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On August 1, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB” or “Bureau”) released a “special edition” of its monthly complaint report. Rather than focus on particular financial products or markets like the Bureau’s standard monthly complaint reports, the special edition highlights how companies have responded to consumer complaints and consumers’ views of those responses…

On June 27, 2017, the CFPB released its monthly complaint report.  As opposed to its typical monthly complaint reports, which highlight broad trends in complaints and focus on specific products and services as well as regions, this month’s “special edition” report provides overall statistics on complaints the CFPB has received since it began accepting complaints in July 2011.  The report provides details on, among other things, the total number of complaints received (1,218,600 as of June 1, 2017), the volume of complaints from servicemembers and older consumers (groups that, as exemplified in the preceding hyperlinks, are of particular interest to the CFPB), the percentage of timely company responses, and the most complained about products and services.  The report provides statistics at a national level and for each state and the District of Columbia.
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Continue Reading CFPB Releases “Special Edition” of Monthly Complaint Report

On June 22, 2017, the CFPB announced a series of actions based on consumer complaints it has received about the manner in which student loan servicers handle the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (“PSLF”) program.

PSLF is a federal student loan forgiveness program that provides borrowers in public service jobs, such as teachers, nurses, first responders,…

On April 25, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) released its monthly complaint report.  For the month of March 2017, the products and services generating the most consumer complaints were debt collection, credit reporting, and mortgages, collectively representing approximately 65% of all complaints received.  This continues the trend from February 2017, when the…

On March 28, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its monthly complaint report. For the month of February 2017, the products and services generating the most complaints were debt collection, credit reporting, and mortgages, collectively representing over 60% of all complaints received. This is a shift over January, where the three most…

On February 28, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) released its monthly complaint report. For the month of January 2017, the products and services generating the most complaints were debt collection, student loans, and credit reporting, collectively representing about 60 percent of complaints.  This is  the first time since the CFPB started releasing…

On February 14, 2017, U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) introduced a bill in the House and Senate to abolish the CFPB.

Excluding its introductory language, the bill reads in full: “The Consumer Financial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481 et seq.) is repealed, and the provisions of law amended…

On February 8, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) released its monthly complaint report. For the month of December 2016, the products and services generating the most complaints were debt collection, credit reporting, and mortgages, collectively representing about 65 percent of complaints.

In a year-to-year comparison covering the three-month time period between October and December in 2015 and 2016, student loans showed the greatest increase in complaints— an increase of 109 percent—of any product or service. The CFPB attributes part of this increase to a February 2016 update to its student loan intake form, which allowed it to accept complaints about Federal student loan servicing.  During the same period, complaints about prepaid products, payday loans, and mortgages declined by 59 percent, 23 percent, and 5 percent respectively. The decline in complaints about these products continues a trend reported in the CFPB’s last complaint report.…

Continue Reading CFPB’s Monthly Complaint Report Focuses on Mortgages

On January 30, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) filed a complaint in the Eastern District of California against a group of law firms and attorneys, alleging that the defendants charged illegal fees in a debt relief scheme targeted at “vulnerable consumers suffering financial difficulties” in violation of the Telemarketing and Sales Rule (“TSR”), 16 C.F.R. pt. 310. The complaint is related to the CFPB’s 2013 lawsuit against Morgan Drexen, Inc. (“Morgan Drexen”) for substantially similar TSR violations (the “Morgan Drexen litigation”).  Defendants allegedly collaborated with Morgan Drexen beginning in 2007 to create the debt relief scheme, and then took over Morgan Drexen’s business operations before it ceased operations in June 2015 in response to a permanent injunction issued in the Morgan Drexen litigation.  The CFPB contends that defendants continued collecting the same fees from consumers that Morgan Drexen had been enjoined from collecting.
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Continue Reading CFPB Sues Group of Law Firms and Attorneys for Illegal Debt Relief Scheme

On November 29, 2016, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released its monthly complaint report. For the month of October 2016, the products and services generating the most complaints were debt collection, credit reporting, and mortgages, collectively representing about 65 percent of complaints.

In a year-to-year comparison covering the three-month time period between August and October in 2015 and 2016, student loans showed a marked increase in complaints ‒ 108 percent ‒ the greatest percentage increase in complaints of any product or service. During the same period, complaints about prepaid products, payday loans, and mortgages declined by 51 percent, 22 percent, and six percent respectively. Interestingly, the three product categories showing the greatest percentage decline in complaints have been, and continue to be, the focus of CFPB rulemaking initiatives.

The report focused on complaints about debt settlement, credit repair, check cashing, refund anticipation checks, and money orders. The CFPB categorizes these types of complaints as “other financial service complaints.”
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Continue Reading CFPB’s Monthly Complaint Report Focuses on Debt Settlement, Credit Repair, and Other Financial Services