Blog/ Litigation Stats

Quick analysis: Lawsuit Complaints Surge in May

After a month of stunning declines (in April) across the board in consumer litigation, the numbers came roaring back with equally stunning increases in May. The end result? Everything is pretty much back on track, in line with last year and years prior.

FDCPA had the weakest comeback, with only (!) a 20.7% increase over April. FCRA was next with a 41.7% increase, and TCPA led with a 43.5% increase.

Year-to-date, FDCPA is the only one still down a bit from this time last year, trailing 2016 by 2.3%. TCPA is up slightly, with a 1.5% YTD increase and FCRA is stealing the show so far with a 9.7% YTD increase.

After the last few years of TCPA being the most aggressive growth property, maybe the consumer bar is ready to really test new consumer reporting theories.

In contrast to consumer litigation May saw a slight dip in CFPB complaints over April, down 3.7% from last month. That is the second monthly decline in a row, though April’s decline over March was much larger at 12.7%. Even so, these two monthly declines did nothing to stem the YTD complaint explosion so far. The total complaints have increased to 26.9% over this same time last year.

Back to litigation, putative class actions were uneven last month with 24.1% of FDCPA, 13.5% of TCPA and 10.3% of FCRA lawsuits filed that way.

About 34% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before.

And finally, New York attorney Craig B Sanders keeps the crown another month for representing the most consumer plaintiffs (83) in May, and also for representing the most consumers year-to-date (257).

Complaint Statistics:

4012 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors and about 1561 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from May 01, 2017 to May 31, 2017. Here is an approximate breakdown:

• 4012 CFPB Complaints
• 967 FDCPA, 233 Class Action (24.1%)
• 505 TCPA, 68 Class Action (13.5%)
• 377 FCRA, 39 Class Action (10.3%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1561 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 527, or (34%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2186 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 163 different US District Court branches.
• About 901 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 145 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 93 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 93 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Central Islip
• 67 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 60 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 49 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
• 40 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 38 Lawsuits: New Jersey District Court – Newark
• 34 Lawsuits: Texas Northern District Court – Dallas
• 33 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 83 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 46 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
• Representing 41 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
• Representing 38 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 33 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 32 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 32 Consumers: WILLIAM PEERCE HOWARD
• Representing 31 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 27 Consumers: SEYED ABBAS KAZEROUNIAN
• Representing 26 Consumers: PAUL JONATHAN SIEG

Statistics Year to Date:
6799 total lawsuits for 2017, including:

• 4360 FDCPA
• 1731 FCRA
• 2065 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2017: 6578 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 257 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 200 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
• Representing 189 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 171 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 171 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 166 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
• Representing 157 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 127 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 126 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 102 Consumers: PAUL JONATHAN SIEG

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 4012 complaints filed against debt collectors from May 01, 2017 to May 31, 2017.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 832

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1216 Other debt (30%)
• 775 I do not know (19%)
• 759 Credit card debt (19%)
• 714 Medical debt (18%)
• 152 Payday loan debt (4%)
• 127 Mortgage debt (3%)
• 125 Auto debt (3%)
• 77 Federal student loan debt (2%)
• 67 Private student loan debt (2%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1663 Attempts to collect debt not owed (41%)
• 964 Written notification about debt (24%)
• 460 Communication tactics (11%)
• 420 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (10%)
• 383 False statements or representation (10%)
• 122 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (3%)

The top five subissues were:

• 899 Debt is not yours (22%)
• 654 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (16%)
• 435 Debt was paid (11%)
• 313 Attempted to collect wrong amount (8%)
• 284 Didnt receive notice of right to dispute (7%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 467 Complaints: TX
• 426 Complaints: CA
• 390 Complaints: FL
• 293 Complaints: GA
• 237 Complaints: NY
• 187 Complaints:
• 129 Complaints: NC
• 122 Complaints: IL
• 111 Complaints: OH
• 103 Complaints: NJ

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 4012 (100%)

This includes 3815 (95%) timely responses to complaints, and 197 (5%) untimely responses.

Of the company responses, consumers accepted (%) of them, disputed (%) of them, and (%) were N\A.

The top five days for complaints were:

• 208 Complaints: Tue, 05/16/2017
• 205 Complaints: Tue, 05/09/2017
• 203 Complaints: Wed, 05/03/2017
• 203 Complaints: Wed, 05/10/2017
• 185 Complaints: Tue, 05/02/2017

Quick analysis: A Pre-Summer Dip?

April consumer litigation took a bit of a dive in April 2017. The last time the big three statutes (FDCPA, TCPA, FCRA) collectively were lower was all the way back in Jan 2016, though the numbers we saw in Dec 2016 comes close.

Compared to last month (March 2017), all three statutes were down by double digits – FDCPA by 14.9%, TCPA by 18.1% and FCRA by a whopping 34.5%. All three were also down by double digits compared to April last year, FDCPA by 19.4%, TCPA by 20.4% and FCRA by 26.1%.

Of the three statutes, the only uptick to be found anywhere is in YTD numbers for FCRA, which is maintaining a 6.5% lift over same period in 2016. FDCPA is down YTD by 6.1% and TCPA (!) is down 6.8%

Even CFPB complaints, which have been on a tear recently with 26.9% growth at the end of March over the previous year, slowed down in April with a 12.7% decrease over the previous month. CFPB complaints for the year are still up over 2015 by 22.4%.

Back to litigation, putative class actions are all robust with 20.6% of FDCPA, 21.9% of TCPA and 18% of FCRA lawsuits filed that way.

