Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, CONSUMER PROTECTION NEWS: Marketers of weight loss pill settle FTC charges of deceptive conduct, (May 9, 2016)

By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.

A Dallas, Texas-based debt collection agency has agreed to pay a $72,000 civil penalty and to adopt new procedures to settle FTC charges that it violated the requirements of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), the Commission announced today (U.S. v. Credit Protection Association, LP, Dkt. No. 3:16-cv-01255-D, File No. 142-3142).

The FTC’s complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, alleges that Credit Protection Association (CPA) failed to follow the requirements of the FCRA’s Furnisher Rule by not having adequate policies and procedures in place to handle consumer disputes regarding information the company provided to credit reporting agencies. The FTC also alleges that CPA did not have a policy requiring notice to consumers of the outcomes of investigations about disputed information and that in numerous instances consumers were not informed whether information they disputed had been corrected.

In its complaint, the FTC alleges that, while CPA did have written policies regarding how disputes were handled, employees were not adequately trained on those policies and the policies themselves failed to address the Furnisher Rule’s requirements. In many cases CPA failed to keep copies of documentation from consumers that disputed the information CPA had provided to reporting agencies.

The complaint alleges that CPA often relied on its clients—the original debt holders—to investigate credit reporting disputes, but its processes for transmitting consumers’ dispute information to its clients were inconsistent. The complaint also alleges that the company had no meaningful way to audit or analyze how it handled consumer disputes.

Under the terms of the stipulated final order, CPA will be required to pay $72,000 in civil penalties and to put in place policies and procedures that comply with the requirements of the FCRA and the Furnisher Rule. The company also will be required to follow the rule’s requirements related to conducting dispute investigations and informing consumers of their outcome.

“When consumers dispute potentially incorrect information in their credit reports, companies must not only investigate those disputes, but also let consumers know whether the information has been corrected. Otherwise, consumers may be unaware of additional steps they may need to take under the FCRA, including filing dispute statements directly with credit reporting agencies,” said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Companies that fail to live up to these obligations can expect to hear from the FTC.”

Companies: Credit Protection Association, LP

News: ConsumerProtection FederalTradeCommissionNews