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).
| Comparisons: | Current Period: | Previous Period: | Previous Year Comp: | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 01, 2017 Apr 30, 2017 |
Mar 01, 2017 Mar 31, 2017 |
Apr 01, 2016 Apr 30, 2016 |
|||
| CFPB Complaints | 4027 | 4615 | -12.7% | 3291 | 22.4% |
| FDCPA lawsuits | 801 | 941 | -14.9% | 994 | -19.4% |
| FCRA lawsuits | 266 | 406 | -34.5% | 360 | -26.1% |
| TCPA lawsuits | 352 | 430 | -18.1% | 442 | -20.4% |
| YTD CFPB Complaints | 16408 | 13100 | 25.3% | ||
| YTD FDCPA lawsuits | 3392 | 3611 | -6.1% | ||
| YTD FCRA lawsuits | 1353 | 1270 | 6.5% | ||
| YTD TCPA lawsuits | 1560 | 1674 | -6.8% | ||
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