Government News

CFPB Targets Double Billing in Medical Debt Collection

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is targeting illegal practices among medical debt collectors. The practices include “double-dipping” to get paid for services covered by insurance, harassing consumers to pay “fake or exaggerated charges,” misrepresenting consumers’ rights to contest bills, and collecting debts without…

US watchdog issues warning to medical debt collectors

Oct 1 (Reuters) – The top U.S. consumer financial watchdog on Tuesday warned medical debt collectors they face enforcement action by federal regulators if they illegally attempt to collect on inaccurate or legally invalid medical debts. Around 100 million Americans…

America’s economic engine is still revving, despite fears of a slowdown

WashingtonCNN —  A key driver of the US economy remains solid. Spending at US retailers rose 0.1% in August from the prior month, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. That’s a much slower pace than July’s upwardly revised 1.1% gain, but well…

2024 FDCPA: Key Updates to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) serves as a foundational piece of legislation protecting consumers from abusive debt collection practices. This blog post outlines key elements of the FDCPA, covering crucial sections such as communication guidelines, legal limitations, and consumer rights.…

US lenders lose court battle over CFPB rule to collect small business data

Aug 26 (Reuters) – A federal judge on Monday rejected a banking industry-backed challenge to a rule adopted by the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that requires lenders to gather demographic data on small business borrowers. U.S. District Judge Randy…

Stocks close lower as Wall Street struggles to stage a comeback

US stocks wavered Wednesday, giving back earlier gains as investors tried to recover from the week’s bruising losses. The Dow fell 234 points, or 0.6%, after gaining more than 400 points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 declined 0.8% and the…

Affirm Says CFPB’s Proposed BNPL Rules Will Confuse Customers

In commenting on the proposal, the BNPL provider said consumers would be better served by rules specific to BNPL transactions, as opposed to credit card regulations. The popularity of Buy Now, Pay Later exploded at the start of the coronavirus…

Supervisory Highlights: Servicing and Collection of Consumer Debt, Issue 34 (Summer 2024)

This is the 34th edition of Supervisory Highlights. The findings in this report cover violations of law and consumer harm in the areas of auto and student loan servicing and debt collection, including credit card debt collections. This edition also…

What to expect from the housing market in the second half of 2024, according to real estate experts

Experts are torn about where exactly the housing market is headed in the latter half of the year. “Mostly, we think the housing market is going to improve over the next half of the year,” Glenn Kelman, chief executive of Redfin, a real estate…

A brief drop in mortgage rates caused a huge surge in demand, but it may be short-lived

Mortgage rates dropped for much of last week, causing total mortgage application volume to surge nearly 16% compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index. But rates jumped back up again after a stronger-than-expected…