Quick analysis: What goes up…
… must come down. FDCPA, TCPA and FCRA are all down, fairly significantly, from last month. But, before anyone gets too excited… they are all still up, fairly significantly, year-to-date.
FDCPA is down 12.5% for the month, but up 14% for the year.
TCPA is down 42% for the month, but up 11.4% for the year.
FCRA is down 8.8% for the month, but up 42.9% for the year.
CFPB complaints are down as well (20.8%), but with the usual caveat that the numbers are relatively meaningless until the full month’s data finishes trickling in. Overall, even with this month’s incomplete data, CFPB complaints are up 1.7% over this time last year. Look for those numbers to move closer together over the next month.
Next month, in addition to December statistics, we will be publishing our year in review.
Fun Facts:
- For November 2015, about 36% of all consumer litigation plaintiffs had sued at least once before under consumer litigation statutes.
- About 815 different companies were sued, and 696 different debt collectors were complained about to the CFPB.
- Class actions were mixed, with 18.7% for FDCPA, 8.2% for TCPA and 16.5% for FCRA.
- The Illinois Northern District Court in Chicago once again had the most litigation filed in it, with 70 consumers represented in litigation there. California had the most CFPB complaints against debt collectors, with 336.
- Attorney Craig Sanders represented the most consumers for the month (by far) with 45, and the most year to date, with 297.
| Comparisons: | Current Period: | Previous Period: | Previous Year Comp: | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 01, 2015 Nov 30, 2015 |
Oct 01, 2015 Oct 31, 2015 |
Nov 01, 2014 Nov 30, 2014 |
|||
| CFPB Complaints | 2399 | 3030 | -20.8% | 2860 | -16.1% |
| FDCPA lawsuits | 807 | 922 | -12.5% | 770 | 4.8% |
| FCRA lawsuits | 352 | 386 | -8.8% | 189 | 86.2% |
| TCPA lawsuits | 182 | 314 | -42.0% | 116 | 56.9% |
| YTD CFPB Complaints | 36998 | 36372 | 1.7% | ||
| YTD FDCPA lawsuits | 10468 | 9180 | 14.0% | ||
| YTD FCRA lawsuits | 3178 | 2224 | 42.9% | ||
| YTD TCPA lawsuits | 2590 | 2324 | 11.4% | ||
Complaint Statistics:
2399 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors and about 1075 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Nov 01, 2015 to Nov 30, 2015. Here is an approximate breakdown:
- 2399 CFPB Complaints
- 807 FDCPA, 151 Class Action (18.7%)
- 182 TCPA, 15 Class Action (8.2%)
- 352 FCRA, 58 Class Action (16.5%)
Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):
- Of those cases, there were about 1075 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
- Of those plaintiffs, about 390, or (36%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
- Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 1646 lawsuits since 2001
- Actions were filed in 154 different US District Court branches.
- About 815 different collection firms and creditors were sued.
The top courts where lawsuits were filed:
- 70 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
- 61 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
- 49 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Los Angeles
- 42 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
- 36 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
- 32 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
- 30 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
- 30 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
- 29 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Central Islip
- 25 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Orlando
The most active consumer attorneys were:
- Representing 45 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
- Representing 27 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
- Representing 26 Consumers: JAMES A FRANCIS
- Representing 23 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 22 Consumers: PAUL JONATHAN SIEG
- Representing 20 Consumers: ADAM JON FISHBEIN
- Representing 20 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
- Representing 19 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
- Representing 15 Consumers: MARK D MAILMAN
- Representing 14 Consumers: SCOTT MATTHEW JOHNSON
Statistics Year to Date:
13320 total lawsuits for 2015, including:
- 10468 FDCPA
- 3178 FCRA
- 2590 TCPA
Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2015: 12427 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)
The most active consumer attorneys of the year:
- Representing 297 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
- Representing 212 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
- Representing 192 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
- Representing 184 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN
- Representing 179 Consumers: CRAIG THOR KIMMEL
- Representing 172 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
- Representing 170 Consumers: DANIEL A EDELMAN
- Representing 170 Consumers: AMY LYNN BENNECOFF GINSBURG
- Representing 168 Consumers: ADAM JON FISHBEIN
- Representing 168 Consumers: AHMAD TAYSEER SULAIMAN
——————————————————————————————————-
CFPB Complaint Statistics:
There were 2399 complaints filed against debt collectors from Nov 01, 2015 to Nov 30, 2015.
Total number of debt collectors complained about: 696
The types of debt behind the complaints were:
- 719 Other (phone, health club, etc.) (30%)
- 507 Credit card (21%)
- 484 Unknown (20%)
- 358 Medical (15%)
- 132 Payday loan (6%)
- 67 Mortgage (3%)
- 56 Auto (2%)
- 42 Non-federal student loan (2%)
- 34 Federal student loan (1%)
Here is a breakdown of complaints:
- 1014 Cont’d attempts collect debt not owed (42%)
- 441 Disclosure verification of debt (18%)
- 402 Communication tactics (17%)
- 226 False statements or representation (9%)
- 160 Improper contact or sharing of info (7%)
- 156 Taking/threatening an illegal action (7%)
The top five subissues were:
- 604 Debt is not mine (25%)
- 298 Not given enough info to verify debt (12%)
- 275 Debt was paid (11%)
- 246 Frequent or repeated calls (10%)
- 182 Attempted to collect wrong amount (8%)
The top states complaints were filed from are:
- 336 Complaints: CA
- 286 Complaints: TX
- 221 Complaints: FL
- 132 Complaints: NY
- 110 Complaints: GA
- 94 Complaints: IL
- 79 Complaints: PA
- 79 Complaints: MD
- 77 Complaints: VA
- 74 Complaints: OH
The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:
- 2399 (100%)
This includes 2188 (91%) timely responses to complaints, and 211 (9%) untimely responses.
Of the company responses, consumers accepted 0 (%) of them, disputed 233 (10%) of them, and 2166 (90%) were N\A.
The top five days for complaints were:
- 161 Complaints: Thu, 11/05/2015
- 149 Complaints: Mon, 11/09/2015
- 134 Complaints: Thu, 11/12/2015
- 122 Complaints: Thu, 11/19/2015
- 116 Complaints: Wed, 11/04/2015