KATY, TX — Universal Fidelity LP (UFLP) located in Katy, Texas, raised donations for the Ballard House. 
The Ballard House provides temporary housing for individuals and
families who are hospitalized and receiving treatments.  The team at UFLP generously donated tons of
items from the charity’s need list.  UFLP
and the team members pick local charities quarterly to donate items that are
needed.   I am so thankful for the
participation I see from everyone to do their part in the community,” said
Jessica Hearn/CEO at UFLP.  The next
charity has been picked and donations are coming in already. 

About Ballard House:

The dream started in 2006 when the CEO of Keller Williams
Realty issued a challenge to Keller Williams market centers around the country
to “leave a legacy” in the communities in which they live and work. The
associates of Keller Williams Premier Realty in Katy took that challenge to
heart. Construction of The West Houston Medical Center had just started and it
was evident that people would be traveling to the area for their treatments and
would need housing. Cinco Charities, Inc. was birthed with the mission to
provide temporary housing for patients and their caregivers coming to the
Katy/West Houston area.

About Universal Fidelity LP:

UFLP is a certified professional receivables company
located in Katy, Texas.  The company is
certified women owned company and is nationally licensed.  www.uflp.com  

In a keynote address at the Consumer Federation of America’s 2022 Consumer Assembly, CFPB Deputy Director Zixta Martinez squarely took aim at “rent-a-bank schemes” in some of the first (if not the first) such comments by a senior CFPB official. Historically, the CFPB has confined itself to “true lender” litigation against participants in high-rate programs involving Native American tribal parties (and not banks) already challenged by state enforcement authorities. We view Deputy Director Martinez’s comments as potentially signaling more widespread pursuit of this theory by the CFPB.

In her remarks, Ms. Martinez referenced a rise in installment loans and lines of credit with lenders that supposedly “attempt to use [relationships with banks] to evade state interest rate caps and licensing laws by making claims that the bank, rather than the non-bank, is the lender.” Notably, Ms. Martinez seems to have accepted the premise that the nonbank participant in these programs is the “true lender.”

Additionally, Ms. Martinez went on to criticize “unusually high default rates” on these loans, “which raise questions about whether their products set borrowers up for failure.” This comment echoes the philosophy of the “mandatory underwriting provisions” of the CFPB Rule on Payday, Vehicle Title, and Certain High-Rate Installment Loans (provisions revoked by the Trump-era CFPB) and UDAAP claims the CFPB previously asserted in cases involving ITT and Corinthian Colleges, which state attorneys general began making shortly after the subprime mortgage crisis.

Finally, Ms. Martinez added, without specification of the nature or frequency of the complaints, that the CFPB’s database reveals “a range of other significant consumer protection concerns with certain loans associated with bank partnerships.” She promised the CFA that “we are taking a close look” at these partnerships.

We take Deputy Director Martinez’ speech to the CFA as an important indicator of CFPB priorities, and in particular, the shift in emphasis on criticizing “rent-a-bank” arrangements. These comments may suggest that the CFPB is poised to follow in the footsteps of state attorneys general and state financial services regulators in asserting “true lender” claims against the nonbank parties in these relationships.

We will continue to closely monitor these developments and their implications for those in the consumer financial services space, including lenders, servicers, and banks.

CINCINNATI, OH- Recovery Decision Science, LLC (RDS) has acquired the assets and technology of Geist Holdings, Inc. (Geist), a skip trace processing organization that applied proprietary data mining and quantitative analytics to provide unparalleled service finding account holder places of employment. 

This acquisition improves and complements the services that RDS already offered by providing additional options for identifying employment on consumer accounts. RDS, an affiliate of Unifund that leverages data science, servicing transparency, and compliance to optimize recovery results of consumer credit accounts, will continue to offer their improved services through Lexis Nexis while expanding RDS’s capabilities, services, and data processing. 