About 33% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before.

And finally, New York attorney Craig B Sanders takes the crown for representing the most consumer plaintiffs (61) in April, and also for representing the most consumers year-to-date (174).

Complaint Statistics:

4027 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors and about 1199 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Apr 01, 2017 to Apr 30, 2017. Here is an approximate breakdown:

• 4027 CFPB Complaints
• 801 FDCPA, 165 Class Action (20.6%)
• 352 TCPA, 77 Class Action (21.9%)
• 266 FCRA, 48 Class Action (18.0%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1199 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 401, or (33%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 5440 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 157 different US District Court branches.
• About 780 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 83 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 66 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Central Islip
• 60 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 54 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 45 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 39 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Los Angeles
• 36 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
• 30 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
• 30 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 30 Lawsuits: Missouri Eastern District Court – St. Louis – Eastern Division

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 61 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 34 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 31 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
• Representing 29 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 29 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 28 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 26 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
• Representing 22 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 22 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 20 Consumers: MICHAEL JAMES PASCUCCI

Statistics Year to Date:
5271 total lawsuits for 2017, including:

• 3392 FDCPA
• 1353 FCRA
• 1560 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2017: 5167 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 174 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 171 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 154 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
• Representing 139 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 133 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 125 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
• Representing 124 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 115 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 95 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 91 Consumers: JOHN D BLYTHIN

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 4027 complaints filed against debt collectors from Apr 01, 2017 to Apr 30, 2017.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 860

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1069 Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.) (27%)
• 717 I do not know (18%)
• 626 Medical (16%)
• 502 Credit card (12%)
• 283 Other debt (7%)
• 189 Medical debt (5%)
• 166 Credit card debt (4%)
• 122 Payday loan (3%)
• 88 Auto (2%)
• 58 Mortgage (1%)
• 44 Non-federal student loan (1%)
• 39 Payday loan debt (1%)
• 32 Federal student loan (1%)
• 27 Federal student loan debt (1%)
• 25 Mortgage debt (1%)
• 25 Auto debt (1%)
• 15 Private student loan debt (%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1315 Contd attempts collect debt not owed (33%)
• 939 Disclosure verification of debt (23%)
• 425 Communication tactics (11%)
• 390 Attempts to collect debt not owed (10%)
• 346 False statements or representation (9%)
• 195 Written notification about debt (5%)
• 171 Improper contact or sharing of info (4%)
• 127 Taking/threatening an illegal action (3%)
• 96 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (2%)
• 23 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (1%)

The top five subissues were:

• 789 Debt is not mine (20%)
• 714 Not given enough info to verify debt (18%)
• 446 Debt was paid (11%)
• 296 Attempted to collect wrong amount (7%)
• 215 Debt is not yours (5%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 649 Complaints: TX
• 471 Complaints: CA
• 380 Complaints: FL
• 275 Complaints: GA
• 176 Complaints: NY
• 142 Complaints: OH
• 141 Complaints: IL
• 122 Complaints: NC
• 103 Complaints: PA
• 101 Complaints: MD

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 4027 (100%)

This includes 3797 (94%) timely responses to complaints, and 230 (6%) untimely responses.

Of the company responses, consumers accepted 2818 (91%) of them, disputed 271 (9%) of them, and 7 (%) were N\A.

The top five days for complaints were:

• 237 Complaints: Wed, 04/05/2017
• 220 Complaints: Thu, 04/20/2017
• 212 Complaints: Tue, 04/04/2017
• 211 Complaints: Wed, 04/26/2017
• 207 Complaints: Tue, 04/18/2017

Quick analysis: What’s up with CFPB Complaints?

March was a robust month in consumer complaints, with FDCPA, TCPA and FCRA all easily exceeding February and keeping us within a percent or two of last year’s numbers – with the exception of this year’s second breakout month for FCRA (there have only been three months so far!) setting it more than 50% ahead of last month and almost 20% ahead of where we were last year.

The real story, however, seems to be in March’s CFPB complaint numbers. With over 4500 complaints filed against debt collectors and credit reporting agencies, we are 14.1% ahead of Feb and 25.3% ahead of where we were at this time last year. With the threat of severe CFPB reform on the horizon, are people starting to worry that they may lose their opportunity to have their voices heard?

Back to litigation, putative class actions are about normal with 15.8% of FDCPA, 20.9% of TCPA and only 8.9% of FCRA lawsuits filed that way.

About 34% of all plaintiffs who filed in February had filed at least once before.

And finally, Atlanta attorney Matthew Thomas Berry takes the crown for representing the most consumer plaintiffs (49) in March, while Los Angeles attorney Todd M. Friedman retains the crown for representing the most consumers year-to-date (137).

