Yesterday, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a statement that provides financial services institutions with guidance on how to better serve consumers that have limited English proficiency (LEP). If this feels like déjà vu, it's likely because it sounds very similar to the LEP rule for debt collectors promulgated by New York City's regulator last year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the policy behind each — the CFPB's statement and the NYC LEP rule — are similar, there are some differences, the biggest of which is that the CFPB statement contains guidelines, not rules. Read on to learn more.
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After the U.S. Supreme Court decided Spokeo in 2016, there was an unfulfilled moment of hope. Defendants in Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) cases would file motions to dismiss based on lack of standing only for the courts to repeatedly deny those motions. Spokeo required that plaintiffs prove their injury is concrete and particularized, but courts followed a pattern of finding that statutory damages — such as the ones permitted through the FDCPA — were concrete enough. It took a few years, but the winds are now blowing in the other direction and a new trend is emerging: a no harm, no foul approach to FDCPA standing.
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When the COVID-19 pandemic started, many regulators — both state and federal — enacted measures to help consumers who were impacted by the sudden shift in their financial outlook. Massachusetts' Attorney General Maura Healey took what many consider an overzealous approach by prohibiting outbound collection calls during the pendency of the pandemic.
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