JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Stellar Recovery, Inc. is
pleased to announce the addition of Danny Czyrny as Vice President of Sales to our
sales team. He will draw upon his 25 years in the revenue cycle and receivable
management industry to help Stellar expand its portfolio.

Mr. Czyrny received his Master’s
Degree in Business Administration and Bachelors of Science in Finance from Canisius College in Buffalo, New
York.  He started his career as a part time collector while
attending College and has held various Senior Management positions over his 25-year career in the collections industry. 
He has worked for two of the top ten largest collection
agencies in the United States and was instrumental in the significant growth
while at these firms.  He has experience in the Healthcare, Financial
Services, Automotive, Education, Credit Union, Tax Lien
and Government Services marketplaces.  He has managed well over $50
Billion in placements over his career and his prior portfolios consist of numerous Fortune 500 Companies and
some of the world’s most recognizable brands. 

About Stellar Recovery, Inc.

Stellar Recovery, Inc
is a collection agency based in Jacksonville, Fl. and is
dedicated to excellence in the accounts receivable industry by meeting and
exceeding our client’s expectations. Stellar Recovery leverages the use of
technology to drive effective and efficient collections, while eliminating
risks. Visit our website at www.stellarrecoveryinc.com or contact us at 904-438-2500.

ELMHURST, Ill., —The Medical-Dental-Hospital Business Associates (MDHBA) presented several
awards during its Reception, Silent Auction and Dinner on Friday, October 28,
at its Annual Conference at the Loews Annapolis Hotel, Annapolis, Maryland.

Then
MDHBA President Jon Nixon, CPBE, CMRE Financial Services, Inc., Brea, California,
oversaw the ceremonies. During the program, MDHBA’s new officers were sworn in
and Nixon became Immediate Past President.

The
Robert T. Hellrung Award was presented to Lauren Regnani, CPBE, CPAS, president,
General Credit Service, Inc., Medford, Oregon. The Hellrung award recognizes
individuals for their contributions to the medical economics profession and to
MDHBA.

Connie
Matrisch, CHC, president & CEO, Pro Com Services of Illinois, Inc.,
received the President’s Award. The President’s Award is presented annually by
the current MDHBA president to recognize an individual or individuals who did
the most to advance MDHBA’s interests during his or her tenure as president.

MDHBA’s
next Annual Conference will take place Oct. 12-13, 2017, in New Orleans.

About MDHBA 

Medical-Dental-Hospital
Business Associates is the healthcare ARM community for accreditation and
networking. Formed in 1939, MDHBA and its members set a tone of collaboration
and continuous improvement within the demanding and competitive world of
healthcare financial services. MDHBA provides a nationwide forum for idea
exchange, continuing education and certification. For more information,
contact: MDHBA, 350 Poplar Ave., Elmhurst, IL 60126. Telephone 630.359.4273;
Fax 630.359.4274; E-mail info@mdhba.org; www.mdhba.org.

ELMHURST, Ill. —The Medical-Dental-Hospital Business Associates (MDHBA) elected its 2016-2017
Officers and Board of Directors when it met, Oct. 28, 2016, in Annapolis,
Maryland. The meeting was held at the organization’s Annual Conference, Oct. 27-28,
at the Loews Annapolis Hotel. 

Officers who were elected
include: President Connie Matrisch, CHC, president & CEO, Pro Com Services
of Illinois, Inc., Springfield, Illinois; President-Elect Gina Battershaw,
director of operations & outside sales, Credit Bureau Services Inc.,
Norfolk, Nebraska; and Secretary/Treasurer Kathy Shambre, president, Debt
Recovery Solutions of Ohio, Mansfield, Ohio.

Matt Inscore, customer
relations Manager, CSO Financial, Inc., Roseburg, Oregon, was elected to his
first-term on the MDHBA Board of Directors.

Jon Nixon, CPBE, executive
vice president, CMRE Financial Services, Inc., Brea, California, will serve as
Immediate Past President

Lauren Regnani, CPBE, CPAS,
president, General Credit Service, Inc., Medford, Oregon, also serves on the
MDHBA Board and has one year to complete in her term of office.

MDHBA’s
next Annual Conference will take place Oct. 12-13, 2017, in New Orleans,
Louisiana.

