Blog/ Litigation Stats

Quick analysis: Down December & Year in Review

The final stats of 2023 are in and for the first time since June, they show the big three statutes (TCPA -4.3%, FDCPA -.3%, FCRA -14.1%) all down from the previous month. CFPB complaints ended the month up +9.4%.

It’s been another wild year of swings for all of the big three, with two of them (FDCPA -8.2%, FCRA -.9%) ending the year down while TCPA (+9.4%) staged somewhat of a roaring comeback after two years of drops. CFPB complaints ended the year up +2.1% over 2022.

Here are a couple of graphs that show the evolution of consumer complaints over the last four years.

This one is the same data as above, but presented differently.

And here is the CFPB year-over-year data.

In other news, putative class actions represented 6.6% of FDCPA, 57.1% of TCPA and 2.8% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 40% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, Delray Beach, FL attorney Jennifer Gomes Simil (out of Jibrael Hindi’s firm) gets her first crack at the top spot for representing the most consumers in December (19) while Atlanta attorney Matthew Thomas Berry seals his position as the most active consumer attorney of the year with 188 consumers represented in all of 2023.

Complaint Statistics:

5954 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 744 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Dec 01, 2023 to Dec 31, 2023.

• 5954 CFPB Complaints
• 365 FDCPA, 24 Class Action (6.6%)
• 112 TCPA, 64 Class Action (57.1%)
• 428 FCRA, 12 Class Action (2.8%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 744 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 300, or (40%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2624 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 135 different US District Court branches.
• About 507 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 53 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 41 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 30 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 28 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 24 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 21 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Miami
• 21 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Orlando
• 21 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis
• 20 Lawsuits: Texas Northern District Court – Dallas
• 18 Lawsuits: Arizona District Court – Phoenix

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 19 Consumers: JENNIFER GOMES SIMIL
• Representing 16 Consumers: OCTAVIO GOMEZ
• Representing 15 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 14 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 13 Consumers: JOEL SPENCER HALVORSEN
• Representing 12 Consumers: ELLIOT ELO
• Representing 11 Consumers: ALEXANDER JAMES ADDUCCI TAYLOR
• Representing 10 Consumers: JONATHAN ALEXANDER HEEPS
• Representing 9 Consumers: JIBRAEL S HINDI
• Representing 9 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR

Statistics Year to Date:
9966 total lawsuits for 2023, including:

• 4165 FDCPA
• 5587 FCRA
• 1683 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2023: 8657 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 188 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 181 Consumers: OCTAVIO GOMEZ
• Representing 148 Consumers: JOEL SPENCER HALVORSEN
• Representing 131 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
• Representing 124 Consumers: JOSEPH POWELL MCCLELLAND
• Representing 124 Consumers: SHAWN SHAWN JAFFER
• Representing 115 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
• Representing 110 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 101 Consumers: JOHN THOMAS STEINKAMP
• Representing 99 Consumers: YITZCHAK ZELMAN

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 5954 complaints filed against debt collectors from Dec 01, 2023 to Dec 31, 2023.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 756

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1934 I do not know (32%)
• 1452 Credit card debt (24%)
• 697 Other debt (12%)
• 459 Medical debt (8%)
• 427 Rental debt (7%)
• 416 Telecommunications debt (7%)
• 305 Auto debt (5%)
• 114 Payday loan debt (2%)
• 58 Mortgage debt (1%)
• 52 Federal student loan debt (1%)
• 40 Private student loan debt (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 2854 Attempts to collect debt not owed (48%)
• 1616 Written notification about debt (27%)
• 495 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (8%)
• 422 False statements or representation (7%)
• 393 Communication tactics (7%)
• 95 Electronic communications (2%)
• 79 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (1%)

The top five subissues were:

• 1378 Debt is not yours (23%)
• 1339 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (22%)
• 978 Debt was result of identity theft (16%)
• 405 Debt was paid (7%)
• 335 Attempted to collect wrong amount (6%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 850 Complaints: CA
• 702 Complaints: TX
• 675 Complaints: FL
• 449 Complaints: NY
• 382 Complaints: GA
• 222 Complaints: NC
• 189 Complaints: NJ
• 186 Complaints: IL
• 172 Complaints: PA
• 156 Complaints: VA

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

• 3866 Closed with explanation (65%)
• 1212 In progress (20%)
• 775 Closed with non-monetary relief (13%)
• 80 Untimely response (1%)
• 21 Closed with monetary relief (0%)

This includes 5823 (98%) timely responses to complaints, and 131 (2%) untimely responses.