Complaint Statistics:

4544 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors and about 1509 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Mar 01, 2017 to Mar 31, 2017. Here is an approximate breakdown:

• 4544 CFPB Complaints
• 941 FDCPA, 149 Class Action (15.8%)
• 430 TCPA, 90 Class Action (20.9%)
• 406 FCRA, 36 Class Action (8.9%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1509 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 510, or (34%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 3353 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 160 different US District Court branches.
• About 974 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 102 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 75 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 71 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 62 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Los Angeles
• 56 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 55 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
• 48 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 46 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Central Islip
• 42 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
• 35 Lawsuits: Wisconsin Eastern District Court – Milwaukee

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 49 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 42 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 42 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 40 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
• Representing 34 Consumers: AMY LYNN BENNECOFF GINSBURG
• Representing 34 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
• Representing 33 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 32 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 30 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 30 Consumers: JOHN D BLYTHIN

Statistics Year to Date:
4112 total lawsuits for 2017, including:

• 2591 FDCPA
• 1087 FCRA
• 1208 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2017: 4072 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 137 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 123 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
• Representing 113 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 111 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 111 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 99 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
• Representing 95 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 93 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 72 Consumers: JOHN D BLYTHIN
• Representing 71 Consumers: ELLIOT WAYNE GALE

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 4544 complaints filed against debt collectors from Mar 01, 2017 to Mar 31, 2017.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 926

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1556 Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.) (34%)
• 882 Medical (19%)
• 824 Credit card (18%)
• 758 I do not know (17%)
• 149 Payday loan (3%)
• 135 Auto (3%)
• 94 Mortgage (2%)
• 84 Non-federal student loan (2%)
• 62 Federal student loan (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1890 Contd attempts collect debt not owed (42%)
• 1373 Disclosure verification of debt (30%)
• 466 Communication tactics (10%)
• 347 False statements or representation (8%)
• 256 Improper contact or sharing of info (6%)
• 212 Taking/threatening an illegal action (5%)

The top five subissues were:

• 1042 Debt is not mine (23%)
• 1022 Not given enough info to verify debt (22%)
• 554 Debt was paid (12%)
• 296 Right to dispute notice not received (7%)
• 273 Attempted to collect wrong amount (6%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 579 Complaints: CA
• 533 Complaints: TX
• 441 Complaints: FL
• 304 Complaints: GA
• 226 Complaints: NY
• 161 Complaints: NC
• 147 Complaints: IL
• 142 Complaints: OH
• 141 Complaints: NJ
• 133 Complaints: PA

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 4544 (100%)

This includes 4251 (94%) timely responses to complaints, and 293 (6%) untimely responses.

Of the company responses, consumers accepted 0 (%) of them, disputed 672 (15%) of them, and 3872 (85%) were N\A.

The top five days for complaints were:

• 233 Complaints: Tue, 03/21/2017
• 222 Complaints: Wed, 03/15/2017
• 211 Complaints: Tue, 03/14/2017
• 199 Complaints: Thu, 03/30/2017
• 197 Complaints: Wed, 03/22/2017

Quick analysis: Quick analysis: Consumer Litigation Down a Bit, Up a Bit in Feb 2017

Consumer litigation last month was mostly flat for FDCPA (up .7%), down a lot for FCRA (-36.3%) and down a bit for TCPA (-6.7%). While that seems like a good trend, it did not change the fact that all three categories were still up over the same period of time in 2016 (FDCPA +5.6%, FCRA +23.6%, TCPA +5.3%)

So, while it is way too early in the year to try to draw a conclusion, it is safe to say that litigation is going to stay unpredictable and (it seems likely) at approximately the same levels we have seen it over the last few years.

CFPB complaints, on the other hand, seem to have exploded in 2017. While only up nominally from January, they are up a whopping 19.6% from this month last year and an even more impressive 22.1% YTD. Maybe people are rushing to get their complaints on the record while the agency is still in it’s current form?

Back to litigation, putative class actions are about normal with 17.9% of FDCPA, 24% of TCPA and only 9.1% of FCRA lawsuits filed that way.

About 34% of all plaintiffs who filed in February had filed at least once before.

And finally, California attorney Todd M. Friedman retakes the crown for representing the most consumer plaintiffs (37) in January and the most year-to-date (95).

Complaint Statistics:

3738 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors and about 1300 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Feb 01, 2017 to Feb 28, 2017. Here is an approximate breakdown:

• 3738 CFPB Complaints
• 828 FDCPA, 148 Class Action (17.9%)
• 375 TCPA, 90 Class Action (24.0%)
• 265 FCRA, 24 Class Action (9.1%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1300 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 448, or (34%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2527 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 156 different US District Court branches.
• About 795 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 111 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 65 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Los Angeles
• 65 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 61 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 49 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 43 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
• 42 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 35 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Central Islip
• 31 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
• 27 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 37 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 34 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 31 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 30 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
• Representing 28 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 27 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 24 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 24 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
• Representing 22 Consumers: TAMMY GRUDER HUSSIN
• Representing 19 Consumers: MICHAEL JACOB WOOD

Statistics Year to Date:
2624 total lawsuits for 2017, including:

• 1650 FDCPA
• 681 FCRA
• 777 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2017: 2666 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 95 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 83 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
• Representing 79 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 71 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 65 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
• Representing 63 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 62 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 62 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 53 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 47 Consumers: ELLIOT WAYNE GALE

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 3738 complaints filed against debt collectors from Feb 01, 2017 to Feb 28, 2017.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 828

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1291 Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.) (35%)
• 685 I do not know (18%)
• 659 Medical (18%)
• 642 Credit card (17%)
• 140 Payday loan (4%)
• 105 Auto (3%)
• 92 Mortgage (2%)
• 72 Federal student loan (2%)
• 52 Non-federal student loan (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1489 Contd attempts collect debt not owed (40%)
• 1151 Disclosure verification of debt (31%)
• 430 Communication tactics (12%)
• 266 False statements or representation (7%)
• 219 Improper contact or sharing of info (6%)
• 183 Taking/threatening an illegal action (5%)

The top five subissues were:

• 879 Not given enough info to verify debt (24%)
• 860 Debt is not mine (23%)
• 415 Debt was paid (11%)
• 250 Frequent or repeated calls (7%)
• 220 Right to dispute notice not received (6%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 453 Complaints: TX
• 435 Complaints: CA
• 352 Complaints: FL
• 199 Complaints: GA
• 173 Complaints: NY
• 151 Complaints: IL
• 123 Complaints: NJ
• 114 Complaints: PA
• 113 Complaints: TN
• 113 Complaints: OH

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 3738 (100%)

This includes 3509 (94%) timely responses to complaints, and 229 (6%) untimely responses.

