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‘LAST WEEK TONIGHT’ FALL-OUT CONTINUES; GROUP CLAIMS IDEA WAS STOLEN FROM THEM, FORGIVENESS MAY HAVE MADE FINANCIAL SITUATIONS WORSE
- The fall-out from the “Lat Week Tonight” episode on debt buying continues to uncover some interesting perspectives. One group is claiming that host John Oliver and his team stole the idea of forgiving debt from them. A researcher on Oliver’s staff apparently contacted the group eight months ago with the plan to reproduce what Rolling Jubilee had been doing since 2012. But, at the last minute, the show decided to make it look like the idea was their own, because Rolling Jubilee has its roots in the Occupy Wall Street movement. One company has used Oliver’s stunt to talk about why he would not have been able to make the purchase if the transaction were processed on its platform. And a final article that details how the show may have made the financial situations for those 9,000 individuals whose debts were forgiven, worse. When it purchased the portfolio, Oliver transferred it to RIP Medical Debt, an organization that forgives debt. But RIP Medical Debt is not yet a tax-exempt organization. And if its application for tax-exempt status is not approved, it may have to issue 1099 forms to those 9,000 individuals, treating the amount of debt forgiven as a form of income, which the individuals will have to pay taxes on.
TCPA COMPLIANCE STILL A MOVING TARGET
- Complying with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act continues to be a moving target for companies, especially those in the collection industry. A trio of lawyers discussed some recent court rulings that have had positive and negative implications for companies who have to comply with the TCPA. Even companies and service providers who say that they make “manual” calls may not be, given the technology used to make phone calls today, according to the lawyers. Vendor management and consent to contact individuals are the two biggest components of maintaining a compliant organization, they said.
FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMITTEE CHAIR PROPOSES SWEEPING REGULATORY OVERHAUL
- Rep. Jeb Hensarling [R-Texas], chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, yesterday proposed sweeping overhaul to the nation’s financial regulatory system. For the collections industry, the biggest change is that his proposed legislation, the Financial CHOICE Act, would overhaul the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, including replacing the director with a bi-partisan five-person commission, similar to the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Trade Commission. The bill would also subject all financial regulators to the Congressional budget and appropriations process.
WORTH NOTING: As someone who relies on reviews when making a purchase, this worries me … The one word that can transform your negotiating skills … 10 buzzwords you should stop using, especially on LinkedIn … Why the best companies are run by enlightened dictators … 13 bad habits to break to make yourself happier … Flight attendants share flying secrets … Home prices keep rising, for the rich … The best and worst paying jobs in America … Why the economy may do better with Hillary Clinton as president … The World Bank bas downgraded its economic expectations for the global economy … Is Sears considering selling the Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard brands? … Sushi robots and vending machine pizza is going to reinvent how we eat … A family is suing Panera after their allergic daughter ended up with peanut butter in her grilled cheese sandwich.
Apparently, sea lice is a thing
Australians watch “Crocodile Dundee” for the first time
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The Daily Digest is sponsored by TCN, a leading provider of cloud-based call center technology for enterprises, contact centers, BPOs, and collection agencies worldwide.