Collection Recon

FTC Action Bans Payment Processor from Using a Novel Payment Method to Debit Accounts

Posted on 06. Jan, 2012 by Collections Recon.

Allegedly Debited Millions of Dollars from Consumers’ Bank Accounts Without Their Consent

A payment processor and two of its principals are now banned from using a new payment method to process electronic payments under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, which resolves charges that they debited consumers’ bank accounts without their consent. The settlement furthers the FTC’s ongoing efforts to protect financially-strapped consumers during the economic downturn by scrutinizing not only merchants, but all parties who participate in defrauding consumers.

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FTC Returns Almost $2 Million to Payday Loan Applicants Who Were Tricked into Buying Prepaid Debit Cards

Posted on 02. Sep, 2011 by Collections Recon.

The Federal Trade Commission is mailing more than 110,000 refund checks to consumers defrauded by an online operation that tricked payday loan applicants into paying for an unrelated debit card. The FTC alleged that payday loan marketers Matthew Patterson, Mark Benning, Jason Strober, and Swish Marketing, Inc., worked with debit card marketers Jerry Klein, Joshua Finer, and VirtualWorks, LLC, to design the deceptive payday loan application form that triggered a charge of up to $54.95 for a prepaid debit card with a zero balance.

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FTC Issues Final Policy Statement on Collecting Debts of Deceased

Posted on 31. Aug, 2011 by Collections Recon.

The Federal Trade Commission recently finalized a policy statement clarifying that the agency will not take enforcement action under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or the FTC Act against companies that are attempting to collect the debts of deceased consumers.

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When a debt collector calls

Posted on 22. Aug, 2011 by Collections Recon.

Tempers flare when you even mention debt collectors. Some consumers who have steered clear of this unloved business blithely dismiss its targets as “deadbeats” or “shirkers.” Some in the sights of debt collectors – especially unscrupulous ones – readily use words we won’t print in a family paper.

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New FTC Debt Collection Rules Kick in Aug. 29

Posted on 22. Aug, 2011 by Collections Recon.

Rarely does a week go by when we do not receive a call from a credit union regarding potential elder abuse. Recently, the number of calls regarding the legal, moral and ethical means to collect a credit union debt from a deceased member’s estate has been increasing. With those credit unions that have an “aging” membership, these issues become more and more paramount.

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ACA International Supports FTC Policy on Collecting Debts of the Deceased

Posted on 28. Jul, 2011 by Collections Recon.

MINNEAPOLIS, July 26, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — ACA International, the association of credit and collection professionals, supports the Federal Trade Commission’s recently finalized policy statement bringing clarity to the complexities of collecting on a decedent’s debt.

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FTC Settlements Puts Debt Relief Operations Out of Business

Posted on 31. May, 2011 by Collections Recon.

Defendants Used Robocalls to Sell Bogus Plans to Lower Credit Card Interest Rates

The FTC has settled two actions that charged marketers with deceptively claiming they could reduce consumers’ credit card interest rates. Both operations allegedly made deceptive telemarketing calls, called consumers on the Do Not Call Registry, and used illegal robocalls. The settlements will ban all of the defendants from selling debt relief services.

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LHDR Alerts Clients to Rising Complaints Against Debt Collection Industry

Posted on 20. Apr, 2011 by Collections Recon.

Consumer law firm informs clients about rising consumer complaints against debt collectors as reported in the FTC’s annual FDCPA report.

North Huntingdon, PA — (SBWIRE) — 04/18/2011 — Legal Helper Debt Resolution, LLC, the country’s first truly national consumer law firm, is alerting clients and the general public to an 18 percent increase in complaints against debt collectors.

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FTC Files Contempt Charges Against Marketer of Credit Repair, Debt Relief, Food Stamp Services

Posted on 18. Apr, 2011 by Collections Recon.

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Federal Trade Commission has filed contempt charges against a promoter of credit repair and debt relief services and three of his companies, alleging that they continued their deceptive marketing practices in violation of a federal court order. The FTC charged that the defendants tried to take advantage of financially strapped consumers by falsely telling them that almost anyone can qualify for food stamps, and by encouraging them to mislead the government about their finances to qualify for the food stamp program.

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FTC Chairman Issues Commission’s 2011 Annual Report

Posted on 05. Apr, 2011 by Collections Recon.

Highlights Agency Accomplishments to Protect Consumers and Competition

Federal Trade Commission Chairman Jon Leibowitz today issued the FTC’s 2011 Annual Report at the American Bar Association’s Section of Antitrust Law Spring Meeting in Washington, DC, highlighting the agency’s continued efforts to protect financially distressed consumers and promote competition during the economic downturn.

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