Judge Rejects Bona Fide Error Defense in Improper Garnishment Case
- A District Court judge in Washington has granted a partial motion for summary judgment against a debt collector that issued and served a writ of garnishment against a consumer who no longer owed any money, ruling the company could not rely on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act’s bona fide error defense. The judge held the collector was liable under both the FDCPA and Washington’s Consumer Protection Act after the company admitted the garnishment was sent “in error.”
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White House Pushes Tougher Customer Due Diligence While Expanding Fintech Payment Access
- President Trump yesterday signed two executive orders that could significantly reshape both compliance expectations for financial institutions and the competitive landscape for fintech firms seeking deeper access to the U.S. payments system. One order focuses on tightening customer identification, anti-money laundering oversight, and underwriting scrutiny tied to undocumented immigrants, while the other pushes regulators to reduce barriers for fintech and digital asset companies seeking broader participation in the financial system.
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States Sue Ed. Dept. Over Rule Limiting Student Loans
- A coalition of 24 attorneys general and two governors has sued the Department of Education over a new rule that could sharply limit federal student loan access for students pursuing nursing, physician assistant, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology, and other healthcare-related graduate programs. The lawsuit argues the Department unlawfully narrowed the federal definition of “professional degree,” potentially forcing students into higher-cost private loans or pricing them out of advanced healthcare education entirely.
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Judge Dismisses FCRA Lawsuit After Plaintiff Claimed Bankruptcy Accounts Were Unauthorized
- A District Court judge in Illinois has dismissed a Fair Credit Reporting Act lawsuit against a credit reporting agency after finding the plaintiff could not plausibly claim certain accounts on his credit report were unauthorized or inaccurate when he had previously listed those same accounts in his Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing.
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Credit and Debit Dominate, But Cash Remains Critical Backup for Millions of Americans
- Even as digital wallets, mobile banking, and real-time payment tools continue to expand, the Federal Reserve’s latest Diary of Consumer Payment Choice suggests that cash remains deeply embedded in the financial lives of many Americans, especially older consumers, lower-income households, and rural residents. For companies in collections, lending, and consumer finance, the findings reinforce a broader operational reality: payment choice still matters.
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Your Agents Are Pasting Consumer Data into ChatGPT Right Now. Do You Know What Happens Next?
- Every day, collection agents, compliance officers, and operations staff across the ARM industry use generative AI tools to draft letters, summarize accounts, respond to disputes, and analyze data. Many of them are doing it without their employer’s knowledge, without a governance policy in place, and without understanding what happens to the consumer data they enter.
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40 Companies Seeking Collection Talent
- One of the clearest trends in this week’s job listings is that companies across healthcare, banking, collections, and fintech are pouring resources into revenue cycle, analytics, AI, and fraud strategy. If you want a glimpse into where the industry is headed, this week’s hiring activity tells a pretty compelling story.
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WORTH NOTING: The cost of insurance, regardless of what kind, is stressing out consumers … Where Americans are moving and how that is reshaping healthcare … Why you may want to consider becoming a saver … Google has redesigned its search box for the first time in 25 years … If anyone cares, I will die on the hill of Diet Coke over Coke Zero … A survey about consumers’ views toward summer vacations and credit cards … Google is betting on consumers allowing robots to spend their money … The nation’s largest hurricane exposure zone might not be where you think it is … Companies are spending more than $100 billion annually to improve customer satisfaction, but the numbers just aren’t getting better.
Wisdom Wednesday, part I
Wisdom Wednesday, part II
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