Quick analysis: With just December consumer litigation left to tabulate in the coming weeks, 2023 YTD looks to have shaken out like this…

TCPA is up (+8.9%), FCRA is about even (-.3%) and FDCPA is down (-10.3%).

The die appears to be cast for one of the most interesting spreads in memory. The only real question left is if FCRA lawsuits in December will tip the tally above the zero point to end in slim positive territory or not. Either way, it will be pretty close with the big three diverging in the most balanced pattern we can remember.

For the month of November 2023, only FCRA (+2.7%) was in positive territory, while TCPA (-9.3%) and FDCPA (-11.6%) were both down. CFPB complaints were down (-2.7%) for the month but up (+.3%) YTD.

In other news, putative class actions represented 9% of FDCPA, 66.7%(!) of TCPA and 1.6% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 41% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, St. Louis attorney Joel Spencer Halvorsen represented the most consumers in November (25) while Atlanta attorney Matthew Thomas Berry retains the top spot for representing the most consumers YTD (173) so far in 2023.

Complaint Statistics:

5382 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 818 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Nov 01, 2023 to Nov 30, 2023.

• 5382 CFPB Complaints
• 366 FDCPA, 33 Class Action (9.0%)
• 117 TCPA, 78 Class Action (66.7%)
• 498 FCRA, 8 Class Action (1.6%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 818 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 339, or (41%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 4288 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 146 different US District Court branches.
• About 528 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 56 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 39 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 31 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 31 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 29 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 25 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis
• 18 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Southern Division – Santa Ana
• 18 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
• 17 Lawsuits: Alabama Northern District Court – Southern
• 17 Lawsuits: New Jersey District Court – Newark

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 25 Consumers: JOEL SPENCER HALVORSEN
• Representing 19 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 19 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
• Representing 14 Consumers: YITZCHAK ZELMAN
• Representing 14 Consumers: SHAWN SHAWN JAFFER
• Representing 13 Consumers: OCTAVIO GOMEZ
• Representing 13 Consumers: M STAN HERRING
• Representing 13 Consumers: JOHN G WATTS
• Representing 13 Consumers: FRANK H KERNEY
• Representing 12 Consumers: PATRICIA S LOCKHART

Statistics Year to Date:
9196 total lawsuits for 2023, including:

• 3800 FDCPA
• 5159 FCRA
• 1571 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2023: 8040 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 173 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 165 Consumers: OCTAVIO GOMEZ
• Representing 135 Consumers: JOEL SPENCER HALVORSEN
• Representing 122 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
• Representing 120 Consumers: JOSEPH POWELL MCCLELLAND
• Representing 116 Consumers: SHAWN SHAWN JAFFER
• Representing 111 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
• Representing 101 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 93 Consumers: JOHN THOMAS STEINKAMP
• Representing 91 Consumers: YITZCHAK ZELMAN

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 5382 complaints filed against debt collectors from Nov 01, 2023 to Nov 30, 2023.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 722

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1634 I do not know (30%)
• 1276 Credit card debt (24%)
• 721 Other debt (13%)
• 431 Telecommunications debt (8%)
• 419 Medical debt (8%)
• 379 Rental debt (7%)
• 265 Auto debt (5%)
• 98 Payday loan debt (2%)
• 88 Mortgage debt (2%)
• 42 Federal student loan debt (1%)
• 29 Private student loan debt (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 2604 Attempts to collect debt not owed (48%)
• 1383 Written notification about debt (26%)
• 448 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (8%)
• 384 False statements or representation (7%)
• 352 Communication tactics (7%)
• 123 Electronic communications (2%)
• 88 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)

The top five subissues were:

• 1378 Debt is not yours (26%)
• 1150 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (21%)
• 785 Debt was result of identity theft (15%)
• 364 Debt was paid (7%)
• 291 Attempted to collect wrong amount (5%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 778 Complaints: CA
• 585 Complaints: FL
• 579 Complaints: TX
• 387 Complaints: NY
• 370 Complaints: GA
• 212 Complaints: PA
• 191 Complaints: IL
• 176 Complaints: NC
• 175 Complaints: NJ
• 147 Complaints: VA

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

• 3630 Closed with explanation (67%)
• 993 In progress (18%)
• 679 Closed with non-monetary relief (13%)
• 57 Untimely response (1%)
• 23 Closed with monetary relief (0%)

This includes 5274 (98%) timely responses to complaints, and 108 (2%) untimely responses.

