While higher than in April, the overall number of lawsuits filed against collection agencies in May alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act continued their year-long decline, according to data released yesterday by WebRecon.
Through the first five months of 2018, there have been 7,605 lawsuits filed, compared with 8,156 through the same period a year ago, a drop of 7%. While it might not seem like much, it is the continuation of a trend that started in 2015. The number of lawsuits has dropped on year-over-year basis every year since 2015, according to WebRecon’s data.
Through the first five months of 2018, the number of FDCPA lawsuits is down 9% from a year ago and the number of TCPA lawsuits is 18% lower. The number of FCRA lawsuits is 12% higher, largely due to a group of three lawsuits involving 149 plaintiffs filed against Equifax related to its data breach from last year.
While the number of lawsuits may be on the decline, the number of complaints filed by consumers with the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection is still climbing. The number of complaints filed in May was 13% higher than the same number filed a year ago and through the first five months of 2018, the total number of complaints is 16% higher than last year.