Of the company responses, consumers accepted 0 (%) of them, disputed 514 (14%) of them, and 3224 (86%) were N\A.

The top five days for complaints were:

• 219 Complaints: Fri, 02/03/2017
• 203 Complaints: Wed, 02/15/2017
• 193 Complaints: Tue, 02/07/2017
• 176 Complaints: Thu, 02/09/2017
• 171 Complaints: Fri, 02/10/2017

Quick analysis: Happy New Year… for Plaintiffs

It looks like 2017 is starting off with a litigation uptick across the board.

FDCPA: Jan was up 4.3% over (prev month) Dec, and 4.1% over (previous year) Jan 2016
TCPA: Jan was up 11% over (prev month) Dec, and 11.7% over (previous year) Jan 2016
FCRA: Jan was up a whopping 48.6% over (prev month) Dec, and 47% over (previous year) Jan 2016

Crazy coincidence… Jan 2017 looks an awful lot like Jan 2016. Cosmic interference?

Class actions are on the high-ish end of normal with 18.2% of FDCPA, 26.1 of TCPA and 26.1 of FCRA lawsuits filed that way.

About 35% of all plaintiffs who filed in January had filed at least once before.

And finally, Las Vegas attorney David Krieger takes the prize for the representing the most consumer plaintiffs (67) in January.

Complaint Statistics:

3410 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors and about 1425 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Jan 01, 2017 to Jan 31, 2017. Here is an approximate breakdown:

• 3410 CFPB Complaints
• 819 FDCPA, 149 Class Action (18.2%)
• 402 TCPA, 105 Class Action (26.1%)
• 416 FCRA, 39 Class Action (9.4%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1425 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 501, or (35%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2318 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 153 different US District Court branches.
• About 1005 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 104 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 94 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
• 75 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Los Angeles
• 57 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 54 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 41 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 39 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
• 38 Lawsuits: New Jersey District Court – Newark
• 37 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Central Islip
• 37 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 67 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 58 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 53 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
• Representing 47 Consumers: ELLIOT WAYNE GALE
• Representing 41 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
• Representing 40 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 38 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 36 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 28 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 25 Consumers: JOHN D BLYTHIN

Statistics Year to Date:
1389 total lawsuits for 2017, including:

• 819 FDCPA
• 416 FCRA
• 402 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2017: 1425 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 67 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 58 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 53 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
• Representing 47 Consumers: ELLIOT WAYNE GALE
• Representing 41 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
• Representing 40 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 38 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 36 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 28 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 25 Consumers: JOHN D BLYTHIN

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 3410 complaints filed against debt collectors from Jan 01, 2017 to Jan 31, 2017.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 784

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1203 Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.) (35%)
• 619 I do not know (18%)
• 585 Medical (17%)
• 582 Credit card (17%)
• 126 Payday loan (4%)
• 100 Auto (3%)
• 81 Mortgage (2%)
• 58 Non-federal student loan (2%)
• 56 Federal student loan (2%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1447 Contd attempts collect debt not owed (42%)
• 943 Disclosure verification of debt (28%)
• 417 Communication tactics (12%)
• 252 False statements or representation (7%)
• 200 Improper contact or sharing of info (6%)
• 151 Taking/threatening an illegal action (4%)

The top five subissues were:

• 816 Debt is not mine (24%)
• 708 Not given enough info to verify debt (21%)
• 401 Debt was paid (12%)
• 276 Frequent or repeated calls (8%)
• 207 Attempted to collect wrong amount (6%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 479 Complaints: CA
• 398 Complaints: TX
• 334 Complaints: FL
• 206 Complaints: GA
• 169 Complaints: IL
• 160 Complaints: NY
• 107 Complaints: OH
• 94 Complaints: NJ
• 90 Complaints: PA
• 88 Complaints: MD

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 3410 (100%)

This includes 3196 (94%) timely responses to complaints, and 214 (6%) untimely responses.

Of the company responses, consumers accepted 0 (%) of them, disputed 485 (14%) of them, and 2925 (86%) were N\A.

The top five days for complaints were:

• 177 Complaints: Tue, 01/24/2017
• 172 Complaints: Thu, 01/26/2017
• 167 Complaints: Tue, 01/31/2017
• 150 Complaints: Wed, 01/11/2017
• 150 Complaints: Thu, 01/19/2017

Quick analysis: 2016 Year in Review: FDCPA 12% Down, FCRA Up 3.9% & TCPA Up 31.8%

2016 ended about as we expected, with:

• A significant loss of traction for FDCPA, down 12% from 2015 (though, notably, still higher than 2014)
• FCRA more or less treading water with a less-than-anticipated 3.9% growth rate from 2015, but maintaining last year’s huge growth spurt over 2014 and prior years
• Continued explosive growth for TCPA, finishing 31.8% ahead of 2015 and decisively overtaking the #2 spot from FCRA – even if it didn’t quite crack 5k this year (if I can make the safest-sounding prediction for 2017 this early, look for TCPA to surpass 5k filings this fall).