“Recovery Decision Science is excited to work more closely with the team behind Geist and enhance our state-of-the-art data verification services capabilities,” says Andrew Hagerman, Vice President of Acquisitions for Unifund. “Unifund and Geist began their relationship in 2007 and RDS has worked with Geist since 2010. Together, Unifund and RDS were Geist’s largest client. This acquisition allows our team to leverage their technology, people, and resources to expand our unique automated searching processes.”

History Built on Partnership

Geist, formerly headquartered in Evansville, IN, built its company on locating place of employment information when all other companies were unsuccessful. Geist leveraged automation, broad data sources, right party information, verified active employment, and continuous monitoring services to form the “GHI Advantage.” 

A New Chapter

The team behind Geist has been integrated into RDS. RDS’s cutting-edge IT department and expansive resources will amplify Geist’s services. RDS will incorporate Geist’s established proprietary automation processes, which utilize online data collection techniques to give a much deeper search than manual skip tracers and will perform exponentially more search variations with increased speed and accuracy. Leveraging the acquired talent and technology and RDS’s resources, RDS will now offer expanded services and data processing.  

The new RDS team members will work first on exploring additional verified asset solutions. RDS will combine both companies’ data sets to form an unmatched database for the team to operate.

Amplified Legal Servicing

The acquisition also helps improve all facets of RDS’s services. RDS was born out of a love for data. RDS applies machine learning to its account analytics models to pinpoint consumers with the highest probability to pay and to determine if they pay, how much they will pay. With the new skill set, knowledge base, and processes acquired in this transaction, RDS will improve and expand its master servicing options for clients. 

RDS offers a customizable full-service solution for creditors to manage their receivables—including account decisioning, contact collection, collections portal, legal account scoring, pre-legal recovery strategies, litigation, judgment execution and RDS’s best-in-class asset location. RDS uses its transparent, client-accessible reporting platform and valuable insights gained through years of analyzing the performance of its affiliates’ debt portfolios to become the perfect partner. 

The enhanced RDS team believes in delivering only reliable, current, and actionable data that provides clients the highest revenue possible. To purchase RDS’s expanded services or to learn more about Recovery Decision Science, visit the company’s website at recoverydecisionscience.com.

About Geist 

Geist served the collection industry with a commitment to data quality, innovation, and regulatory compliance. Geist automated the internet skip tracing process and leveraged automation to perform a much deeper search, across a wider range of data sources. It provided additional sources of place of employment information that was not available with any other company.

About Recovery Decision Science

Recovery Decision Science (RDS) is built on the idea of offering proven data analytics and scoring science to consumer receivables portfolio owners and servicers to improve collections and recovery success. Its proprietary mix of analytic tools pinpoints accounts with the highest propensity to pay. RDS has been refining its approach to data science through 30 years of experience in recovering thousands of account portfolios with affiliate, Unifund. RDS is headquartered in Cincinnati.

Rochester, N.Y. — The employees of Continental Service Group, Inc., d/b/a ConServe, in conjunction with the company’s “Matching Gift Program”, donated its May ConServe Cares proceeds to The Humane Society of Greater Rochester/Lollypop Farm.  Through their ongoing philanthropic program, ConServe employees can elect to participate in monthly charitable donations, thereby reinforcing ConServe’s outstanding corporate citizenship. Employees not only embrace ConServe’s mission of fostering relationships within our community, but also take pride in doing the right thing, at the right time, the right way.

“We are grateful to be the recipient of the ConServe Cares Program,” says Alice Calabrese, President and CEO for Lollypop Farm. “It is only through working together with community partners like ConServe that we are able to provide life-saving veterinary services and compassionate care for all the pets who need us.”  “ConServe proudly supports Lollypop Farm in their efforts to enhance and promote the lives of these very special members of our communities,” said George Huyler, Vice President of Human Resources at ConServe.  