Quick analysis: The Pendulum…

September saw the consumer complaint pendulum keep on swinging. After August’s big month for lawsuits, most were back down in the month-over-month comparisons. FCRA suits were the exception – while FCRA had been the one consistent growth area in consumer litigation over the last couple of years, they’ve tended to swing with the same volatility as the other statutes in recent months. In September, FCRA was once again the one growth area on our chart with a +6.5% increase over August, while FDCPA (-4.8%) and TCPA (-1.9%) were both down.

Meanwhile, when you look at YTD comparisons, only TCPA suits (+13.1%) were up wile FDCPA (-18.1%) and FCRA (-3.7%) were down for the year.

CFPB complaints were also down again, dropping -17.6% for the month and down -4% YTD.

In other news, putative class actions represented 6.4% of FDCPA, 57.4% of TCPA and 2.9% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 43% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, Texas attorney Shawn Jaffer took the top spot for the first time by representing the most consumers in September (18) while Tampa-area attorney Octavio Gomez has represented the most consumers YTD (140) so far in 2023.

Complaint Statistics:

4849 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 844 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Sep 01, 2023 to Sep 30, 2023.

• 4849 CFPB Complaints
• 360 FDCPA, 23 Class Action (6.4%)
• 155 TCPA, 89 Class Action (57.4%)
• 526 FCRA, 15 Class Action (2.9%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 844 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 365, or (43%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 3000 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 158 different US District Court branches.
• About 595 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 67 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 43 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 37 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 35 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 33 Lawsuits: Texas Southern District Court – Houston
• 30 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis
• 25 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Southern Division – Santa Ana
• 21 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Orlando
• 19 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
• 17 Lawsuits: Texas Northern District Court – Dallas

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 18 Consumers: SHAWN SHAWN JAFFER
• Representing 16 Consumers: OCTAVIO GOMEZ
• Representing 14 Consumers: YITZCHAK ZELMAN
• Representing 14 Consumers: JOEL SPENCER HALVORSEN
• Representing 14 Consumers: JOHN THOMAS STEINKAMP
• Representing 13 Consumers: GARRETT FORRESTER CHARITY
• Representing 12 Consumers: JOSEPH POWELL MCCLELLAND
• Representing 10 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 10 Consumers: JIMMY B MEEKS
• Representing 10 Consumers: J ROSS PEPPER

Statistics Year to Date:
7485 total lawsuits for 2023, including:

• 3019 FDCPA
• 4176 FCRA
• 1324 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2023: 6627 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 140 Consumers: OCTAVIO GOMEZ
• Representing 136 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 109 Consumers: JOSEPH POWELL MCCLELLAND
• Representing 96 Consumers: JOEL SPENCER HALVORSEN
• Representing 96 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
• Representing 93 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
• Representing 85 Consumers: SHAWN SHAWN JAFFER
• Representing 78 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 77 Consumers: JOHN THOMAS STEINKAMP
• Representing 75 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 4849 complaints filed against debt collectors from Sep 01, 2023 to Sep 30, 2023.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 716

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1258 I do not know (26%)
• 1126 Credit card debt (23%)
• 747 Other debt (15%)
• 504 Medical debt (10%)
• 434 Telecommunications debt (9%)
• 368 Rental debt (8%)
• 212 Auto debt (4%)
• 108 Payday loan debt (2%)
• 34 Mortgage debt (1%)
• 31 Private student loan debt (1%)
• 27 Federal student loan debt (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 2674 Attempts to collect debt not owed (55%)
• 851 Written notification about debt (18%)
• 476 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (10%)
• 341 Communication tactics (7%)
• 313 False statements or representation (6%)
• 116 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)
• 78 Electronic communications (2%)

The top five subissues were:

• 1338 Debt is not yours (28%)
• 923 Debt was result of identity theft (19%)
• 542 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (11%)
• 327 Debt was paid (7%)
• 275 Didnt receive notice of right to dispute (6%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 562 Complaints: FL
• 551 Complaints: TX
• 446 Complaints: CA
• 417 Complaints: GA
• 228 Complaints: PA
• 203 Complaints: NY
• 199 Complaints: IL
• 185 Complaints: NC
• 136 Complaints: VA
• 129 Complaints: MD

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

• 3595 Closed with explanation (74%)
• 678 In progress (14%)
• 519 Closed with non-monetary relief (11%)
• 45 Untimely response (1%)
• 12 Closed with monetary relief (0%)

This includes 4768 (98%) timely responses to complaints, and 81 (2%) untimely responses.