Putative class actions were all fairly robust in 2016, with 17.1% of all FDCPA suits being filed on behalf of a class, as well as 21.3% for TCPA and 9.7% for FCRA.

Todd Friedman in California was the most active consumer attorney of the year, representing 410 consumers.

A total of 14,401 consumers were plaintiffs in 15,860 separate filings for the year. Of those plaintiffs, about 4995 (or 35%), had sued under consumer statutes before.

CFPB complaints, as expected, overtook 2015’s numbers – but just barely at 1.4%. That is consistent with 2015’s small 2.1% increase over 2014. 2013 was an incomplete year (and the first year) so its numbers don’t say much.

Read on for all of the numbers!

Complaint Statistics:

3433 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors and about 1191 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Dec 01, 2016 to Dec 31, 2016. Here is an approximate breakdown:

• 3433 CFPB Complaints
• 784 FDCPA, 120 Class Action (15.3%)
• 362 TCPA, 64 Class Action (17.7%)
• 279 FCRA, 38 Class Action (13.6%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1191 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 452, or (38%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 1795 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 150 different US District Court branches.
• About 789 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 82 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 62 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
• 51 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Los Angeles
• 49 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 48 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 44 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Central Islip
• 40 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 35 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
• 33 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
• 33 Lawsuits: Minnesota District Court – Dmn

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 49 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 45 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
• Representing 37 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 36 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 33 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 31 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
• Representing 21 Consumers: MICHAEL KIND
• Representing 21 Consumers: PAUL JONATHAN SIEG
• Representing 21 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 20 Consumers: HERBERT LO

Statistics Year to Date:
15860 total lawsuits for 2016, including:

• 10402 FDCPA
• 3960 FCRA
• 4860 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2016: 14401 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 410 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 403 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 323 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 315 Consumers: ELLIOT WAYNE GALE
• Representing 307 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 289 Consumers: PAUL JONATHAN SIEG
• Representing 285 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
• Representing 269 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
• Representing 262 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 258 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM

——————————————————————————————————-
CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 3433 complaints filed against debt collectors from Dec 01, 2016 to Dec 31, 2016.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 746

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1231 Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.) (36%)
• 698 Medical (20%)
• 580 I do not know (17%)
• 514 Credit card (15%)
• 125 Payday loan (4%)
• 93 Auto (3%)
• 93 Mortgage (3%)
• 50 Non-federal student loan (1%)
• 49 Federal student loan (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1520 Contd attempts collect debt not owed (44%)
• 1007 Disclosure verification of debt (29%)
• 370 Communication tactics (11%)
• 195 False statements or representation (6%)
• 190 Improper contact or sharing of info (6%)
• 151 Taking/threatening an illegal action (4%)

The top five subissues were:

• 898 Debt is not mine (26%)
• 747 Not given enough info to verify debt (22%)
• 362 Debt was paid (11%)
• 222 Frequent or repeated calls (6%)
• 215 Right to dispute notice not received (6%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 424 Complaints: CA
• 412 Complaints: FL
• 367 Complaints: TX
• 225 Complaints: GA
• 172 Complaints: NY
• 141 Complaints: NC
• 118 Complaints: OH
• 109 Complaints: VA
• 106 Complaints: IL
• 102 Complaints: NJ

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 3433 (100%)

This includes 3173 (92%) timely responses to complaints, and 260 (8%) untimely responses.

Of the company responses, consumers accepted 0 (%) of them, disputed 528 (15%) of them, and 2905 (85%) were N\A.

The top five days for complaints were:

• 257 Complaints: Fri, 12/16/2016
• 189 Complaints: Mon, 12/19/2016
• 181 Complaints: Mon, 12/12/2016
• 175 Complaints: Wed, 12/07/2016
• 168 Complaints: Wed, 12/21/2016

Quick analysis: Happy Holidays: FDCPA to crack 10k, TCPA to miss important milestone…

Well, with the year almost over, it seems safe to make a couple of predictions about how consumer litigation will shake out for 2016.

First, FDCPA cases will break 10k for the year 2016 in December, but it will fall far short from matching 2015’s final tally of 11,813 cases with a decline of 12.4% so far for 2016. Both years fall short of 2011’s record number of 12,226 suits. We can expect FDCPA filings for 2016 to settle somewhere around 10.5k for the year, up from November’s YTD total of 9617.

Second, TCPA had a shot, briefly, of hitting a record 5k cases for the year – well above 2015’s 3687 cases. But that shot seems remote now thanks to a weaker-than-normal November. The 2016 eleven-month tally sits at 4499. To hit 5k, there would have to be at least 501 cases in December – a number that has never yet quite been reached. The highest we have seen to date is from last march when there were 472 cases filed. Expect TCPA to settle in the high 4k’s, maybe (but not necessarily) breaking 4900, with a growth rate of 32.8% so far for 2016.

Then there is FCRA. This is the year that FCRA gave way to TCPA as the 2nd largest cause of action in consumer filings after FDCPA. Still growing at an aggressive rate of 8.4% over 2015, the third most popular cause of action should settle somewhere just north of 4k suits for the year.

Finally, on the subject of CFPB complaints, there is good reason to believe 2016 complaints will overtake 2015’s numbers after being behind all year long. For most of 2016, CFPB complaints were trailing 6%-10% behind 2015 numbers. However, in just the last three months complaints have quickly closed the gap (Sept 3.9%, Oct 2.2%, Nov 1.1%). If that momentum is simply maintained, the year will have yet another dramatic photo-finish with an unexpected winner.