About ConServe

ConServe is a top-performing accounts receivable management service provider specializing in customized recovery solutions for their Clients. Anchored in ethics and compliance, and steadfast in their pursuit of excellence, they are a consumer-centric organization that operates as an extension of their Clients’ valued brands.  For over 36 years, they have partnered with their Clients to provide unmatched customer service while simultaneously helping them achieve their accounts receivable management goals.  Visit us online at: www.conserve-arm.com  

About The Humane Society of Greater Rochester/Lollypop Farm:   

Established in 1873, Lollypop Farm is the largest animal welfare organization helping pets and people in the Greater Rochester area. Lollypop Farm is committed to creating a just and compassionate world for all animals, together with our community, through justice, prevention, and life-saving care. With a main campus located on 136 picturesque acres in Fairport and four other adoption centers throughout the community, the organization provides shelter, care, and adoption for dogs, cats, small animals, birds, reptiles, horses, and other farm animals. Lollypop Farm is an independent nonprofit organization supported solely through contributions, grants, investments, proceeds from retail sales, and fees for programs and services. For more information and to meet current animals available for adoption, please visit www.lollypop.org.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of a cure is a phrase often applied to data security at creditor firms and debt collection companies. Every organization in recovery and collections says they have robust data and cybersecurity policies and procedures in place to mitigate risks. Some of them actually do. But those safeguards cannot prevent a data breach. Businesses should be asking themselves not if, but when.

Don’t get hung up on prevention! No one in recovery and collections can assume that strong cybersecurity can prevent a data breach. Companies need to plan for response, too, says Michael Orefice, Business Practice & IT Leader at Bridgeforce.

“I’d like to get rid of the word ‘if,’ and accept the fact that when it happens, I am adequately prepared to deal with [a data breach],” Orefice adds.

Is your organization prepared to handle a data breach? Here are three ways to prepare for the increasingly inevitable.

1. Monitor for Breaches

The first step to an effective response to a data breach is detection, and early detection is critical. Building out an internal security team is one option, and it’s the approach Drew Marston and the team at Resurgent Capital Services took to data security. The team includes an ethical certified hacker, who is always looking for vulnerabilities at Resurgent and their partners.

[article_ad]

If your organization is using AWS or another cloud-based solution, that’s good news, too, argues Marston. “Those guys [at AWS, Azure etc.] are even better [than an internal team] because they never sleep…no one is going to beat the cloud services when it comes to monitoring.” That’s key for smaller teams who can’t afford an internal security team.

Automating the security processes will give you the best opportunity to get ahead of a breach, which will allow you to quickly move to the next step in the process…

2. Make the Necessary Fixes

“If you can isolate the scope of an attack, you can recover quickly,” says Paul Hurlocker, CTO at Spring Oaks Capital.

Taking all equipment offline immediately may be required, and you will need to closely monitor the entry and exit points of data, especially where the breach occurred. The FTC’s guide to data breach responses also notes that until affected credentials are updated, your system will remain vulnerable.

If your breach involves a service provider, make sure that service provider is taking steps to remedy vulnerabilities, and then verify that they’ve actually executed on those steps. If your breach was internal in nature, interview the person or people who discovered the breach, engage with a forensic expert, and don’t destroy any evidence.

Once you’ve contained and isolated the beach, the next step is to notify the necessary parties.

3. Effective Breach Disclosures

It’s critical to have an effective breach disclosure policy in order to avoid potential legal and reputational risk. Breaches should also be reported to law enforcement immediately, regardless of the type of breach. Affected consumers should also be notified, even in instances where it is not obvious that a disclosure is required by law, for instance, where personal information is not involved, in order to avoid violating Section 5 of the FTC Act.

The FTC advises organizations to create breach disclosures that are straightforward, helpful, and that are effective for all audiences, including employees, customers, investors, etc. Disclosures should also involve key details that may help affected parties protect their information.

Organizations affected by a breach should also anticipate questions people may have about the breach, and attempt to answer them in a public format, such as on their website.

As the FTC notes, “good communication up front can limit customers’ concern and frustration, saving your company time and money later.”

So, given the likelihood that your company is at-risk for a data breach, it’s time to get prepared so that when it happens, you can detect, contain, and respond quickly.

