Current Industry News
WebRecon Stats for Jan 2019: Out of the Gate
Quick analysis: Well, it looks like 2019 begins with a screech out of the gates. In January, all three of the main consumer statutes we track (FDCPA, TCPA, FCRA) were up significantly over December 2018. But only FCRA was also up over January 2018 as well.
Employer-paid student loan repayment help could be coming
With U.S. student loan debt totaling a staggering $1.5 trillion nationally, it’s second only to outstanding home mortgage debt for American households. But one idea that could provide some relief for indebted students is now gaining bipartisan support in both the House and Senate.
FTC to law violators: Don’t bank on bankruptcy
A recent ruling by a Florida Bankruptcy Judge sheds light on a tenacious team within the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. But first, let’s set the time machine to 2008 when the FTC entered into a settlement with BlueHippo, a computer financing company that pitched electronics to consumers with “less than perfect credit, bad credit, no credit.”
Democratic Senators Lambaste Kraninger for CFPB Payday Plan
All 47 Democratic senators are accusing the CFPB of pandering to the payday lending industry in its proposal to allow lenders to make loans regardless of a borrower’s ability to repay the loans. And, in a letter to CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger, the senators raised the possibility that the agency’s decision violates federal law. “Repealing this rule provides a green light to the payday lending industry to prey on vulnerable American consumers,” the senators said, in the letter. Earlier this month, the CFPB proposed eliminating the ability-to-repay provision of the agency’s 2017 rule governing payday loans.