Debt Collection Complaints and Lawsuits Fall Slightly in May 2014

May 2014 was a light month overall for debt collection complaints, and most types of litigation, according to new data from WebRecon. While 3188 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors – that’s a little more than 100 consumers a day – it still represents a 15.8 percent decline from April 2014. In all, the CFPB has received 17114 debt collection complaints this year.

In May 2014, approximately 1122 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes against 1060 collection firms and creditors. 774 of those suits dealt with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act; 216 dealt with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act; and 206 dealt with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Overall, there have been 5293 total lawsuits for 2014, including:

4058 FDCPA
1003 FCRA
1118 TCPA

Of all the data collected, the only area of debt collection litigation that saw an uptick compared to the previous month was FCRA lawsuits; they increased 3.4 percent compared to the prior month. This can be read as part of a larger trend. FCRA lawsuits are up nearly 26 percent compared to this time last year. While they took a dip in May 2014 (8.3 percent, to be exact), TCPA lawsuits have actually increased a total of 32.1 percent compared to May 2013. FDCPA litigation continues its gradual slide, down 19.3% compared to May 2013.

Comparisons:	Current Period:	Previous Period:		Previous Year Comp:
	May 01 – 31, 2014	Apr 01 – 30, 2014		May 01 – 31, 2013

CFPB Complaints	3188	3693	-15.8%	-	-

FDCPA lawsuits	774	893	-15.4%	812	-4.9%
FCRA lawsuits	206	199	3.4%	153	25.7%
TCPA lawsuits	216	234	-8.3%	132	38.9%

YTD CFPB Complaints	17114			-	-
YTD FDCPA lawsuits	4058			4841	-19.3%
YTD FCRA lawsuits	1003			893	11.0%
YTD TCPA lawsuits	1118			759	32.1%

Despite the temporary downward trend, TCPA lawsuits are still poised to become the second most-litigated statute in debt collection. But the overall rise of TCPA litigation doesn’t mean that collection attorneys can turn their focus away from other “old faithful” statutes like FDCPA. These statistics shouldn’t scare you. They should motivate you. This is an opportunity for collection agencies to be proactive in their response to the industry’s new legal landscape.

Get the most up-to-date data on courtroom and complaint trends at insideCompliance: Decoding Litigation Data in 2014, on August 5 at 2 p.m. Eastern.