elegantly explains… Read more
September 28, 2014 USA Discounters, a business that targets service members, has been fined $400,000 by the CFPB for misleading its customers. The CFPB’s action comes less than two months after a joint Washington Post/ Pro Publica report detailed USA Discounters’ collection practices. Read more
September 27, 2014 We’ve all seen promotions for credit cards offering special introductory rates and interest free periods. But when exactly do these promotions expire? The CFPB thinks that credit card offers don’t always make that clear, and has issued a bulletin stating that “[c]redit card offers that lure in consumers and then hit them… Read more
September 26, 2014 This report from the National Consumer Law Center examines the consequences of the Department of Education’s outsourcing of student loan collections to private debt collectors. The report reveals that the Department of Education does little to protect its borrowers from debt collection abuse, and points out that in some respects, the way… Read more
September 25, 2014 Vox carry the story of Danielle Kurtzleben’s experience collecting debts from the families of the recently deceased here. The story illustrates one of the most outrageous practices in debt collection: contacting bereaved families and asking them to pay their loved one’s debts, even though those debts are not legally enforceable. Read more