Quick analysis: The Roller Coaster Continues

After a down June and a mixed July, lawsuits and complaints were up across the board again in August. FDCPA complaints (+15%) led the pack with FCRA (+6.5%) and TCPA (+5.3%) following. In spite of all the month-over-month increases, only TCPA (+13.2%) remains up YTD, with FDCPA (-21.4%) and FCRA (-5.8%) having some ground to recover if they are going to break even with (or surpass) 2022.

CFPB complaints against creditors and debt collectors were also up for the month (+4.1%) and down for the year (-5.3%).

In other news, putative class actions represented 8.8% of FDCPA, 58.2% of TCPA and 3.5% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 38% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, Tampa-area attorney Octavio Gomez represented the most consumers in August (23) while Atlanta attorney Matthew Thomas Berry has represented the most consumers YTD (126) so far in 2023.

Complaint Statistics:

5692 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 871 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Aug 01, 2023 to Aug 31, 2023.

• 5692 CFPB Complaints
• 376 FDCPA, 33 Class Action (8.8%)
• 158 TCPA, 92 Class Action (58.2%)
• 492 FCRA, 17 Class Action (3.5%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 871 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 329, or (38%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 9306 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 152 different US District Court branches.
• About 569 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 63 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 44 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 39 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 34 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 26 Lawsuits: Texas Northern District Court – Dallas
• 24 Lawsuits: Minnesota District Court – Dmn
• 23 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Southern Division – Santa Ana
• 23 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis
• 21 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
• 20 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 23 Consumers: OCTAVIO GOMEZ
• Representing 17 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 17 Consumers: JOEL SPENCER HALVORSEN
• Representing 14 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 14 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
• Representing 13 Consumers: MATTHEW P FORSBERG
• Representing 13 Consumers: JOSEPH POWELL MCCLELLAND
• Representing 13 Consumers: JONATHAN ALEXANDER HEEPS
• Representing 13 Consumers: JOHN THOMAS STEINKAMP
• Representing 11 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR

Statistics Year to Date:
6600 total lawsuits for 2023, including:

• 2655 FDCPA
• 3644 FCRA
• 1169 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2023: 5897 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 126 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 122 Consumers: OCTAVIO GOMEZ
• Representing 97 Consumers: JOSEPH POWELL MCCLELLAND
• Representing 87 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
• Representing 86 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
• Representing 82 Consumers: JOEL SPENCER HALVORSEN
• Representing 72 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 72 Consumers: ALLEN EDGAR ROBERTSON
• Representing 69 Consumers: AHREN A TILLER
• Representing 68 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 5692 complaints filed against debt collectors from Aug 01, 2023 to Aug 31, 2023.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 778

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1505 Other debt (26%)
• 1434 I do not know (25%)
• 1430 Credit card debt (25%)
• 572 Medical debt (10%)
• 280 Auto debt (5%)
• 126 Payday loan debt (2%)
• 113 Telecommunications debt (2%)
• 90 Rental debt (2%)
• 68 Mortgage debt (1%)
• 46 Federal student loan debt (1%)
• 28 Private student loan debt (0%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 3096 Attempts to collect debt not owed (54%)
• 952 Written notification about debt (17%)
• 537 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (9%)
• 483 False statements or representation (8%)
• 454 Communication tactics (8%)
• 150 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (3%)
• 20 Electronic communications (0%)

The top five subissues were:

• 1490 Debt is not yours (26%)
• 1048 Debt was result of identity theft (18%)
• 644 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (11%)
• 476 Debt was paid (8%)
• 386 Attempted to collect wrong amount (7%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 712 Complaints: TX
• 684 Complaints: FL
• 511 Complaints: CA
• 399 Complaints: GA
• 271 Complaints: NY
• 268 Complaints: IL
• 243 Complaints: PA
• 207 Complaints: NC
• 165 Complaints: OH
• 165 Complaints: MI

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

• 4132 Closed with explanation (73%)
• 855 In progress (15%)
• 621 Closed with non-monetary relief (11%)
• 53 Untimely response (1%)
• 31 Closed with monetary relief (1%)

This includes 5580 (98%) timely responses to complaints, and 112 (2%) untimely responses.