About MDHBA

Medical-Dental-Hospital
Business Associates is the healthcare ARM community for accreditation and
networking. Formed in 1939, MDHBA and its members set a tone of collaboration
and continuous improvement within the demanding and competitive world of
healthcare financial services. MDHBA provides a nationwide forum for idea
exchange, continuing education and certification. For more information,
contact: MDHBA, 350 Poplar Ave.,
Elmhurst, IL 60126. Telephone 630.359.4723; Fax
630.359.4274; E-mail info@mdhba.org; www.mdhba.org

PHOENIX, Ariz. – Empereon Marketing and
Constar Financial Services (Empereon-Constar) today announced plans to relocate
its corporate headquarters to the Corporate Center building located at 10400 N
25th Avenue, Phoenix, Arizona, in February 2017.

“This marks another milestone for Empereon-Constar as
we continue our aggressive growth strategy and transformation into a global
organization,” said Travis Bowley, CEO. “Our new headquarters reflects our
strategic initiatives and will provide us with the space and amenities we need
to develop and expand as a team.”

The Empereon-Constar Senior Leadership team and a new
Constar Operations Center with 600 seats will be housed in the Corporate Center
building. The amenity-rich facility offers advanced technology and is designed
to foster collaboration and learning in a comfortable environment. The modern
54,000 square foot space features a two-story atrium, outside patios, break
room, chat room, seven collaborative conference rooms, and two training rooms.
Located adjacent to the Metrocenter Regional Mall, the new facility is near
public transportation, has excellent freeway access, and is just twenty-five
minutes from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.

“To keep up with the growth demands of our premium client
partners, we’ve expanded to over 3,500 employees worldwide with centers in
Mexico, Latin America, and across the USA,” said Yvonne Torrijos, Chief
Marketing Officer. “As we expand into new markets and launch new services,
we’re constantly onboarding new talent and anticipate an employee force of
5,000 in 2017.”

“As we expand our business and move into global markets, we have
been looking for a location that can support our growth,” said Joe Lustek, Vice
President, Constar, Operations. “Our new state-of-the-art headquarters will
provide us with the space necessary to accommodate current growth needs for
Constar in 2017.”

About Empereon-Constar

Empereon-Constar delivers comprehensive contact center
solutions spanning the entire lifecycle of a consumer account, for each
touchpoint of the consumer’s journey. Through two distinct, but affiliated,
privately held entities, Empereon-Constar provides end-to-end customer
solutions for many leading companies representing the finance,
telecommunications, entertainment media, satellite, broadband, e-commerce,
consumer loan, bankcard, and underbanked business sectors. Working in partnership
with each client, the companies develop innovative consumer contact solutions
designed to achieve client business goals, ensure brand recognition, optimize
customer satisfaction, and enhance the customer experience. Results are
achieved through a combination of management expertise, extensive experience in
developing highly skilled teams, and advanced technologies, which allows
Empereon-Constar to deliver measurable value to its clients. To learn more
about Empereon-Constar, contact Yvonne Torrijos at Yvonne.Torrijos@empereon.com or Yvonne.Torrijos@constarfinancial.com. 

insideARM maintains a free FDCPA
resources page to provide the ARM
community a destination for timely and topical information on the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). This page is generously supported by TransUnion. See
the page here or find it in our main
navigation bar from any page on insideARM. 

The cornerstone of the
page is a chart of significant FDCPA cases. Click on the link in the chart
for the complete text of the decision. Where insideARM has already published a
story on the case, we provide a link. Case information and analysis is
provided by Joann Needleman, a Clark Hill attorney
and leader of the firm’s Consumer Financial Services Regulatory &
Compliance Group.

FDCPA cases in
October 2016 brought both positive and negative outcomes for the ARM industry

Sulaiman v. Biehl
& Biehl

The gist: Plaintiff in
the case is a consumer attorney. The District Court for the Northern District
of Illinois refused to apply competent attorney standard and found letter at
issue to be not confusing on its face.

Mirshafiei v. Legal
Recovery Law Offices, Inc.

The gist: The District
Court for the Central District of California found that law firm failed in its
due diligence and thus violated the FDCPA when it gave a process server the
incorrect address for service.

McCray v. Federal
Home Loan Mortgage Corporation

The gist: A law firm
who was acting as a substitute trustee for the purposes of a deed of trust was
a debt collector. The 4^th Circuit Court of Appeals held that even
though the communications were in regard to the enforcement of a security
interest, they involved a foreclosure and the payment of money.