Read on for the numbers!

Complaint Statistics:

3027 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors and about 1216 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Nov 01, 2016 to Nov 30, 2016. Here is an approximate breakdown:

• 3027 CFPB Complaints
• 738 FDCPA, 144 Class Action (19.5%)
• 328 TCPA, 66 Class Action (20.1%)
• 389 FCRA, 31 Class Action (8.0%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1216 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 441, or (36%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 3055 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 152 different US District Court branches.
• About 924 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 80 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 71 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 68 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Los Angeles
• 57 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 55 Lawsuits: California Northern District Court – San Francisco
• 47 Lawsuits: California Northern District Court – Oakland
• 37 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
• 36 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis
• 35 Lawsuits: New Jersey District Court – Newark
• 35 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Central Islip

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 90 Consumers: ELLIOT WAYNE GALE
• Representing 44 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 34 Consumers: SCOTT JOSEPH SAGARIA
• Representing 34 Consumers: SCOTT MATTHEW JOHNSON
• Representing 28 Consumers: PAUL JONATHAN SIEG
• Representing 25 Consumers: LOUIS D DAGOSTINO
• Representing 25 Consumers: EDMOND E KOESTER
• Representing 25 Consumers: CLAY C BROOKER
• Representing 25 Consumers: SARA ELIZABETH HANLEY
• Representing 22 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS

Statistics Year to Date:
14671 total lawsuits for 2016, including:

• 9617 FDCPA
• 3680 FCRA
• 4499 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2016: 13384 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 403 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 370 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 315 Consumers: ELLIOT WAYNE GALE
• Representing 274 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 271 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 268 Consumers: PAUL JONATHAN SIEG
• Representing 255 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 240 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
• Representing 238 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
• Representing 237 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG

——————————————————————————————————-
CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 3027 complaints filed against debt collectors from Nov 01, 2016 to Nov 30, 2016.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 737

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1000 Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.) (33%)
• 610 I do not know (20%)
• 522 Credit card (17%)
• 481 Medical (16%)
• 160 Payday loan (5%)
• 102 Mortgage (3%)
• 89 Auto (3%)
• 33 Federal student loan (1%)
• 30 Non-federal student loan (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1307 Contd attempts collect debt not owed (43%)
• 874 Disclosure verification of debt (29%)
• 338 Communication tactics (11%)
• 190 False statements or representation (6%)
• 158 Improper contact or sharing of info (5%)
• 155 Taking/threatening an illegal action (5%)
• 5 Cont’d attempts collect debt not owed (%)

The top five subissues were:

• 765 Debt is not mine (25%)
• 662 Not given enough info to verify debt (22%)
• 347 Debt was paid (11%)
• 193 Frequent or repeated calls (6%)
• 161 Debt resulted from identity theft (5%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 414 Complaints: CA
• 334 Complaints: TX
• 296 Complaints: FL
• 199 Complaints: NY
• 182 Complaints: GA
• 110 Complaints: IL
• 107 Complaints: NJ
• 91 Complaints: NC
• 90 Complaints: MD
• 88 Complaints: PA

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 3027 (100%)

This includes 2733 (90%) timely responses to complaints, and 294 (10%) untimely responses.

Of the company responses, consumers accepted 0 (%) of them, disputed 362 (12%) of them, and 2665 (88%) were N\A.

The top five days for complaints were:

• 163 Complaints: Tue, 11/01/2016
• 157 Complaints: Thu, 11/03/2016
• 156 Complaints: Tue, 11/15/2016
• 145 Complaints: Tue, 11/08/2016
• 142 Complaints: Mon, 11/07/2016

Quick analysis: October was a mixed bag compared to September: FDPCA was down by 10.3%, FCRA up by a whopping 25.4% and TCPA essentially broke even with 450 cases, up just one from September’s 249.

Even though TCPA was unmoved, it did reach an important milestone with another one very likely imminent. It smashed through the 4000 barrier for the first time ever with 4164 suits filed so far in 2016. That is up 33.7% from 2015’s 3115 filings at this same time.

But, if TCPA filings continue at the same rate they have been going, it is on track to also smash through the 5000 filings barrier by the end of the year.

Think about that for a while…

In other YTD news, FDCPA seems pretty locked in to a 12%ish decline over 2015, effectively unmoved from there since summer with the decline consistently landing in the range of 10.9% to 13.2% each month since June. And FCRA seems to be headed for an increase of 8%-10%, if current trends hold.

There are lots of interesting data points buried in the stats below, for those interested in digging them out. Enjoy!

Complaint Statistics:

3103 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors and about 1306 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Oct 01, 2016 to Oct 31, 2016. Here is an approximate breakdown:

• 3103 CFPB Complaints
• 832 FDCPA, 139 Class Action (16.7%)
• 450 TCPA, 91 Class Action (20.2%)
• 355 FCRA, 39 Class Action (11.0%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1306 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 468, or (36%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 1858 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 159 different US District Court branches.
• About 872 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 66 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 59 Lawsuits: California Northern District Court – San Francisco
• 48 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Central Islip
• 47 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 46 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Los Angeles
• 38 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 35 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 34 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
• 34 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 32 Lawsuits: California Northern District Court – Oakland

