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Financial Services Law Insights and Observations

FTC and DOJ Obtain Settlement of Claims Against Debt Buyer

FTC FDCPA FCRA

Consumer Finance

On January 30, the FTC and the DOJ announced that a Michigan-based debt buyer had agreed to pay a $2.5 million civil penalty to settle allegations of misconduct in connection with the company's debt collection activities. The FTC alleged that the debt buyer violated the FTC Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act by, among other things, (i) misrepresenting without substantiation that consumers owed a debt, (ii) failing to disclose that certain time-barred debt did not have to be repaid, (iii) knowingly providing false information to credit reporting agencies, and (iv) failing to investigate disputes raised by credit reporting agencies. In addition to paying the civil penalty, the company must address the failures and misconduct alleged by the FTC. For example, it must inform consumers when a debt is too old to be legally enforceable. Further, the company is prohibited from engaging in certain conduct, such as placing debt on consumer credit reports without notifying the consumer. Concurrent with the announcement, the FTC released a publication to help consumers understand their rights with regard to time-barred debt.