A lot more people complained, but fewer took the step of filing lawsuits against companies in the accounts receivable management industry in 2021, according to data released this week by WebRecon.
Complaints filed with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau were 30% higher in 2021 than 2020, setting a new record for the most complaints filed in a year. The 70,333 that were submitted marked the first time that the number of complaints surpassed the 70,000-mark. On a month-over-month basis, the number of complaints filed in December was 14% lower than the number filed in November, which could either mark the start of a downward trend in complaint filings heading into a new year, or could otherwise just be an anomaly.
Overall, the number of Fair Credit Reporting Act lawsuits were up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis, while the number of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act cases was down 4% and the number of Telephone Consumer Protection Act cases was down 48% from 2020.
Interestingly, the trendlines in the number of suits filed for each statute were the same when comparing December to November, December 2021 to December 2020, and all of 2021 to 2020. For the FDCPA and TCPA, the numbers were all down while for the FCRA, the numbers were all up.
What happens in 2022 with the FDCPA is anyone’s guess. There are some who have predicted that the number of lawsuits filed against ARM companies will increase as a result of the enactment of Regulation F, which went into effect on November 30, 2021. While the initial number of lawsuits has been less than expected, that could change as Winter changes to Spring and Spring changes to Summer. The number of FDCPA lawsuits has declined on an annual basis for six straight years. Could 2022 be the year that changes?