—————

Ready for a deep dive into data stewardship and security? Jump into the 3-part iA Strategy & Tech data stewardship on-demand webinar series here:

Data Matters: How to Build the Foundation for Your Data Program – Session 1

Data Matters: How to Build the Foundation for Your Data Program – Session 2

Data Matters: How to Build the Foundation for Your Data Program – Session 3

—————

Bonus reading:

Security Beyond Prevention: The Importance of Effective Breach Disclosures

Ransomware Statistics in 2022: From Random Barrages to Targeted Hits

Data Breach Response: A Guide for Business

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of a cure is a phrase often applied to data security at creditor firms and debt collection companies. Every organization in recovery and collections says they have robust data and cybersecurity policies and procedures in place to mitigate risks. Some of them actually do. But those safeguards cannot prevent a data breach. Businesses should be asking themselves not if, but when.

Don’t get hung up on prevention! No one in recovery and collections can assume that strong cybersecurity can prevent a data breach. Companies need to plan for response, too, says Michael Orefice, Business Practice & IT Leader at Bridgeforce.

“I’d like to get rid of the word ‘if,’ and accept the fact that when it happens, I am adequately prepared to deal with [a data breach],” Orefice adds.

Is your organization prepared to handle a data breach? Here are three ways to prepare for the increasingly inevitable.

1. Monitor for Breaches

The first step to an effective response to a data breach is detection, and early detection is critical. Building out an internal security team is one option, and it’s the approach Drew Marston and the team at Resurgent Capital Services took to data security. The team includes an ethical certified hacker, who is always looking for vulnerabilities at Resurgent and their partners.

[article_ad]

If your organization is using AWS or another cloud-based solution, that’s good news, too, argues Marston. “Those guys [at AWS, Azure etc.] are even better [than an internal team] because they never sleep…no one is going to beat the cloud services when it comes to monitoring.” That’s key for smaller teams who can’t afford an internal security team.

Automating the security processes will give you the best opportunity to get ahead of a breach, which will allow you to quickly move to the next step in the process…

2. Make the Necessary Fixes

“If you can isolate the scope of an attack, you can recover quickly,” says Paul Hurlocker, CTO at Spring Oaks Capital.

Taking all equipment offline immediately may be required, and you will need to closely monitor the entry and exit points of data, especially where the breach occurred. The FTC’s guide to data breach responses also notes that until affected credentials are updated, your system will remain vulnerable.

If your breach involves a service provider, make sure that service provider is taking steps to remedy vulnerabilities, and then verify that they’ve actually executed on those steps. If your breach was internal in nature, interview the person or people who discovered the breach, engage with a forensic expert, and don’t destroy any evidence.

Once you’ve contained and isolated the beach, the next step is to notify the necessary parties.

3. Effective Breach Disclosures

It’s critical to have an effective breach disclosure policy in order to avoid potential legal and reputational risk. Breaches should also be reported to law enforcement immediately, regardless of the type of breach. Affected consumers should also be notified, even in instances where it is not obvious that a disclosure is required by law, for instance, where personal information is not involved, in order to avoid violating Section 5 of the FTC Act.

The FTC advises organizations to create breach disclosures that are straightforward, helpful, and that are effective for all audiences, including employees, customers, investors, etc. Disclosures should also involve key details that may help affected parties protect their information.

Organizations affected by a breach should also anticipate questions people may have about the breach, and attempt to answer them in a public format, such as on their website.

As the FTC notes, “good communication up front can limit customers’ concern and frustration, saving your company time and money later.”

So, given the likelihood that your company is at-risk for a data breach, it’s time to get prepared so that when it happens, you can detect, contain, and respond quickly.

—————

Ready for a deep dive into data stewardship and security? Jump into the 3-part iA Strategy & Tech data stewardship on-demand webinar series here:

Data Matters: How to Build the Foundation for Your Data Program – Session 1

Data Matters: How to Build the Foundation for Your Data Program – Session 2

Data Matters: How to Build the Foundation for Your Data Program – Session 3

—————

Bonus reading:

Security Beyond Prevention: The Importance of Effective Breach Disclosures

Ransomware Statistics in 2022: From Random Barrages to Targeted Hits

Data Breach Response: A Guide for Business

Retailers have had a rough few years as Amazon and COVID have more or less crushed the idea that people want to go to the store for stuff.