Quick analysis: Quick analysis: Mixed Results

Well, it was bound to happen. Statistically speaking, anyway. For the first time I can remember in nearly 15 years of tracking these numbers, we had a 0.0% month-over-month change in one of the statutes (TCPA). Relevant? No. Meaningful? Also no. But interesting to me nonetheless, and since I write these things, it gets top billing. 🙂

After an all- down month in June, July’s numbers were decidedly more mixed. FDCPA (+2.8%) and FCRA (+2.4%) were up slightly while TCPA (0.0%) had no change whatsover. Year-to-date, the script was flipped with FDCPA (-24.1%) and FCRA (-6.4%) both down while TCPA (+16.8) is up.

CFPB complaints against collectors and creditors were down again both for the month (-8.4%) and for the year (-8.2%).

In other news, putative class actions represented 7.3% of FDCPA, 66.2% of TCPA (!) and 2.2% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 41% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, Tampa-area attorney Octavio Gomez represented the most consumers in July (23) while Atlanta attorney Matthew Thomas Berry has represented the most consumers YTD (112) so far in 2023.

Complaint Statistics:

5174 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 791 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Jul 01, 2023 to Jul 31, 2023.

• 5174 CFPB Complaints
• 327 FDCPA, 24 Class Action (7.3%)
• 148 TCPA, 98 Class Action (66.2%)
• 462 FCRA, 10 Class Action (2.2%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 791 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 322, or (41%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2907 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 146 different US District Court branches.
• About 621 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 55 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 41 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 28 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 26 Lawsuits: Texas Northern District Court – Dallas
• 21 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 19 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 19 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Orlando
• 19 Lawsuits: Texas Southern District Court – Houston
• 19 Lawsuits: Iowa Southern District Court – Central
• 18 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 23 Consumers: OCTAVIO GOMEZ
• Representing 16 Consumers: JOSEPH POWELL MCCLELLAND
• Representing 13 Consumers: JOEL SPENCER HALVORSEN
• Representing 13 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 13 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 9 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 9 Consumers: JOHN THOMAS STEINKAMP
• Representing 9 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
• Representing 9 Consumers: NKEM AMADI HOUSE
• Representing 9 Consumers: YITZCHAK ZELMAN

Statistics Year to Date:
5688 total lawsuits for 2023, including:

• 2279 FDCPA
• 3152 FCRA
• 1009 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2023: 5132 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 112 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 99 Consumers: OCTAVIO GOMEZ
• Representing 84 Consumers: JOSEPH POWELL MCCLELLAND
• Representing 76 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
• Representing 72 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
• Representing 67 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 65 Consumers: JOEL SPENCER HALVORSEN
• Representing 64 Consumers: ALLEN EDGAR ROBERTSON
• Representing 59 Consumers: AHREN A TILLER
• Representing 59 Consumers: KYLE W SCHUMACHER

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 5174 complaints filed against debt collectors from Jul 01, 2023 to Jul 31, 2023.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 750

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1495 Other debt (29%)
• 1408 I do not know (27%)
• 1297 Credit card debt (25%)
• 501 Medical debt (10%)
• 247 Auto debt (5%)
• 95 Payday loan debt (2%)
• 60 Mortgage debt (1%)
• 46 Private student loan debt (1%)
• 25 Federal student loan debt (0%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 2904 Attempts to collect debt not owed (56%)
• 804 Written notification about debt (16%)
• 522 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (10%)
• 441 False statements or representation (9%)
• 395 Communication tactics (8%)
• 108 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)

The top five subissues were:

• 1440 Debt is not yours (28%)
• 986 Debt was result of identity theft (19%)
• 511 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (10%)
• 384 Debt was paid (7%)
• 328 Attempted to collect wrong amount (6%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 655 Complaints: TX
• 619 Complaints: FL
• 474 Complaints: CA
• 399 Complaints: GA
• 289 Complaints: NY
• 219 Complaints: IL
• 203 Complaints: NC
• 194 Complaints: PA
• 149 Complaints: OH
• 141 Complaints: MI

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

• 3818 Closed with explanation (74%)
• 805 In progress (16%)
• 486 Closed with non-monetary relief (9%)
• 42 Untimely response (1%)
• 23 Closed with monetary relief (0%)

This includes 5087 (98%) timely responses to complaints, and 87 (2%) untimely responses.

