FTC

This notice amends the Telemarketing Sales Rule by updating the fees charged to entities accessing the National Do Not Call Registry, effective October 1, 2017.
 

This is a 2011 letter from the FTC Chair to a Congressman concerning the enforcement of the Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) and its impact on legitimate credit repair organizations. The letter discusses the advance fee ban in detail and finds partial payments for intermediate steps to be an evasion of the advance fee prohibition.

The FTC  policy statement provides guidance regarding its enforcement of various statutes and FTC regulations addressing negative option marketing and operating. 

This is an amicus brief submitted by the CFPB and FTC in support of the plaintiffs in Glover v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC before the Eleventh Circuit , filed February 27, 2024.   The brief argues in support of an  FDCPA  § 1692f(1) violation  where debt collectors charge a  fee on top of the consumer's payment to the collector (pay-to-pay fees) since the fees are not authorized by contract or law.  The  FDCPA violation does not apply  only to fees incidental to the debt.

This is the Federal Register notice, 84 Fed, Reg.

The FTC brings this action in a Georgia federal court under FTC Act § 13(b to obtain temporary, preliminary, and permanent injunctive relief, rescission or reformation of contracts, restitution, the refund of monies paid, disgorgement of ill-gotten monies, and other equitable relief for Prog Leasing’s unfair or deceptive practices in connection with the marketing, offering for sale, and sale of rent-to-own payment plans.

This FTC statement is from the full Commission (i.e., it is not just a staff interpretation) and generally concludes that the FTC Holder Rule cap does not interfere with state law providing for attorney fees. The FTC Holder Rule, 16 CFR 433, allows consumers to bring seller-related claims and defenses against the holder of the credit obligation, but an affirmative recovery against the holder is subject to a cap.

This is the notice of proposed rulemaking for the origianal version of the FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, 60 Fed. Reg. 8313 (Feb. 14, 1995). The FTC proposes to implement the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act. Section 3 of the Act directs the FTC to prescribe rules, within 365 days of enactment of the Act, prohibiting deceptive telemarketing acts or practices and other abusive telemarketing acts or practices. This proposed rule led to a final rule that was later extensively expanded and amended.

This is the text of a 2009 FTC advisory opinion dealing with a request from representatives of the debt collection industry that the FTC that action to clarify that the act of responding to a consumer dispute is not an attempt to collect a debt under the FDCPA. Further the representatives ask clarification that a consumer that sends a written dispute to a furnisher after having invoked his or her cease communication rights under the FDCPA has revoked the cease communication instruction for purposes of communicating with the furnisher to process the dispute.

This is the text of a 2008 FTC advisory opinion dealing with whether the FDCPA prohibits a debt collector from notifying a consumer of settlement options that may be available to avoid foreclosure. The opinion, with qualifications, finds such communication to be permissible.