One of the few bright sides is that there have been relatively few TCPA suits targeting our favorite retail brands recently.

But that may be about to change.

On June 16, 2022, Macy’s Credit was sued in a new TCPA class action in California. The allegations are that Macy’s used prerecorded calls in an attempt to collect a debt from consumers who had never consented to those calls. (The allegations are unclear whether this is a skip trace situation.)

[article_ad]

The TCPA, of course, caries a $500.00 per call violation and the Complaint alleges there are thousands of class members–if not more.

The class is defined as:

All persons within the United States who received any collection telephone calls from Defendant to said person’s cellular telephone made through the use of any automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice and such person had not previously consented to receiving such calls within the four years prior to the filing of this Complaint.

This filing is a good reminder to those in the retail sector and those collecting consumer credit debt that the TCPA is still out there, looming. Even if it hasn’t knocked on your door for a while.

Remember–prerecorded calls (including outbound IVR and ringless voicemail) are big trouble these days. Move toward texts–particularly human selection, triggered or AI enabled texting–to assure greater TCPA flexibility.

One last note–the calls at issue are from 2020. So violating the TCPA today can spell trouble well into the future.

Complaint here: Macy’s Complaint

BLOOMINGTON, Minn– Absolute Resolutions Corp. (“ARC”),
headquartered in Bloomington, MN, announced today that its current CEO,
Christopher Winkler, will depart the company after 14 years to pursue
international debt buying opportunities. The organization is also announcing several
key executive changes at the company.

Mr. Winkler co-founded RAzOR Capital with Robert Johnson in
2008. RAzOR Capital began purchasing NPLs in 2008 with a focus on the U.S.,
then expanded into Canada and Europe. In 2016 RAzOR Capital merged with ARC.
Since then, Mr. Winkler has served as the organization’s CEO overseeing all
aspects of the company’s management from its headquarters in Bloomington, MN. As
Mr. Winkler departs ARC, he will focus on international NPL acquisitions, an
area of investment that he has been passionate about throughout his career.

“I am an entrepreneur at heart. I find inspiration seeking
out novel investment opportunities and turning them into successful business
ventures. I am proud of what I have guided the organization to become during my
years at the helm as CEO, and now I am looking forward to my next challenge
finding opportunities in the international marketplace,” said Winkler. “I wish
nothing but the best for the team at ARC”.

ARC is also announcing several other organizational changes.
Robert Johnson is being promoted to Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Johnson has
been with the organization since 2008, most recently as Chief Financial
Officer. In his new role he will be responsible for executing on long term
growth strategy, driving profitability, and managing the organization’s overall
goals and vision. Chad Lemke has been named Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Lemke
joined the organization in 2020 with over 25 years of industry leadership
experience. In his role as COO, Mr. Lemke will be responsible for crafting the
overall operational strategies promoting the culture and vision of the
organization. Emmanuel DeMoncuit is being promoted to Chief Financial Officer.
Mr. DeMoncuit has been with ARC since 2016, most recently serving as EVP of
Finance & Accounting. In his new role he will be responsible for all
aspects of the company’s financial affairs. Laura Jensen is being promoted to
Chief Marketing Officer. Ms. Jensen has been with the organization since 2012,
most recently serving as its Chief Acquisitions Officer. In her new role Ms.
Jensen will be responsible for the company’s acquisition and marketing strategies.

“My business partnership and friendship with Chris has been
profoundly important to me both personally and professionally for well over 25
years. We have built an amazing company together and I wish him success and
happiness in his next venture.” said Robert Johnson, ARC’s incoming CEO. “I am
looking forward to the next chapter for ARC. The company has an exceptionally
talented executive management team for whom I have an incredible amount of
respect. With my team we are poised to capitalize on all that we have
accomplished in the past few years and take ARC to the next level”, finished
Johnson.