Quick analysis: Another “Down” Month

Alright, this is kind of funny. The numbers have been swinging pretty wildly this year so far, because I just looked over the headlines of each month’s blog post and this is what they say:

• Jan: WebRecon Stats: 2023 Starts With Some Bite (Lawsuits Up)
• Feb: Feb 2023 WebRecon Stats: The Red Sea (Everything is down)
• Mar: WebRecon March 2023 Stats: Increased Complaints Across the Board
• Apr: WebRecon April 2023 Stats: Everything Down Again
• May: WebRecon May 2023 Stats: Everything Up Again
• And for June: WebRecon June 2023 Stats: Another “Down” Month

Seeing the pattern here? After everything was up in May, June’s numbers all dropped again. FDCPA (-3.6%), FCRA (-10.5%) and TCPA (-33.9%) were all down for the month, and FDCPA (-27%) and FCRA (-7.8%) are both down YTD as well – a surprising twist for FCRA year-over-year trending. Only TCPA (+17.1%) was up YTD, primarily due to a big plaintiff-boost last month in a few suits.

CFPB complaints against collectors and creditors were down both for the month (-12.5%) and for the year (-12.2%).

In other news, putative class actions represented 8.2% of FDCPA, 58.1% of TCPA (!) and 1.4% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 37% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, Chicago-area attorney James Parr represented the most consumers in June (28) while Atlanta attorney Matthew Thomas Berry has represented the most consumers YTD (99) so far in 2023.

Complaint Statistics:

5190 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 784 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Jun 01, 2023 to Jun 30, 2023.

• 5190 CFPB Complaints
• 318 FDCPA, 26 Class Action (8.2%)
• 148 TCPA, 86 Class Action (58.1%)
• 451 FCRA, 10 Class Action (2.2%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 784 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 288, or (37%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2706 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 139 different US District Court branches.
• About 541 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 66 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 37 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 37 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 28 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 26 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 22 Lawsuits: Texas Northern District Court – Dallas
• 21 Lawsuits: Texas Southern District Court – Houston
• 19 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis
• 19 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Orlando
• 19 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Southern Division – Santa Ana

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 28 Consumers: JAMES J PARR
• Representing 27 Consumers: OCTAVIO GOMEZ
• Representing 15 Consumers: JOSEPH POWELL MCCLELLAND
• Representing 12 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 11 Consumers: ALLEN EDGAR ROBERTSON
• Representing 11 Consumers: SHAWN SHAWN JAFFER
• Representing 11 Consumers: M STAN HERRING
• Representing 11 Consumers: JOHN G WATTS
• Representing 11 Consumers: FRANK H KERNEY
• Representing 10 Consumers: GREGORY MICHAEL KLOTE

Statistics Year to Date:
4858 total lawsuits for 2023, including:

• 1951 FDCPA
• 2690 FCRA
• 861 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2023: 4436 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 99 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 76 Consumers: OCTAVIO GOMEZ
• Representing 69 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
• Representing 68 Consumers: JOSEPH POWELL MCCLELLAND
• Representing 63 Consumers: ALLEN EDGAR ROBERTSON
• Representing 63 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
• Representing 56 Consumers: SHAWN SHAWN JAFFER
• Representing 55 Consumers: AHREN A TILLER
• Representing 54 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 52 Consumers: JOEL SPENCER HALVORSEN

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 5190 complaints filed against debt collectors from Jun 01, 2023 to Jun 30, 2023.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 751

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1589 Other debt (31%)
• 1416 I do not know (27%)
• 1165 Credit card debt (22%)
• 527 Medical debt (10%)
• 277 Auto debt (5%)
• 105 Payday loan debt (2%)
• 52 Mortgage debt (1%)
• 33 Private student loan debt (1%)
• 26 Federal student loan debt (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 2772 Attempts to collect debt not owed (53%)
• 890 Written notification about debt (17%)
• 542 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (10%)
• 470 False statements or representation (9%)
• 435 Communication tactics (8%)
• 81 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)

The top five subissues were:

• 1459 Debt is not yours (28%)
• 863 Debt was result of identity theft (17%)
• 584 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (11%)
• 362 Attempted to collect wrong amount (7%)
• 361 Debt was paid (7%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 633 Complaints: TX
• 620 Complaints: FL
• 415 Complaints: CA
• 391 Complaints: GA
• 238 Complaints: NY
• 234 Complaints: PA
• 220 Complaints: IL
• 180 Complaints: NC
• 171 Complaints: NJ
• 156 Complaints: TN

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

• 3853 Closed with explanation (74%)
• 796 In progress (15%)
• 481 Closed with non-monetary relief (9%)
• 42 Untimely response (1%)
• 18 Closed with monetary relief (0%)

This includes 5089 (98%) timely responses to complaints, and 101 (2%) untimely responses.

