Firm Alerts

On May 10, 2016, the United States Department of the Treasury issued a white paper that provides (i) an overview of the online marketplace lending industry, (ii) a summary of the responses that the Treasury received to its 2015 Request for Information on the industry (RFI), (iii) policy recommendations for private sector participants and the federal government and (iv) identification of trends that the Treasury believes require ongoing observation. Read More

The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland released on August 25, 2015 a report entitled “Alternative Lending through the Eyes of ‘Mom & Pop’ Small- Business Owners: Findings from Online Focus Groups” (attached). The report provides the results on a study of small business owners’ perceptions and understandings with respect to online alternative lenders and cash advance providers and their small dollar credit products. Read More

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”), Chase Bank, USA N.A. and its subsidiary Chase BankCard Services, Inc. (collectively “Chase”), recently entered into a Consent Order for alleged violations by Chase of Sections 1036(a)(1) and (a)(3) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act, 12 U.S.C. §§ 5536(a)(1) and (a)(3) (“CFPA”), with respect to Chase’s debt sale and collection practices. Read More

The New York Department of Financial Services (NY-DFS) has issued a proposed regulatory framework for virtual currencies. The proposed regulations will require virtual currency companies to obtain licenses named “BitLicenses.” By releasing the proposed “BitLicense” rules, New York became the first state to propose a regulatory structure specifically designed for virtual currencies. This Alert is first in a series on virtual currency regulation... Read More

On December 10th, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) entered into a consent order with CareCredit LLC. CareCredit agreed to refund up to $34.1 million to borrowers who were allegedly subject to deceptive credit card enrollment practices. Prompted by consumer complaints, the CFPB’s investigation focused on enrollment practices at health care providers’ offices for deferred interest credit card plans. The CFPB allegedly found incidences where health care providers: (i) orally misrepresented that the plan has no interest for 12 months as distinct from a deferred interest promotion,...

JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. and certain affiliates (“Chase”) entered into orders with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (“OCC”) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) for alleged unfair billing of certain add-on identity theft products, which included credit monitoring and credit report retrieval, and unsafe and unsound practices in connection with the bank’s non-home loan debt collection litigation practices and non-home loan compliance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”). Read More

The Federal Trade Commission recently released .COM DISCLOSURES, HOW TO MAKE EFFECTIVE DISCLOSURES IN DIGITAL ADVERTISING, updating its 2000 staff guidance DOT COM DISCLOSURES. The FTC has authority to enforce general consumer protection laws that prevent advertisements from being deceptive, unfair or otherwise in violation of FTC rules and to require disclosures to be presented clearly and conspicuously. According to the FTC, whether a disclosure meets this standard is measured by performance — that is, how consumers actually perceive and understand the disclosure in the context of the...

An Illinois Appellate Court has held that a collection agency had standing to sue a debtor in its own name under Illinois law but that the collection agency’s complaint was deficient because it failed to include documents evidencing the debt’s assignment as required by Illinois law. Unifund CCR Partners v. Shah, No. 1-10-0855, 2011 WL 477725 (Ill. App. Ct. Feb. 1, 2011). In Unifund, a credit card issuer sold a delinquent credit card debt. The purchaser sold the debt to another third party who assigned a legal interest in the debt to another entity for purposes of collection while retaining...

The notice of assignment requirement under the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (“CCPA”) has recently been amended. The CCPA provides that it does not prohibit the assignment, by a creditor, of the right to bill and collect a consumer debt. However, the assignee now must give the debtor written notice of such assignment as soon as practical after the assignment is made, but at least 30 days before any action to collect the debt. The assignee is a real party in interest and may bring an action to collect a debt that has been assigned to the assignee and is in default. Fla. Stat. Ann....

The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, recently held that a credit card agreement was an unwritten contract subject to Illinois’ five-year statute of limitations, rather than its 10-year statute of limitations. Portfolio Acquisitions, L.L.C. v. Feltman, No. 1-07-3004, 2009 WL 1444791, at *8 (Ill. App. Ct. May 20, 2009). In Portfolio Acquisitions, a debt buyer sued a consumer in 2005 for a credit card debt charged off in 1999. The debt buyer’s second amended complaint indicated that the consumer applied for a credit card and agreed to pay for amounts charged, but failed to make...