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 72 Consumers: ELLIOT WAYNE GALE
• Representing 65 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 53 Consumers: SCOTT JOSEPH SAGARIA
• Representing 52 Consumers: CHRIS R MILTENBERGER
• Representing 43 Consumers: SCOTT MATTHEW JOHNSON
• Representing 38 Consumers: JOSEPH BRIAN ANGELO
• Representing 37 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 37 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 27 Consumers: AMY LYNN BENNECOFF GINSBURG
• Representing 27 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG

Statistics Year to Date:
13414 total lawsuits for 2016, including:

• 8861 FDCPA
• 3285 FCRA
• 4164 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2016: 12309 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 388 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 326 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 252 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 251 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 245 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 240 Consumers: PAUL JONATHAN SIEG
• Representing 225 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 223 Consumers: ELLIOT WAYNE GALE
• Representing 220 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
• Representing 219 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN

——————————————————————————————————-
CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 3103 complaints filed against debt collectors from Oct 01, 2016 to Oct 31, 2016.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 728

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1022 Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.) (33%)
• 607 I do not know (20%)
• 543 Credit card (17%)
• 538 Medical (17%)
• 120 Payday loan (4%)
• 92 Mortgage (3%)
• 88 Auto (3%)
• 48 Non-federal student loan (2%)
• 45 Federal student loan (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1227 Cont’d attempts collect debt not owed (40%)
• 931 Disclosure verification of debt (30%)
• 351 Communication tactics (11%)
• 222 False statements or representation (7%)
• 219 Improper contact or sharing of info (7%)
• 153 Taking/threatening an illegal action (5%)

The top five subissues were:

• 701 Not given enough info to verify debt (23%)
• 690 Debt is not mine (22%)
• 363 Debt was paid (12%)
• 203 Frequent or repeated calls (7%)
• 187 Right to dispute notice not received (6%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 387 Complaints: CA
• 332 Complaints: TX
• 317 Complaints: FL
• 208 Complaints: GA
• 189 Complaints: NY
• 109 Complaints: NJ
• 107 Complaints: NC
• 98 Complaints: PA
• 90 Complaints: IL
• 88 Complaints: OH

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 3103 (100%)

This includes 2903 (94%) timely responses to complaints, and 200 (6%) untimely responses.

Of the company responses, consumers accepted 0 (%) of them, disputed 466 (15%) of them, and 2637 (85%) were N\A.

The top five days for complaints were:

• 178 Complaints: Wed, 10/05/2016
• 161 Complaints: Tue, 10/11/2016
• 157 Complaints: Mon, 10/03/2016
• 151 Complaints: Wed, 10/12/2016
• 150 Complaints: Wed, 10/26/2016

Quick analysis: Do you remember… when September was still unpredictable?

FDCPA filings in September had an almost 10% increase over those in August, while FCRA dipped by 26% and TCPA reversed a big August slump and grew by almost 14%. However, all statutes are still on track to fulfill destinies that were set early this year.

In other words, it was a chaotic month that barely had an impact on the overall filing trends. Welcome to our world.

One interesting little related observation… while monthly numbers have been all over the place, there is one set of numbers that have not once broken form this year: YTD trends. Every single month in 2016 has had FDCPA down from the same month in 2015, while every single month in 2016 has seen both TCPA and FCRA up over the same month in 2015.

Another interesting little observation… This happens to be the month that FDCPA filings have officially dipped to more than 1000 below this time in 2015, and that TCPA filings have officially surpassed 2015 filings by more than 1000.

Crazy, no? It is not hard to put together where all of those FDCPA lawsuits are going…

On to the stats:

Complaint Statistics:

3120 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors and about 1341 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Sep 01, 2016 to Sep 30, 2016. Here is an approximate breakdown:

• 3120 CFPB Complaints
• 927 FDCPA, 161 Class Action (17.4%)
• 449 TCPA, 119 Class Action (26.5%)
• 283 FCRA, 26 Class Action (9.2%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1341 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 541, or (40%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 3671 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 168 different US District Court branches.
• About 986 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 117 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 70 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 64 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Los Angeles
• 48 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 45 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 39 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
• 35 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Southern Division – Santa Ana
• 33 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
• 32 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
• 30 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 54 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 37 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
• Representing 37 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
• Representing 34 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 33 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 33 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 32 Consumers: CELETHA CHATMAN
• Representing 32 Consumers: MICHAEL JACOB WOOD
• Representing 27 Consumers: AMY LYNN BENNECOFF GINSBURG
• Representing 23 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM

Statistics Year to Date:
12125 total lawsuits for 2016, including:

• 8027 FDCPA
• 2930 FCRA
• 3712 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2016: 11154 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 351 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 289 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 229 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 227 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 219 Consumers: PAUL JONATHAN SIEG
• Representing 209 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 198 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 194 Consumers: MICHAEL JACOB WOOD
• Representing 193 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
• Representing 191 Consumers: CELETHA CHATMAN

——————————————————————————————————-
CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 3120 complaints filed against debt collectors from Sep 01, 2016 to Sep 30, 2016.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 734

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 998 Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.) (32%)
• 657 I do not know (21%)
• 533 Credit card (17%)
• 516 Medical (17%)
• 119 Mortgage (4%)
• 112 Payday loan (4%)
• 88 Auto (3%)
• 60 Non-federal student loan (2%)
• 37 Federal student loan (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1286 Cont’d attempts collect debt not owed (41%)
• 863 Disclosure verification of debt (28%)
• 374 Communication tactics (12%)
• 248 False statements or representation (8%)
• 182 Improper contact or sharing of info (6%)
• 167 Taking/threatening an illegal action (5%)

The top five subissues were:

• 710 Debt is not mine (23%)
• 634 Not given enough info to verify debt (20%)
• 377 Debt was paid (12%)
• 216 Frequent or repeated calls (7%)
• 201 Attempted to collect wrong amount (6%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 371 Complaints: CA
• 365 Complaints: TX
• 307 Complaints: FL
• 191 Complaints: NY
• 181 Complaints: GA
• 115 Complaints: IL
• 103 Complaints: PA
• 102 Complaints: OH
• 100 Complaints: AZ
• 99 Complaints: NJ

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 3120 (100%)

This includes 2883 (92%) timely responses to complaints, and 237 (8%) untimely responses.

