Days before Thanksgiving, the Federal Trade Commission secured a $3.15 million judgment against a telemarketing company that “defrauded financially distressed consumers throughout the United States by selling them bogus credit-card interest-rate-reduction services.” In late 2017, the FTC brought claims against Higher Goals Marketing LLC (“HGM”) and multiple other defendants, alleging that the company violated Section 5(a) of the FTC Act prohibiting “unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce” and the Telemarketing Sales…

On November 7, the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee addressed the issue of whether it is a violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act for a creditor to report a charged-off account with a monthly payment due. In Ruvye Cowley v. Equifax Info. Servs., LLC, et al., the Court granted summary judgment to the creditor. In March 2016, Ruvye Cowley entered into a Retail Installment Contract/Security Agreement, under which she was…

On November 5, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida held that allegations that a debt collector incorrectly reported a debt through a Metro 2 Format to one or more CRAs were insufficient to state a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In Koehler v. Waypoint Res. Grp., LLC, plaintiff Kerry Koehler received internet and/or cable service from Bright House Networks, LLC and became delinquent on her account. Subsequently, Charter…

Carol Stanton, a legal practice assistant in Troutman Sanders’ Richmond office, has been recognized as an “Unsung Legal Hero” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly. Stanton, who has been in the legal field for 30 years, is recognized alongside 33 other individuals “who have consistently gone above and beyond the call of duty” for their organizations. Stanton has been with Troutman Sanders for two decades and currently supports the firm’s Consumer Financial Services team. Known for…

Massachusetts is proposing a bill to regulate student loan servicers and bring the Commonwealth in line with other states, including Connecticut, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington, all of which have passed new legislation to regulate the student loan industry. Similar legislation recently has been introduced, but not yet passed, in Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Carolina, California, and Oregon to regulate the student loan servicing industry.…

Effective October 16, the New York State Department of Financial Services adopted final regulations impacting student loan servicers operating in the state. The legislation, titled Article 14-A, passed in April 2019 and imposes new licensing requirements and servicing standards on institutions that service loans for borrowers residing in New York. The new regulations will affect more than two million student loan borrowers in New York. Troutman Sanders previously reported on the proposed regulations in August. The…