Some interesting trends can be noted in the litigation and complaint data provided by WebRecon for November, but whether the trends are just a blip or an indication of a larger shift in the market remains to be seen.
For example, the number of debt collection complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in November was 12% lower than the number filed in October, but the total for the first 11 months of 2017 was still nearly 20% higher than for the same period a year earlier.
As well, the number of lawsuits filed alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was 6% higher in November than in October, but the total for the first 11 months of 2017 is 6% lower than the same period of 2016.
And unless Santa brought a lot of lawsuits in December, there is a chance that the total number of suits alleging violations of the FDCPA, Telephone Consumer Protection Act and Fair Credit Reporting Act will be lower in 2017 than 2016. Through the first 11 months go 2017, there have been 17,225 lawsuits filed, which is more than 500 fewer than the 17,789 that were filed during the same period of 2016.
Another interesting stat noted by WebRecon: 38% of those who filed lawsuits in November had previously done so, which is higher than the 33% range that usually do so in a given month.