On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission will host the first in a series of roundtables around the country to gather information on consumers’ experiences when buying, financing, or leasing motor vehicles. The first roundtable will focus on consumer protection issues related to sales and financing of consumer vehicles – cars, SUVs, and light trucks. The event will be held on… Read More
Today, the FTC submitted its Annual Report to Congress, here. Data in the report show that in 2010, as in other recent years, the FTC received more complaints about debt collection than any other single industry. Specifically, the agency received 140,036 debt collection complaints in 2010, up from 119,609 complaints in 2009. The top three categories of complaints about third-party collectors… Read More
On Wednesday, March 16, 2011, Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Elizabeth Warren, will testify before the House Financial Servies Committee on the subject of "Oversight of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau". This follows on the heals of Ms. Warren's letter exchange with the Committee regarding the CFPB, here. The hearing… Read More
Courts have addressed the issue of whether misrepresentation or 'spoofing' of Caller IDs in collection calls can violate the FDCPA, and we have reported on such cases previously. Yesterday, the FCC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, with a comment deadline of April 18, 2011, regarding its implementation of regulatory and enforcement rules for the Truth in Caller ID Act… Read More
Following on the heals of a publicized judicial ruling prohibiting a debt collector from using Facebook or other social media to locate a debtor (http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/09/2106171/judge-debt-agency-cant-contact.html#ixzz1G8yc50zM), the FTC announced that it would "hold a public workshop on April 28, 2011, to address consumer protection issues that have arisen as debt collectors avail themselves of advances in technology. The workshop will explore… Read More
Starting next month, the Federal Trade Commission will host a series of roundtables around the country to gather information on consumers’ experiences when buying or leasing motor vehicles. The roundtables will explore consumer protection issues related to the sale, financing, and leasing of the consumer vehicles consumers most often use – cars, SUVs, and light trucks. The first roundtable will… Read More
The Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve Board are seeking public comment on proposed amendments to the Risk-Based Pricing Rule that would require creditors, as of July 21, 2011, to disclose credit score information to consumers when a credit score is used in setting or adjusting credit terms. The Notice is set forth here and is summarized as follows: On… Read More
The Summary, found here, states in part that "Through its consumer protection goal, the FTC focuses its efforts on fighting consumer fraud, deception, and unfair practices, and protecting consumer data and privacy. Agency law enforcement actions will continue to target deceptive and other illegal practices involving mortgage lending, debt collection, and other financial services. These practices can have severe consequences… Read More
The Federal Trade Commission issued its annual report to the Federal Reserve Board on FTC enforcement activities regarding the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), Consumer Leasing Act, and Truth in Lending Act. This year’s report also discusses FTC activities under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, such as enforcement of new EFTA requirements… Read More
The Federal Trade Commission has issued a fourth interim report to Congress describing progress the agency has made on a national study examining the accuracy of credit reports. Congress directed the FTC to conduct a study of credit report accuracy and provide interim reports every two years, starting in 2004 and continuing through 2012, with a final report in 2014. According… Read More
Not kidding. The FTC's Press Release states that the "New Business Center Can Help Boost Compliance with [the] FTC Law". http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/11/businesscenter.shtm Read More
On March 22, 2010, the FCC issued it's notice of proposed rulemaking, a copy of which is here. This competes with the FTC's efforts to regulate the TCPA, too. The FCC's version includes regulations which, if effectuated, would prohibit a person from initiating any telephone call using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice to a consumer’s… Read More
On January 20, 2010, the FCC Announced its proposed rule on the TCPA. See the Press Release here and the Proposed Rule here. Key provisions proposed by the FCC include: 1. Requiring sellers and telemarketers to obtain telephone subscribers’ express written consent (including electronic methods of consent) to receive prerecorded telemarketing calls, even when there exists an established business relationship between… Read More
