Daily Digest – March 29. FDCPA Enforcement Actions, Penalties Down in 2016; West Virginia, Colorado Working on Debt Collection Bills

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FDCPA ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS DOWN 33%, FINES & PENALTIES 86% IN 2016: CFPB

• In a report published last week, the CFPB summarized its 2016 enforcement and regulatory actions involving the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Compared with 2015, and including actions from the Federal Trade Commission, there was a 33% drop in the number of enforcement actions taken last year, and the total dollar amount of fines and penalties was 86% lower last year than the year before.

WEST VIRGINIA ADVANCES COMPROMISE CONSUMER PROTECTION BILL

• The West Virginia state legislature is working on a compromise bill that will maintain some consumer protections while also removing a provision that would have required consumers to pay attorney fees if they lose disputes. The bill, SB 563, now moves to the state Senate for approval. The original version of the bill would have also significantly reduced the fines that companies would have had to pay when accused of violating consumer protection statutes.

COLORADO LEGISLATURE WORKING ON KEEPING ITS OWN FDCPA

• The Colorado legislature is considering a bill that would extend that state’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for another 11 years, avoiding the expiration of the law, which is set to occur on July 1, 2017. A hearing on the proposed legislation has been scheduled for next Monday, April 3.

CONVOKE DOUBLING EMPLOYEE HEADCOUNT

• Convoke Systems has announced it is increasing its office space at its Arlington, Va., headquarters by 60%, which will allow the company to double its employee headcount to more than 60 people.

COLLECTION AGENCY GETS EXPANDED CONTRACT WITH W.V. CITY

• The city of Huntington, W.V., Stormwater Utility has inked a contract with Rossman and Co. to collect on $330,000 of unpaid taxes. Rossman and Co. currently also collects for the city itself, and will keep 17% of whatever it collects.

WORTH NOTING: Men in a growing number of countries, including India, Bangladesh, and Morocco are intentionally dialing wrong numbers in order to try and meet women … Wells Fargo gets a failing grade from federal regulators … How to nail the first 30 seconds of any presentation … Definitely a problem I have: Times when you should turn down work … President Trump’s war on bureaucracy may already be hurting the economy in Washington, D.C. … Fans of the University of Kentucky trashed a referee’s day job as a roofing contractor because they didn’t like the calls he made … Here are 32 “brilliant” questions to ask at the end of a job interview … The Democratic National Committee has asked all its employees for resignation letters.

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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.