Tilatitsky v.
Medicredit, Inc.

The gist: The District
Court for the Eastern District of Missouri ruled that a collection letter which
provided settlement options did not violate the FDCPA. The court ruled that it
was speculation that a phrase in the letter that says “please either” would
confuse a consumer.

Vayngurt v.
Southwest Credit Systems, L.P.

The gist: The District
Court for the Eastern District of New York concluded that the parties to the
contract – T-Mobile and the plaintiff – intended the collection fee to be owed
at the same time as the principal and seeking those fees in a complaint was not
a violation of the FDCPA.

Hart v. Credit
Control, LLC

The gist: The District
Court for the Middle District of Florida held that a voice which identified an
agency but not the representative specifically was not a violation of 1692d(6)
and that a voicemail was not a communication.

McGinty v.
Professional Claims Bureau, Inc.

The gist: The District
Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled that the debt collector failed
to explicitly identify the current creditor in demand letter and thus violated
1692g.

Vien-Phuong Thi Ho
v. Recontrust Company, NA

The gist: The 9^th
Circuit Court of Appeals held that a trustee who was the agent for the lender
and borrower, and who is authorized to sell property if debtor defaults, is not
a debt collector. The court additionally ruled that proceeding to a
non-judicial foreclosure is not debt collection.

Sullivan v. Allied
Interstate, LLC

The gist: The District
Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania ruled the a debt collector was
not under duty to disclose that a debt was time-barred, and that using the word
“settlement” was not a threat of litigation.

Woerthwein v.
Midland Credit Management

The gist: The District
Court for the Northern District of Illinois held that the competent attorney
standard only applies to a consumer’s attorney and will not be applied if the
consumer if an attorney.

Henhaffer v.
Simeone & Raynor

The gist: The District
Court for New Jersey ruled that a 1692g notice that required a consumer to
state the nature of the dispute is not mandated and a violation of the FDCPA.

SALEM, N.H. — Windham Professionals, a leading accounts
receivable management and customer care firm, has been recognized by The
Commonwealth Institute and The Boston
Globe Magazine as a Top 100 Women-Led Business in Massachusetts. 

Now in its fourth year, this award recognizes women leaders and their high-performing
organizations based on innovation, growth, diversity, and a demonstrated focus
on client and employee excellence. 

“I could not be prouder of the Windham team since this
recognition truly reflects upon our talented employees, values, and the
solutions we’ve been delivering to clients for over 34 years,” said Christine
Barry, Windham’s President and CEO. “Greater Boston is a hub of innovation that
includes many exceptional companies, so it’s a real honor that Windham is being
recognized with this prestigious award. And, it only fuels Windham’s commitment
to continue to deliver exceptional results for our clients.”

The awards breakfast was held Friday, October 28^th at the
Boston Seaport Hotel where the awarded organizations’ rankings were announced
to more than 500 local business, civic, and non-profit leaders. The complete
Top 100 list appeared in The Boston Globe
Magazine on Sunday, October 30^th.

About Windham Professionals

Windham Professionals innovates, improves and advances its clients’
businesses through accounts receivables management and customer care solutions.
Windham’s focus on experience, knowledge, and teamwork starts with each and
every employee and extends through our long-term relationships with clients in
the education, government, communication, financial services and commercial
sectors.  Established in 1982, Windham is
based out of Salem, New Hampshire, with offices located throughout the United
States. For more information, please visit: www.windhampros.com. 

WILMINGTON, Del. – Phillips & Cohen Associates, Ltd., the deceased
account management leader servicing creditors in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland,
Australia and New Zealand, announces the appointment of Gelsomina Paolini as
Global Chief Financial Officer.

Ms. Paolini
has more than twenty years’ experience overseeing worldwide financial planning
and strategy initiatives for Fortune 500 and SEC regulated entities. Prior to
her joining Phillips & Cohen Associates, she held a variety of global
leadership roles with DuPont and Chemours, including Segment Global Financial
Officer and Global Strategic Planning Manager.

“I am very
excited about joining Phillips & Cohen and to be a part of such a dynamic
group”, said Ms. Paolini. “I look forward to working with the Executive team to
drive our continued global growth and financial management strategies.” 

Matthew
Phillips, Co-Chairman/CEO of Phillips & Cohen commented, “we are thrilled
to have Gelsomina join the organization to lead our financial teams in the next
phase of our company’s evolution, both domestically and internationally.”

