Everything WebRecon tracks and reports was in the red for September, compared with August’s totals, and most were down when compared to the totals for September 2020, as well, which might offer collection agencies a brief reprieve as they focus much of their attention on getting ready for the enactment of Regulation F.
Compared with August, the number of lawsuits alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, and Telephone Consumer Protection Act were down 12%, 17%, and 7% respectively, while the number of complaints filed by consumers about debt collectors with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was 3% lower. Comparing the numbers on a year-over-year basis, the number of FDCPA suits was down 8% from last September, while the number of FCRA suits was 14% lower, and the number of TCPA suits was down 35%. The number of CFPB complaints, however, was 24% higher this September compared with the same month last year.
On a year-to-date basis, the number of CFPB complaints is 36% higher through the first three quarters of 2021 compared with the same period last year, and the number of FCRA lawsuits is up 5%. But the number of FDCPA lawsuits is down 7% and the number of TCPA lawsuits is down by 49%, although that figure is somewhat skewed by some wonky filings last year.
The number of complaints filed by consumers with the CFPB through the first nine months of 2021 (53,957) has already surpassed the number that was filed in all of 2020 (53,898), which in and of itself was the highest number of complaints that had ever been filed in a calendar year. Based on an average of about 6,000 complaints per month, the total for 2021 has the potential to top 70,000.
Another data point of note — 44% of individuals who filed a lawsuit against a company in the accounts receivable management industry in September had previously filed suit at least once before — which is significantly higher than normal.
