The downward trend of lawsuits filed against collection agencies reversed course in April, according to data released yesterday by WebRecon.
The 1,534 violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act in April was 12% higher than the 1,359 violations alleged in lawsuits in March. Through the first four months of 2019, there were 5,564 violations alleged, compared with 5,891 through the same period last year.
Interestingly, the number of complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in April was 21% lower than in March, and the total from January through April is 25% lower than the same period last year.
Through the first four months of 2019, only FCRA violation-related lawsuits are higher than the same period last year. The number of FDCPA violations alleged by consumers is down 8% on a year-over-year basis and the number of TCPA violations is down nearly 11%.
The most common complaint filed with the CFPB in April was regarding an attempt to collect a debt not owed, which represented 49% of all complaints. That was followed by written notification of a debt (20%), and communication tactics (11%).
