Quick analysis: Happy holidays from WebRecon!
After a rally in October, everything is back to normal except TCPA litigation.
FDCPA, which spiked in October to a rare 900+ lawsuits, is back down to a more normal 713 in November. FCRA which was over 225 is down to 173, and CFPB complaints which had rocketed to well over 3000 are back down to a more moderate 2707 (likely to settle at around 2900).
The only statute that is still out of sync is TCPA, which had a rare plummet in October to 159 (from a recent average closer to 200), and it has plummeted again in November to an almost inconceivable 95 lawsuits.
Class actions are in a normal range – if a bit at the low end this month, with FDCPA at 9.3%, FCRA at 9.5% and TCPA at 8.1% of all litigation representing a class.
Repeat filers represented about 34% of all November litigation.
| Comparisons: | Current Period: | Previous Period: | Previous Year Comp: | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 01 – 30, 2014 | Oct 01 – 31, 2014 | Nov 01 – 30, 2013 | |||
| CFPB Complaints | 2707 | 3223 | -19.1% | 2442 | -10.9% |
| FDCPA lawsuits | 713 | 911 | -27.8% | 685 | 3.9% |
| FCRA lawsuits | 173 | 228 | -31.8% | 188 | -8.7% |
| TCPA lawsuits | 95 | 159 | -67.4% | 205 | -115.8% |
| YTD CFPB Complaints | 36193 | 8644 | 76.1% | ||
| YTD FDCPA lawsuits | 8859 | 9542 | -7.7% | ||
| YTD FCRA lawsuits | 2115 | 2068 | 2.2% | ||
| YTD TCPA lawsuits | 2164 | 1696 | 21.6% | ||
Complaint Statistics:
2707 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors and about 969 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes in Nov 2014. Here is an approximate breakdown:
- 2707 CFPB Complaints
- 713 FDCPA, 66 Class Action (9.3%)
- 95 TCPA, 9 Class Action (9.5%)
- 173 FCRA, 14 Class Action (8.1%)
Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):
- Of those cases, there were about 969 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
- Of those plaintiffs, about 333, or (34%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
- Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 1146 lawsuits since 2001
- Actions were filed in 149 different US District Court branches.
- About 729 different collection firms and creditors were sued.
The top courts where lawsuits were filed:
- 74 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
- 72 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
- 46 Lawsuits: Texas Northern District Court – Dallas
- 41 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
- 27 Lawsuits: New Jersey District Court – Trenton
- 25 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Los Angeles
- 25 Lawsuits: New Jersey District Court – Newark
- 24 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
- 22 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
- 22 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis
The most active consumer attorneys were:
- Representing 35 Consumers: WILLIAM ROSS TETER
- Representing 27 Consumers: ADAM JON FISHBEIN
- Representing 26 Consumers: EDWARD B GELLER
- Representing 26 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
- Representing 24 Consumers: ROBERT H DEWBERRY
- Representing 20 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
- Representing 19 Consumers: ANDREW JOSEPH GUZZO
- Representing 19 Consumers: LEONARD ANTHONY BENNETT
- Representing 19 Consumers: KRISTI CAHOON KELLY
- Representing 19 Consumers: SUSAN MARY ROTKIS
Statistics Year to Date:
11479 total lawsuits for 2014, including:
- 8859 FDCPA
- 2115 FCRA
- 2164 TCPA
Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2014: 11172 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)
The most active consumer attorneys of the year:
- Representing 469 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
- Representing 209 Consumers: DAVID MICHAEL LARSON
- Representing 175 Consumers: JOHN THOMAS STEINKAMP
- Representing 164 Consumers: MICHAEL ANTHONY EADES
- Representing 164 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
- Representing 153 Consumers: ADAM JON FISHBEIN
- Representing 150 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
- Representing 150 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
- Representing 148 Consumers: CRAIG THOR KIMMEL
- Representing 147 Consumers: ANGIE K ROBERTSON
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CFPB Complaint Statistics:
There were 2707 complaints filed against debt collectors in Nov 2014.
Total number of debt collectors complained about: 725
The types of debt behind the complaints were:
- 777 Other (phone, health club, etc.) (29%)
- 614 Unknown (23%)
- 567 Credit card (21%)
- 374 Medical (14%)
- 157 Payday loan (6%)
- 72 Mortgage (3%)
- 57 Auto (2%)
- 51 Non-federal student loan (2%)
- 38 Federal student loan (1%)
Here is a breakdown of complaints:
- 1152 Cont’d attempts collect debt not owed (43%)
- 507 Communication tactics (19%)
- 451 Disclosure verification of debt (17%)
- 216 False statements or representation (8%)
- 214 Improper contact or sharing of info (8%)
- 167 Taking/threatening an illegal action (6%)
The top five subissues were:
- 720 Debt is not mine (27%)
- 319 Frequent or repeated calls (12%)
- 287 Not given enough info to verify debt (11%)
- 283 Debt was paid (10%)
- 159 Attempted to collect wrong amount (6%)
The top states complaints were filed from are:
- 346 Complaints: CA
- 265 Complaints: TX
- 258 Complaints: FL
- 134 Complaints: NY
- 98 Complaints: GA
- 96 Complaints: IL
- 88 Complaints: OH
- 87 Complaints: SC
- 84 Complaints: NJ
- 71 Complaints: WA
The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:
- 1862 Closed with explanation (69%)
- 409 Closed with non-monetary relief (15%)
- 212 In progress (8%)
- 113 Closed (4%)
- 84 Untimely response (3%)
- 27 Closed with monetary relief (1%)
This includes 2535 (94%) timely responses to complaints, and 172 (6%) untimely responses.
Of the company responses, consumers accepted 0 (0%) of them, disputed 270 (10%) of them, and 2437 (90%) were N\A.
The top five days for complaints were:
- 178 Complaints: Wed, 11/19/2014
- 172 Complaints: Tue, 11/18/2014
- 156 Complaints: Fri, 11/14/2014
- 150 Complaints: Wed, 11/05/2014
- 134 Complaints: Fri, 11/21/2014