Adam S.
Cohen, Co-Chairman/CEO added, “Gelsomina’s extensive experience, knowledge and
multilingual capabilities are significant assets to Phillips & Cohen
Associates.  We look forward to her input
and guidance as we continue to expand in Europe, Asia and the Americas.”

About Phillips & Cohen Associates, Ltd.

Phillips
& Cohen Associates, Ltd. is a specialty receivable management company
providing customized services to creditors in a variety of unique market
segments.  Phillips & Cohen Associates, Ltd is domestically headquartered
in Wilmington, DE, with additional offices in Colorado and Florida as well as
international offices in the UK, Canada, and Australia.  For more
information about Phillips & Cohen Associates visit www.phillips-cohen.com. PCA provides
Equal Employment Opportunity for all individuals regardless of race, color,
religion, gender, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual
orientation, veteran status, genetic information and any other basis protected
by federal, state or local laws.

Yesterday the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
published a notice in the Federal
Register amending its prior Compliance Bulletin on supervision of Service
Providers. A copy of yesterday’s notice can be found here.

The prior Compliance Bulletin (No. 2012-03), was originally issued
in 2012. In that document the CFPB outlined expectations in the introductory
paragraph.

“The
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) expects supervised banks and
nonbanks to oversee their business relationships with service providers in a
manner that ensures compliance with Federal consumer financial law, which is
designed to protect the interests of consumers and avoid consumer harm. The CFPB’s
exercise of its supervisory and enforcement authority will closely reflect this
orientation and emphasis.”

 Later in the
original Bulletin the CFPB discusses the use of “Service Providers”: 

“The CFPB
recognizes that the use of service providers is often an appropriate business
decision for supervised banks and nonbanks. Supervised banks and nonbanks may
outsource certain functions to service providers due to resource constraints,
use service providers to develop and market additional products or services, or
rely on expertise from service providers that would not otherwise be available
without significant investment. However, the mere fact that a supervised bank
or nonbank enters into a business relationship with a service provider does not
absolve the supervised bank or nonbank of responsibility for complying with Federal
consumer financial law to avoid consumer harm. A service provider that is unfamiliar with the legal requirements
applicable to the products or services being offered, or that does not make
efforts to implement those requirements carefully and effectively, or that
exhibits weak internal controls, can harm consumers and create potential
liabilities for both the service provider and the entity with which it has a
business relationship. Depending on the circumstances, legal responsibility may
lie with the supervised bank or nonbank as well as with the supervised service
provider.” [Emphasis Added by
insideARM.]

The revised
Bulletin is now CFPB Bulletin No. 2016-02, Service
Providers. The summary in the Federal
Register states: 

“The Bureau is reissuing its guidance on service providers,
formerly titled CFPB Bulletin 2012–03, Service Providers to clarify that the
depth and formality of the risk management program for service providers may
vary depending upon the service being performed—its size, scope, complexity,
importance and potential for consumer harm—and the performance of the service
provider in carrying out its activities in compliance with Federal consumer
financial laws and regulations. This amendment is needed to clarify that
supervised entities have flexibility and to allow appropriate risk management.”

 The revised
Bulletin inserts the following additional language: 

“The Bureau expects that the depth and formality of
the entity’s risk management program for service providers may vary depending
upon the service being performed—its size, scope, complexity, importance and
potential for consumer harm—and the performance of the service provider in
carrying out its activities in compliance with Federal consumer financial laws
and regulations. While due diligence does not provide a shield against
liability for actions by the service provider, it could help reduce the risk
that the service provider will commit violations for which the supervised bank
or nonbank may be liable as discussed above.” 

The Federal Register notice
indicates that the newly revised Bulletin 2016-02 will be released on the CFPBs
website on Oct. 31, 2016. 

insideARM
Perspective

The new additional language is an interesting and welcome
addition to this particular Compliance Bulletin.  It confirms what many ARM compliance people
believed was common sense and practical. ARM industry companies were put on
notice with the original Bulletin that they had exposure for not supervising
their service providers.  The issue was
always: What level of supervision for what service providers?

All service providers are not created equal.  The level of due diligence and supervision
for a letter vendor, data provider, collection agency or law firm collecting on
accounts should be different than the level of supervision for a service
provider such as the operator of the vending machine in a break room. The key
is making a risk based decision based upon the potential for “consumer harm.”
This revision recognizes that fact.

