The Fair Credit Reporting Act has shown consistent year-over-year growth, according to WebRecon report.
1/27/2021 10:30
Case filings stayed on trend for 2020 with declines in lawsuits for the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and increases in lawsuits for the Fair Credit Reporting Act, according to the year in review and December 2020 report from WebRecon.
“2020 ended pretty much as it ran throughout the year. FDCPA suits were down fairly dramatically from 2019 at -17.6%, TCPA was down more nominally at -3.3%, but it was actually more dramatic than that due to some early-year suits that distorted the numbers,” WebRecon CEO Jack Gordon said in the report. “[The] FCRA ended up +5.3%—the only consumer statute that is still consistently showing year-over-year growth,” Gordon said.
Looking at the Monthly Numbers
TCPA filings increased 3.7% from 187 in November to 194 in December, according to the report.
FDCPA cases increased 11.3% from 443 in November to 493 in December, and FCRA cases increased 16.7% from 383 in November to 447 in December.
Year-to-Date Filings
Gordon reports litigation filings mostly declined, except for the FCRA, when comparing January through December 2019 to January through December 2020.
The FDCPA declined 17.6% from 8,343 filings in 2019 to 6,876 for the same time in 2020; the FCRA increased 5.3% from 4,960 in 2019 to 5,223 in 2020; and the TCPA declined 3.3% from 3,416 in 2019 to 3,302 in 2020.
Complaints to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau increased 16.2% from 46,393 in 2019 to 53,898 in 2020.
Timely responses from financial services companies continue to come in at a strong rate of 97%.