Consumer bureau orders debt collection agency to shut down for illegal practices
CNN
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday ordered Commonwealth Financial Systems, a debt collection agency specializing in medical debt, to shut down as a result of what CFPB determined were illegal collection practices.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on Friday ordered Commonwealth Financial Systems, a debt collection agency specializing in medical debt, to shut down as a result of what CFPB determined were illegal collection practices. Specifically, the CFPB said that the company, which is based in Dickson City, Pennsylvania, “failed to conduct reasonable investigations of disputed debts and failed to inform consumer reporting companies that certain information was being disputed … (and) continued to attempt to collect disputed debts without substantiating documentation.” The first action violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the second violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the bureau said. CFPB, which is charged with enforcing consumer protection laws, ordered the company to immediately shut down, banning it from “participating in or assisting others in any debt collection activities, debt buying, debt selling, and consumer reporting activities.” It also ordered Commonwealth to tell all consumer reporting companies that they should delete all collection accounts for those consumers about whom Commonwealth had provided information. Lastly, it ordered the company to pay a $95,000 fine to the CFPB’s victim compensation fund. (Here’s a list of other enforcement actions it has taken against other debt collection agencies in the past.)
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