Of the company responses, consumers accepted 0 (%) of them, disputed 483 (15%) of them, and 2637 (85%) were N\A.

The top five days for complaints were:

• 160 Complaints: Thu, 09/29/2016
• 156 Complaints: Thu, 09/15/2016
• 156 Complaints: Thu, 09/22/2016
• 149 Complaints: Wed, 09/07/2016
• 141 Complaints: Mon, 09/12/2016

Quick analysis: August… same as it ever was.

With one slight exception, August continued many of the patterns that have become common this year. That exception? FDCPA lawsuits snapped a five-month losing streak in terms of month-over-month filings. Even so, it was only with a 1.4% increase, and it wasn’t enough to break the YTD trend which still dropped a bit from 12.8% last month to 13.2% this month.

Beyond FDCPA, TCPA filings were down a bit (10.2%) from the previous month, but are still up 39.7% YTD. And FCRA filings were up a lot from the previous month (39.6%) and are up 19.4% YTD.

CFPB complaint filings had a robust month as well, up just over 30% from the previous month. That helps to knock the long-time YTD trend of complaints lagging around 10% behind last year to its lowest point of 7% down from this time last year.

Fun Facts:

• For July 2016, 36% of all consumer litigation plaintiffs had sued at least once before under consumer litigation statutes.
• About 958 different companies were sued, up 7.2% over the 894 last month. And 819 different debt collectors were complained about to the CFPB, about 14.5% higher than last month’s 715.
• The percentage of suits filed as putative class actions were all over the board, with 16% for FDCPA, 20% for TCPA and only 6.9% for FCRA.
• California attorney Elliot Wayne Gale represented the most consumers for the month with 56 and California attorney Todd M. Friedman had the most consumers YTD with 289.

Complaint Statistics:

3954 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors and about 1382 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Aug 01, 2016 to Aug 31, 2016. Here is an approximate breakdown:

• 3954 CFPB Complaints
• 844 FDCPA, 135 Class Action (16.0%)
• 395 TCPA, 79 Class Action (20.0%)
• 377 FCRA, 26 Class Action (6.9%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1382 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 491, or (36%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2700 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 160 different US District Court branches.
• About 958 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 94 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 84 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Los Angeles
• 61 Lawsuits: California Northern District Court – San Jose
• 60 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 46 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 46 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 44 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
• 37 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
• 36 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 35 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 56 Consumers: ELLIOT WAYNE GALE
• Representing 48 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 39 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 31 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 31 Consumers: JOHN D BLYTHIN
• Representing 31 Consumers: ADAM KLEIN
• Representing 28 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 26 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 25 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
• Representing 25 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN

Statistics Year to Date:
10714 total lawsuits for 2016, including:

• 7093 FDCPA
• 2639 FCRA
• 3254 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2016: 9980 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 289 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 255 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 209 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 200 Consumers: PAUL JONATHAN SIEG
• Representing 193 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 192 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 177 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 162 Consumers: MICHAEL JACOB WOOD
• Representing 159 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 159 Consumers: CELETHA CHATMAN

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 3954 complaints filed against debt collectors from Aug 01, 2016 to Aug 31, 2016.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 819

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1284 Other (i.e. phone, health club, etc.) (32%)
• 875 Credit card (22%)
• 738 I do not know (19%)
• 574 Medical (15%)
• 134 Mortgage (3%)
• 121 Payday loan (3%)
• 105 Auto (3%)
• 67 Non-federal student loan (2%)
• 56 Federal student loan (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1459 Cont’d attempts collect debt not owed (37%)
• 1306 Disclosure verification of debt (33%)
• 489 Communication tactics (12%)
• 268 False statements or representation (7%)
• 230 Improper contact or sharing of info (6%)
• 202 Taking/threatening an illegal action (5%)

The top five subissues were:

• 1044 Not given enough info to verify debt (26%)
• 813 Debt is not mine (21%)
• 422 Debt was paid (11%)
• 292 Frequent or repeated calls (7%)
• 210 Attempted to collect wrong amount (5%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 498 Complaints: CA
• 437 Complaints: TX
• 415 Complaints: FL
• 224 Complaints: NY
• 204 Complaints: GA
• 137 Complaints: IL
• 119 Complaints: OH
• 107 Complaints: AZ
• 106 Complaints: NJ
• 105 Complaints: PA

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 3954 (100%)

This includes 3637 (92%) timely responses to complaints, and 317 (8%) untimely responses.

Of the company responses, consumers accepted 0 (%) of them, disputed 527 (13%) of them, and 3427 (87%) were N\A.

The top five days for complaints were:

• 248 Complaints: Thu, 08/11/2016
• 208 Complaints: Mon, 08/29/2016
• 202 Complaints: Tue, 08/16/2016
• 201 Complaints: Tue, 08/23/2016
• 186 Complaints: Tue, 08/09/2016