It’s that time of year again. Time to count down the most popular articles that were published to AccountsRecovery.net in 2020. If there are any common themes among those that made the Top 10, it’s that “slow down to see the wreckage of a car crash” phenomenon because articles that had bad news and big numbers tended to be the most popular. Here are the Top 10:
10. Former PRA Employees File Class-Action Lawsuit Against Company (May 19)
A class-action lawsuit was filed against Portfolio Recovery Associates by former employees of the company who alleged the collection company violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act by firing them using the coronavirus pandemic as the reason for closing an office when in fact the company had been planning on closing it for months because it was under-performing.
9. Illinois Takes More Steps to Regulate Debt Collection During COVID-19 (April 15)
The state of Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation issued guidance early in the COVID pandemic recommending practices that licensed consumer credit companies should put into place to help individuals dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, including those related to how debts are collected. At the same time, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed a separate executive order suspending certain remedies used by judgment creditors to collect on unpaid debts.
8. CFPB Releases Debt Collection Rule (October 30)
Eighteen months after it issued its proposed rule and seven years after it started the process, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau released its debt collection rule — the first overhaul of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act since the law went into effect more than four decades ago. The rule has dominated conversation in the ARM industry during the last two months of the year and will continue to be a primary focus well into 2021.
7. President Signs Order Extending Student Loan Forbearance Program (August 10)
Months into the pandemic, it was indisputable that Americans were going to need more time to get back onto their feet. To help, President Trump signed a number of executive orders, including one that extended a forbearance program for individuals with student loans until the end of 2020. That forbearance program has since been extended until the end of January.
6. Santander Reaches $550M Settlement With State AGs Over Alleged Deceptive Lending, Collection Practices (May 20)
A group of nearly three dozen state attorneys general, led by Kwame Raoul, the attorney general of Illinois, announced a $550 million settlement with Santander Consumer USA to resolve allegations that the nation’s largest subprime auto lender engaged in deceptive collection practices and misled borrowers about their rights and the risks of partial payments, among other claims.
5. $24M Settlement Reached in FCRA Class Action (January 3)
It was one of the first articles published in 2020 and it detailed a huge settlement in a Fair Credit Reporting Act class-action against Experian, which was accused of reporting delinquent debts on payday loans that were deemed to have been illegally originated.
4. DCI Closes Down (April 7)
Once one of the largest collection agencies in the country, DCI or Diversified Consultants, informed employees that it was shutting its doors for good. The agency, which had been in operation for 25 years, employed more than 1,200 people at its peak and had offices in Kentucky, Florida, and Oregon.
3. iQor Files for Bankruptcy Protection (September 11)
Collection operation and contact center business-process outsourcing provider iQor filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, seeking approval of a pre-packaged plan that would provide the company with $130 million of funding to reorganize itself and continue operating.
2. Company Laying off 50% of Employees as Student Loan Collections Remain on Hold (June 10)
The pause in collecting student loans because of the COVID-19 pandemic hit a lot of collection agencies hard. Those the specialized in collecting student loans were suddenly short on placements, leaving collectors with nothing to collect. One agency, as it attempted to pivot its operation to contact tracing, was forced to lay off half of its staff.
1. Groups Call on FCC to Require Notification of Blocked Calls (September 3)
It wasn’t the sexiest story I wrote all year, but it clearly struck a chord with a lot of people. A number of trade groups, including ACA International, filed a comment with the Federal Communications Commission recommending how companies should be notified when their calls are blocked by a voice service provider. Blocked calls has been a thorn in the ARM industry’s side for a number of years and will likely continue next year as well, unfortunately.
