Blog archive

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is stopping companies from improperly contacting people in the workplace to put pressure on them to pay allegedly owed debts.

As companies are stopped from charging illegal junk fees, people are facing new risks as companies experiment with sketchy fee tactics, which are themselves also often illegal.

Millions of consumers seek urgent medical care at non-profit hospitals that are required to provide financial assistance to patients in need. However, many eligible consumers either don’t receive this financial assistance or are pursued by debt collectors for bills they don’t owe.

The CFPB is concerned that medical debt collectors may try to capitalize on surviving spouses’ vulnerabilities to try to collect unpaid medical bills, including bills that may not even be owed.

There is a disproportionate impact of medical debt on American Indian and Alaska Native consumers, in Alaska and across the United States.

The CFPB filed an amicus brief to help ensure that mortgage servicers acting as debt collectors don’t improperly charge fees that prevent consumers from shopping around.

The CFPB and FTC filed an amicus brief to help ensure that people can hold debt collectors accountable for unlawful fees.

The CFPB filed an amicus brief to help ensure that consumers can hold debt collectors accountable for making false statements.

New Mexicans submitted complaints about credit reporting, debt collection, and other products.

Creditors can obtain civil judgments to garnish wages for unpaid debts, but civil judgments are much more common in some states and areas than others.

Debt collectors are moving away from furnishing medical debt, in part, due to data integrity challenges in medical debt collections.

Here are some steps you can take to protect caregivers from nursing homes and debt collectors who may be billing and suing caregivers for residents’ cost of care based on illegal admission contracts.

We published the three millionth complaint on the CFPB complaint database.

The CFPB is seeking public comments about debt that workers take on to pay for trainings, equipment, or other items or services required by their employer.

Millions of students seek postsecondary degrees in the hope that advancing their education will lead to better job opportunities, higher earnings, and greater economic security for themselves and their families. But many institutions of higher education are precluding students from making professional and educational gains by withholding their official transcripts to collect education-related debts.

Financial companies that collect and process loan payments play a critical role in consumer finance markets. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is the primary federal regulator of the consumer debt collection industry, and today, we submitted our annual report to Congress on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

A medical emergency or treatment could turn into an unexpected financial crisis. Learn your rights, how to protect your credit, and how to steer clear of pitfalls.

In response to concerns from workers about financial risk and harm from employers, the CFPB is looking into the consumer financial products or services that workers face in the workplace.

If the people you serve face unexpectedly high medical costs, now they have protections under the No Surprises Act, plus support from the CFPB on debts arising from charges that exceed amounts allowed under the No Surprises Act.

Getting sick or injured can often result in a heavy financial burden, including mounting medical bills, aggressive debt collection and coercive credit reporting. Learn about the VA’s new rule to put patients first and how to protect against surprise medical bills.

The CFPB issued rules clarifying how debt collectors can communicate with you. Here are five key things to know about these new debt collection rules.

State and local programs are distributing billions of dollars in rental assistance. But many landlords don’t know that they can take advantage of this help. The CDC issued a new eviction moratorium on August 3, 2021. But many landlords still do not know that they can apply for federal rental assistance to help recover rent that tenants owe.

When renters fall behind on rent, many landlords also struggle to make ends meet. Help may be available. Learn about emergency rental assistance and where to apply.

If you owe back rent, learn about tenants’ rights in debt collection and the right to postpone eviction during COVID-19 using the the CDC Declaration form.

CFPB announces a final rule on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Here’s what you should know if you’ve been contacted by a debt collector.