Quick analysis: After a slowdown in April, everything jumped up in May. How high? FDCPA was up +14.1%, FCRA was up +20% and TCPA was up a whopping 98.2%. YTD cases are still down in two out of three of those, with FDCPA down -28.5% and FCRA down -8.5% over 2022, while TCPA’s big month propelled it to a YTD gain of +17.6%.

Meanwhile, CFPB ticked down -.7% over the previous month and are down -15.4% for the year so far.

In other news, putative class actions represented 7.3% of FDCPA, 29.5% of TCPA and 1.4% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 38% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, Idaho attorneys Marta May Horton & Rafael Antonio Icaza and Utah attorney Rebecca Evans share credit for the most consumers represented in May (51) thanks to one big suit they represented together while Atlanta attorney Matthew Thomas Berry has represented the most consumers YTD (87) so far in 2023.

Complaint Statistics:

5521 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 939 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from May 01, 2023 to May 31, 2023.

• 5521 CFPB Complaints
• 331 FDCPA, 24 Class Action (7.3%)
• 224 TCPA, 66 Class Action (29.5%)
• 504 FCRA, 7 Class Action (1.4%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 939 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 360, or (38%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 3017 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 156 different US District Court branches.
• About 669 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 60 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 44 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 40 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 33 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 25 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
• 21 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
• 21 Lawsuits: Texas Northern District Court – Dallas
• 20 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Southern Division – Santa Ana
• 19 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 18 Lawsuits: Texas Western District Court – El Paso

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 51 Consumers: MARTA MAY HORTON
• Representing 51 Consumers: REBECCA EVANS
• Representing 51 Consumers: RAFAEL ANTONIO ICAZA
• Representing 49 Consumers: BENNETT HARTZ
• Representing 49 Consumers: ERIN BRIDGET LEAHY
• Representing 49 Consumers: GREGORY A MYSZKOWSKI
• Representing 49 Consumers: LINDSAY S DAWSON
• Representing 49 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER JJ LEONG
• Representing 49 Consumers: MICHAELA J HOHWIELER
• Representing 49 Consumers: KRISTIN SIMONS

Statistics Year to Date:
4022 total lawsuits for 2023, including:

• 1621 FDCPA
• 2229 FCRA
• 708 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2023: 3695 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 87 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 59 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
• Representing 54 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
• Representing 54 Consumers: JOSEPH POWELL MCCLELLAND
• Representing 52 Consumers: ALLEN EDGAR ROBERTSON
• Representing 51 Consumers: REBECCA EVANS
• Representing 51 Consumers: RAFAEL ANTONIO ICAZA
• Representing 51 Consumers: MARTA MAY HORTON
• Representing 49 Consumers: ELIN ALM
• Representing 49 Consumers: MINA SHAHIN

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 5521 complaints filed against debt collectors from May 01, 2023 to May 31, 2023.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 774

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1725 Other debt (31%)
• 1469 I do not know (27%)
• 1243 Credit card debt (23%)
• 571 Medical debt (10%)
• 258 Auto debt (5%)
• 115 Payday loan debt (2%)
• 89 Mortgage debt (2%)
• 29 Private student loan debt (1%)
• 22 Federal student loan debt (0%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 2972 Attempts to collect debt not owed (54%)
• 963 Written notification about debt (17%)
• 577 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (10%)
• 574 False statements or representation (10%)
• 327 Communication tactics (6%)
• 108 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)

The top five subissues were:

• 1493 Debt is not yours (27%)
• 982 Debt was result of identity theft (18%)
• 637 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (12%)
• 410 Debt was paid (7%)
• 379 Attempted to collect wrong amount (7%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 660 Complaints: TX
• 630 Complaints: FL
• 534 Complaints: CA
• 381 Complaints: GA
• 290 Complaints: NY
• 227 Complaints: IL
• 217 Complaints: PA
• 184 Complaints: NC
• 176 Complaints: NJ
• 170 Complaints: OH

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

• 4081 Closed with explanation (74%)
• 915 In progress (17%)
• 467 Closed with non-monetary relief (8%)
• 45 Untimely response (1%)
• 13 Closed with monetary relief (0%)

This includes 5418 (98%) timely responses to complaints, and 103 (2%) untimely responses.

