CFPB partially modifies two CIDs

Federal Issues CFPB CIDs

On May 21, the CFPB issued two orders partially modifying civil investigative demands (CID) issued by the Bureau in 2017 and 2018. In 2017, a revised CID was issued to a provider of tax debt relief products and services concerning potential violations of UDAAP provisions under the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA). Thereafter, the company petitioned the Bureau to set aside or modify the CID, arguing, among other things, that (i) the CFPA does not empower the CFPB to issue a CID to a tax preparation company given it does not provide a “‘consumer financial product or service’”; (ii) the investigation should be limited initially to information relevant to determining whether the Bureau has enforcement authority over the company; and (iii) the CID is overly broad because the notification of purpose does not comply with the CFPA’s requirements for authorizing Bureau CIDs. In the order, the Bureau rejected the company’s argument that it is not subject to the Bureau’s enforcement authority, stating that the agency is authorized to issue a CID to any person who may have information relevant to a violation, and moreover, the Bureau need not accept as true the company’s factual assertions that its business conduct does not include any activities covered by the CFPA. It also declined the company’s request that the CID be modified to focus solely on information relevant to determining whether the Bureau has enforcement authority over the company, stating that an agency may simultaneously investigate jurisdictional facts and possible violations. The Bureau further noted that the CFPA does not require a notification of purpose to identify particular persons who engaged in the conduct at issue or whether the company itself is under investigation. However, the CFPB modified the notification of purpose to include a statement reflecting that an additional purpose of the investigation is to determine whether false and misleading representation have been made to consumers regarding tax debt relief products and services.

In 2018 a second CID was issued to a financial services company to investigate whether it has engaged in any potential UDAAP violations concerning its marketing and servicing of deferred- interest financing. The company petitioned the Bureau to set aside the CID on the grounds that it (i) provides an inadequate notification of purpose; (ii) seeks information not relevant to any investigation; (iii) is unduly broad and burdensome; and (iv) “is fundamentally at odds” with the Bureau’s mission. Among other things, the Bureau’s order rejected the company’s argument that oral misrepresentations related to deferred-interest financing “are not relevant because no such representations were made to consumers (or, if they were, they were not so numerous as to merit the Bureau’s attention),” or they were not made by the company. According to the Bureau, these objections go to whether the company complied with the law, not whether the information the Bureau seeks is relevant. The Bureau also rejected the company’s arguments related to whether the agency could seek information related to transactions outside of the limitations period for potential violations of the CFPA, stating that the information may allow the Bureau to develop an understanding of the company’s practices and operations. However, while the Bureau emphasized that the company failed to demonstrate that complying with the CID would be overly burdensome, it did make some modifications to the notification of purpose on the recommendation of enforcement counsel, and extended the production timeline.