When opening a checking account, a bank will review a customer’s past banking history supplied from their previous financial institution. JPMorgan Chase allegedly failed to ensure this information was accurate and often left customers in the dark about why their applications were denied or who to contact to dispute these findings. For this, the company will pay a $4.6 million fine. [More]
consent order
Auto Lender Fined Another $1.25M For Failing To Issue Refunds To Servicemembers Threatened By Debt Collectors
By 4.26.17 — Updated: 5.9.17
An Ohio-based auto lender that has already been penalized for $3.28 million for using aggressive debt collection tactics against members of the armed forces is once again in hot water with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for failing to issue refunds to the servicemembers that were harassed. [More]
Wells Fargo On The Hook For $24.5M Over Servicemember Abuses
By 9.30.16
Wells Fargo’s bad month has just gotten worse. The U.S. Department of Justice and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) have fined the big bank $24.1 million for allegedly violating the law by repossessing military servicemembers’ cars.
[More]
Short-Term Loan Startup LendUp Ordered To Pay $3.6M Over Alleged Lending Violations
By 9.27.16
When a company promises to lend you money and rebuild your credit — all through your phone — it can be hard to pass up the offer, especially when you’re in a pinch. But what happens when that lender doesn’t deliver? It gets fined millions of dollars by the federal government, or at least that’s the case for online lender LendUp. [More]
Telemarketer Tricked People Into Believing They Were Buying Cleaning Products To Help Disabled
By 6.9.16
Research has shown that shoppers may be more likely to purchase a particular product if they know that some of their money is going to a worthy cause, and some folks will take advantage of this tendency to trick people into purchasing thousands of dollars in household cleaning products under the guise of helping the disabled. [More]
Debt Collection Lawsuit Mill Hit With $2.5M Penalty
By 4.25.16
A New Jersey-based law firm that handed out hundreds of thousands of debt-collection lawsuits based on false or nonexistent information must — along with an associated debt buyer — pay $2.5 million in penalties to settle federal accusations that they were operating a lawsuit mill in violation of the law. [More]
Data Broker Must Pay $4.1M For Selling Sensitive Information To Scammers
By 2.18.16
Data brokers are companies that collect and aggregate information on consumers to create detailed profiles that are then sold to other companies to determine if an individual is qualified for loans, mortgages, jobs, and other things. But sometimes, these companies get their hands on unauthorized, highly sensitive personal information and sell it. Today, four connected data brokers agreed to settle federal charges of selling this sort of information to unscrupulous customers. [More]
Law Firm Must Pay $3.1M For Operating Automated Debt-Collection Lawsuit “Factory”
By 12.28.15
A Georgia-based law firm behind hundreds of thousands of debt-collection lawsuits, and its principal partners, have agreed to pay a total of $3.1 million in penalties to settle federal accusations that they were operating a lawsuit mill in violation of the law. [More]
Lender EZCORP Must Pay $10M In Refunds, Fines For Illegal In-Person Debt Collection Practices
By 12.16.15
A small-dollar lender has been slammed with a top-dollar penalty by federal regulators who say that the company’s debt collection practices violated the law. [More]
Subprime Credit Reporting Company To Pay $8M For Illegally Obtaining Consumers’ Credit Info
By 12.3.15
Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, companies – and lenders – are allowed to access credit reports only for “permissible purposes,” like determining if a person is creditworthy. But federal regulators say a Florida-based subprime credit reporting company illegally obtained tens of thousands of consumers’ credit reports for use in marketing materials for potential clients, including payday lenders.
L.A.-Based Auto Lender Must Pay $48M In Fines, Refunds For Illegal Collections
By 10.1.15
For the second time this week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has flexed its muscles when it comes to reining in unscrupulous indirect auto loan financiers. Just days after taking action against Fifth Third Bank for auto-lending discrimination, the Bureau ordered a Los Angeles-based finance company and its auto title lending subsidiary to pay $48.3 million in fines and relief to affected borrowers stemming from a laundry list of allegedly illegal debt collection practices. [More]
Company Offering Deferred-Interest Loans For Dental Work Must Repay $700K To Consumers Over False Claims
By 8.19.15
Getting a root canal, a crown replaced, or even a simple filling at the dentist can really drain your bank account, especially if you don’t have insurance. That’s why a growing number of dental offices are offering third-party financing to patients. But sometimes these loans offer terms that are too good to be true. [More]
Complaint Alleges LifeLock Violated 2010 FTC Settlement By Continuing To Make False Claims
By 7.21.15
Back in 2010, identity theft protection company LifeLock entered into an $11 million settlement with federal regulators and several states regarding its use of allegedly false claims regarding the effectiveness of its services. According to those same regulators, the company has violated that agreement by continuing to make claims that fail the truth test. [More]
PayPal Must Pay $25M In Refunds, Penalties For Illegally Signing Customers Up For Online Credit Product
By 5.19.15
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleges that online payment platform PayPal signed up customers for PayPal credit accounts without authorization, forced customers to use this credit line instead of their preferred payment methods, and failed to address disputes. As a result, PayPal will pay a total of $25 million in refunds and penalties. [More]
