Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Signals Crackdown On Debt Collection Law Firms

Law firms that file a high volume of debt collection lawsuits are on notice after the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau took action against Georgia firm Frederick J. Hanna & Associates. In a lawsuit, the federal regulator claims the debt-collection firm spent less than a minute reviewing each of the more than 350,000 credit card collection complaints against consumers, and that many individuals targeted owe nothing or less than the claims contend. Industry analysts suspect the lawsuit may signal that the CFPB is looking to crack down on similar debt-collection firms, where they find that claims are out of date, specify incorrectamounts, lackdocumentary support and overlapwith other claims.