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 Consumer Complaints Database: A Portrait Of Collection Misconduct In Maryland
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 »U.S. Bank Fined Over Identity & Credit Protection Add-Ons
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 »The CFPB’s Action Against Corinthian Colleges, Inc.
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 what Hanna was doing wrong:
Ashley Lipson is the author of the excellent best sellers Guerrilla Discovery and Is it Admissible? (both available from James Publishing), among other books. He is also author of the award-winning Objection! computer games from Transmedia, Inc. A printout of Professor Lipson’s list of the “Big 12” objections can be found in the toolbox (and… Read More »Ashley Lipson’s “Big 12” Objections
Irving Younger was one of the great teachers of trial practice in the 20th Century. A printout of his famous “10 Commandments of Cross Examination” are found in the trial notebooks of many a successful lawyer. Listening to an audio of Younger giving these 10 Commandments is a treat. If you have never heard an… Read More »Irving Younger’s 10 Commandments Of Cross Examination
Most lawyers who have a thriving law practice employ one or more of the following 13 time honored tips. Incorporating some or all of these tips will help new and experienced lawyers build and grow a successful law practice. Always send a Thank You note to the person who made a referral, whether you take… Read More »Peter Holland’s 13 Tips for Success for Solo and Small Firm Lawyers
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 »CFPB Fines USA Discounters
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 »CFPB Warns About Deceptive Credit Card Promotions
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 the DOE pays collectors positively encourages abuses.Read More »National Consumer Law Center Report: Pounding Student Loan Borrowers