Quick analysis: In April, everything was down again (mostly by double digits) after a short March rebound. How far down? FDCPA was down -16.2% for the month and -18.3% YTD. FCRA was down -10.1% for the month and -30.2% YTD. And TCPA was down -16.9% for the month, but was the only one still up a bit YTD – +2.5% over April 2022. CFPB complaints were also down, -16.2% for the month and -18.3% YTD.

In other news, putative class actions represented 6.6% of FDCPA, 46.9% of TCPA and 1.6% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 43% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, Atlanta attorney Matthew Thomas Berry represented the most consumers in March (25) as well as the most consumers YTD (71) so far in 2023.

Complaint Statistics:

5325 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 714 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Apr 01, 2023 to Apr 30, 2023.

• 5325 CFPB Complaints
• 290 FDCPA, 19 Class Action (6.6%)
• 113 TCPA, 53 Class Action (46.9%)
• 426 FCRA, 7 Class Action (1.6%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 714 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 310, or (43%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 3444 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 138 different US District Court branches.
• About 516 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 59 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 39 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 38 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 27 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 23 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Southern Division – Santa Ana
• 20 Lawsuits: Minnesota District Court – Dmn
• 19 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 19 Lawsuits: Texas Northern District Court – Dallas
• 16 Lawsuits: Texas Western District Court – Austin
• 16 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Miami

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 25 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 20 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
• Representing 18 Consumers: JOEL SPENCER HALVORSEN
• Representing 14 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 14 Consumers: OCTAVIO GOMEZ
• Representing 13 Consumers: ALLEN EDGAR ROBERTSON
• Representing 10 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 10 Consumers: SHAWN SHAWN JAFFER
• Representing 10 Consumers: GARRETT FORRESTER CHARITY
• Representing 9 Consumers: ROBERT LEACH

Statistics Year to Date:
3158 total lawsuits for 2023, including:

• 1298 FDCPA
• 1734 FCRA
• 489 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2023: 2858 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 71 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 50 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
• Representing 47 Consumers: ALLEN EDGAR ROBERTSON
• Representing 47 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
• Representing 41 Consumers: JOEL SPENCER HALVORSEN
• Representing 40 Consumers: SHAWN SHAWN JAFFER
• Representing 38 Consumers: JOSEPH POWELL MCCLELLAND
• Representing 38 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 37 Consumers: KYLE W SCHUMACHER
• Representing 37 Consumers: AHREN A TILLER

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 5325 complaints filed against debt collectors from Apr 01, 2023 to Apr 30, 2023.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 733

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1612 Other debt (30%)
• 1358 Credit card debt (26%)
• 1280 I do not know (24%)
• 568 Medical debt (11%)
• 258 Auto debt (5%)
• 107 Payday loan debt (2%)
• 77 Mortgage debt (1%)
• 35 Private student loan debt (1%)
• 30 Federal student loan debt (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 2804 Attempts to collect debt not owed (53%)
• 933 Written notification about debt (18%)
• 627 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (12%)
• 438 False statements or representation (8%)
• 430 Communication tactics (8%)
• 93 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)

The top five subissues were:

• 1452 Debt is not yours (27%)
• 859 Debt was result of identity theft (16%)
• 608 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (11%)
• 413 Debt was paid (8%)
• 343 Attempted to collect wrong amount (6%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 686 Complaints: TX
• 644 Complaints: FL
• 452 Complaints: CA
• 408 Complaints: GA
• 298 Complaints: NY
• 220 Complaints: IL
• 201 Complaints: NC
• 162 Complaints: PA
• 161 Complaints: NJ
• 150 Complaints: MI

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

• 3975 Closed with explanation (75%)
• 755 In progress (14%)
• 522 Closed with non-monetary relief (10%)
• 40 Closed with monetary relief (1%)
• 33 Untimely response (1%)

This includes 5213 (98%) timely responses to complaints, and 112 (2%) untimely responses.