WebRecon Feb 2026 Stats

Litigation Analysis

Quick analysis: TCPA Way Up, Everything Else Down for Feb

In February, TCPA (+33.3%) was the only consumer statute to increase its filings over January, while FDCPA (-11.1%) and FCRA (-5.9%) were both down. CFPB complaints (-13.6) were also down.In spite of that, due to the strong launch of consumer filings in January, everything is still up YTD - with TCPA (+26.8%), FDCPA (+18.5%) and FCRA (+37.4%) all showing strong resilience so far in 2026. Even CFPB complaints, in spite of a weak February, are still up +40.4% over this time last year.

In other news, putative class actions represented 2.3% of FDCPA, 72.3% of TCPA and 1.9% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. TCPA class actions are still extraordinarily high, historically speaking. About 42% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, South Florida attorney Gerald Lane (from The Law Offices of Jibrael S. Hindi) continued for a 13th straight month to represent both the most consumers in January (93) as well as YTD (152).

Complaint Statistics:

27567 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 1161 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Feb 01, 2026 to Feb 28, 2026.

• 27567 CFPB Complaints
• 352 FDCPA, 8 Class Action (2.3%)
• 292 TCPA, 211 Class Action (72.3%)
• 783 FCRA, 15 Class Action (1.9%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1161 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 490, or (42%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 6956 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 150 different US District Court branches.
• About 784 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 125 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court - Atlanta
• 92 Lawsuits: California Central District Court - Western Division - Los Angeles
• 72 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court - Chicago
• 46 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court - Tampa
• 37 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court - San Diego
• 33 Lawsuits: California Central District Court - Southern Division - Santa Ana
• 30 Lawsuits: Texas Northern District Court - Dallas
• 29 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court - Fort Lauderdale
• 29 Lawsuits: Texas Southern District Court - Houston
• 28 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court - Philadelphia

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 93 Consumers: GERALD DONALD LANE
• Representing 37 Consumers: MARK A CAREY
• Representing 18 Consumers: JONATHAN ALEXANDER HEEPS
• Representing 17 Consumers: JEFF LOHMAN
• Representing 17 Consumers: ANTHONY I PARONICH
• Representing 16 Consumers: ESTHER NNEKA OISE
• Representing 15 Consumers: SEID MUSIC
• Representing 15 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
• Representing 14 Consumers: AHREN A TILLER

Statistics Year to Date:
2544 total lawsuits for 2026, including:

• 748 FDCPA
• 1615 FCRA
• 511 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2026: 2338 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 152 Consumers: GERALD DONALD LANE
• Representing 80 Consumers: MARK A CAREY
• Representing 34 Consumers: ZANE CHARLES HEDAYA
• Representing 33 Consumers: JONATHAN ALEXANDER HEEPS
• Representing 32 Consumers: JEFF LOHMAN
• Representing 30 Consumers: OCTAVIO GOMEZ
• Representing 28 Consumers: ESTHER NNEKA OISE
• Representing 27 Consumers: SEID MUSIC
• Representing 24 Consumers: ANTHONY I PARONICH

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 27567 complaints filed against debt collectors from Feb 01, 2026 to Feb 28, 2026.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 1117

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 17800 I do not know (65%)
• 3271 Other debt (12%)
• 2981 Credit card debt (11%)
• 1084 Telecommunications debt (4%)
• 899 Rental debt (3%)
• 636 Medical debt (2%)
• 456 Auto debt (2%)
• 254 Payday loan debt (1%)
• 78 Federal student loan debt (0%)
• 58 Private student loan debt (0%)
• 50 Mortgage debt (0%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 12191 Attempts to collect debt not owed (44%)
• 7125 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (26%)
• 3945 Written notification about debt (14%)
• 3014 False statements or representation (11%)
• 695 Communication tactics (3%)
• 416 Electronic communications (2%)
• 181 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (1%)

The top five subissues were:

• 6996 Debt is not yours (25%)
• 6718 Threatened or suggested your credit would be damaged (24%)
• 4289 Debt was result of identity theft (16%)
• 2848 Attempted to collect wrong amount (10%)
• 2609 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (9%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 4510 Complaints: TX
• 3229 Complaints: FL
• 2514 Complaints: CA
• 2502 Complaints: GA
• 1211 Complaints: SC
• 1085 Complaints: NC
• 1000 Complaints: NY
• 947 Complaints: PA
• 903 Complaints: IL
• 690 Complaints: NJ

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

• 18757 Closed with explanation (68%)
• 4466 In progress (16%)
• 3668 Closed with non-monetary relief (13%)
• 652 Untimely response (2%)
• 24 Closed with monetary relief (0%)

This includes 26730 (97%) timely responses to complaints, and 837 (3%) untimely responses.

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