About Absolute Resolutions Corp.

Absolute Resolutions Corp. is a certified professional
receivables company headquartered in Bloomington, MN with offices in San Diego,
CA and Scottsdale, AZ.

www.absoluteresolutions.com

On June 13, 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued the Office of Servicemember Affairs Annual Report for 2021.  The report focuses primarily on customer complaints, highlighting issues related to credit reporting, debt collection, and medical billing. 

According to the CFPB, it received more than 42,700 customer complaints from servicemembers in 2021, a 5% increase from 2020 and up 19% from 2019.  Servicemembers have submitted more than 250,000 complaints to the CFPB since 2011.  Complaints regarding credit or consumer reporting represented 41% of the complaints, followed by debt collection at 21%.  Mortgage (10%), credit card (8%) and deposit accounts (8%) rounded out the top five categories of complaints.  While the overall volume has increased, the categories and percentages of complaints received by the CFPB have been generally consistent by issue and/or financial product over the past several years.

While the servicemember complaints about credit reporting resembled civilian complaints on the subject, the CFPB report notes the higher stakes to servicemembers, including possible risk to their security clearance on the basis of credit issues.  The report concludes that nationwide consumer reporting companies were not responsive to servicemember requests to resolve credit reporting issues.

The report identified medical billing problems as a driver for credit report and debt collection complaints, and the CFPB has said it will use its authorities to address concerns raised in the report.  Recommendations in the report include:

• A call for more robust data about the scope and impact of medical debt on servicemembers.

• To better serve servicemembers (including reservists and National Guard), veterans, and families, medical providers, and third-party billing companies should implement adequate systems to interface with TRICARE, the military health insurance program.

• Use of CFPB authority to ensure consumer reporting companies are adequately responding to servicemember complaints.

• Encouraging consumer reporting companies and medical providers to consider emulating recent changes to reporting practices made by the Department of Veterans Affairs, including exhausting all collection efforts and reviewing ability to repay before reporting a medical debt as unpaid and delaying the inclusion of servicembers’ debt on consumer credit reports for a period of time to allow them an opportunity to address it.

While the report also highlighted recent changes to reporting practices made by the VA and changes to the credit reporting of medical debt by Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion, it was otherwise singularly focused on complaint data and related recommendations.  Past reports have more broadly highlighted CFPB priorities, including military education, particular products (such as auto lending), coordination with other agencies, and military consumer research.

In a blog post released June 15, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) continued to show its interest in credit reporting by Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) lenders. Recognizing the importance of credit reporting to consumers building credit profiles through payment of BNPL obligations, the CFPB encouraged BNPL lenders to report both positive and negative information and consumer reporting agencies (CRAs) to expeditiously develop uniform reporting standards so that the data can be included in core credit files as soon as possible.

The new blog post follows up on the CFPB’s December 2021 market monitoring inquiry into BNPL, which was followed by orders to five companies offering BNPL products. The orders sought information and data on key areas of consumer impact, including data furnished by BNPL firms to CRAs for inclusion in credit reports. For more information about the CFPB’s inquiry, please see our post covering the inquiry and subsequent orders here.

In the new statement, the CFPB noted the potential negative effects on consumers and the credit reporting system if information regarding timely payments made by BNPL borrowers is not incorporated into their credit reports and credit scores. The CFPB acknowledged plans by the three largest nationwide CRAs to accept BNPL data, but it expressed concern that inconsistent treatment will limit the potential benefits of the furnished data to consumers and the credit reporting system. The CFPB described its preference for a standardized approach for furnishing BNPL data that would ensure the consistency and accuracy of the BNPL payment information. The CFPB further recommended that CRAs should incorporate the BNPL data into core credit files as soon as possible and ensure that the data is accurately reflected on consumer reports.

The CFPB will continue to monitor the progress of BNPL lenders, CRAs, and credit scoring companies as the BNPL market grows and BNPL lenders furnish information about repayment.