Plaintiffs were a little bit busier in August than they have been in recent months, according to data released recently by WebRecon, while consumers slowed down the number of complaints they filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The number of lawsuits filed against companies in the accounts receivable management industry alleging violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act were up 8.5% in August compared with July and were 13% higher than the total filed last year. The number of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuits was up 7.5% from a month earlier and also 13% higher than last August. The number of Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuits was down 8% from July’s total and 47% from the number filed in August 2020, according to WebRecon.
While the number of complaints filed by consumers with the CFPB is still 37% higher through the first two-third of 2021, the total filed in August was 18% lower than the number submitted in July. At the current pace, the number of complaints filed in 2021 should surpass the 53,898 that were filed in all of 2020 in early October. And last year was a record for the number of complaints that were filed.
Interestingly enough, the number of plaintiffs who had previously filed lawsuits dropped from 40% in July to 21% in August, even though the total number of lawsuits increased. This indicates that a lot of first-time filers sued collection agencies in August.
Credit card debt was the subject of the highest percentage of complaints filed by consumers in August. Attempts to collect debts not owed accounted for more than half of all complaints filed with the Bureau, well out-pacing written notification about debt, and false statements or representations.