Yesterday the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) hosted a forum
– the second in its FinTech series – on peer-to-peer payment systems.
Peer-to-peer payment systems are online services – often in the form of mobile
apps – that allow consumers to share and/or send money electronically. These
systems make it easier for consumers who may not carry cash to send and receive
money from other people quickly.

The
forum panel discussion was labeled: Peer-to-Peer
Payments – Their Emergence and Path Ahead. Participating in the panel were
the following individuals: Jo Ann Barefoot, Matt
Van Buskirk, Beth Chun, Patrick Eagan-Van
Meter, Brian Peters,
Duane Pozza, and Christina
Tetreault. Their bios and backgrounds can be found on the FTC website for the forum.

One might wonder why insideARM would
be interested in this event. The answer is twofold, but it is also really quite
simple.

 First, FinTech (Financial
Technology) is an industry that is absolutely exploding.  The industry is all about using technology to
make financial services more simple and easier to use by consumers. From
marketplace and peer-to-peer lending to peer-to-peer payment systems, the ARM
industry has to know what is happening in the FinTech space. (insideARM has
previously written about the growth of alternative
lending, including marketplace and peer-to-peer lending.

For the ARM industry Fintech
provides not only revenue generating opportunities, but also expense reduction
and efficiency opportunities. The expense reduction and efficiency
opportunities could come from the peer-to-peer payment platforms.

Second, though the
event was produced by the FTC, not the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB),
it has become abundantly clear through
rulemaking proposals to date (both at the CFPB and state and levels) that
technology advancements are going to be essential to the success of those
organizations that engage in debt collection (whether creditor, agency, law
firm, or debt buyer). Those who run sophisticated companies need to engage in
regular research and education about current developments in FinTech.

As noted above, this forum was
devoted to FinTech and peer-to-peer payments industry. Examples of companies
and products in this space include, but are hardly limited to Apple Pay, Google
Wallet, PayPal, Venmo, CirclePay, Dwolla, and SquareCash.

These companies and products
could be on their way to replacing previous methods and products used in the
ARM industry for obtaining “urgency payments.” Instead of using credit
card/debit card payments, Western Union, Moneygram or some form of
autopay/check writing service, today’s consumer may be more interested in
making payments using a peer-to-peer payment platform.  A consumer that does not have a checking
account yet wants to make a payment may prefer these alternatives instead of any
of the above “urgency payments” or buying and sending a money order via some
expedited mail or delivery service.

After initial introductions the
panel discussed the benefits of peer-to-peer payment systems to the consumer.
The benefits identified included:

1)    
Affordability

2)    
Accessibility

3)    
Speed of
transactions

4)    
Security

Members of the panel all agreed
that the consumer’s cost to use these payment systems was a significant benefit.
They discussed how historically, it was very expensive for a consumer to use
services such as Western Union or MoneyGram or to use some expedited mail or
delivery service to send funds quickly. 
Several panel members highlighted how speed of a transaction was
critical to the underserved or underbanked segment of the population. These
products can process a transaction in seconds.

The panel members also
discussed who was currently using these products. To the surprise of
nobody, Millennials are currently the largest market segment. However, all panelists
noted that the products were quickly gaining acceptance among other demographic
groups.

The discussion then moved to how
the products were being utilized. Currently 3 types of use were the most
predominant; gifts, bill payments,
and entertainment. These 3 categories were well over 90% of total usage.

The group then moved onto a
discussion of legal issues surrounding the products. The most obvious concern,
money laundering, actually had only a token mention from the group. 

The biggest legal issue facing
the developers of these products was – 
to no surprise, the various state and federal consumer protection
statutes, with particular emphasis on state Deceptive Trade Practices.

The reason consumer protection
statutes were of such concern was a simple statement made during the
discussion: “The consumers that use
these products may be very tech savvy, but they also tend to be very
unsophisticated.”

The panel was also consistent
in their belief that the recently announced CFPB Prepaid Card Rules were
applicable to the peer-to-peer payment solutions.

The panel next turned its
attention to some of the risks in this market. 
The risk of fraud exists on three fronts. First, international criminal
and sophisticated hackers have and are likely to continue targeting companies
in this space. That creates exposure. Second, as many of these products are
utilized on a handheld device (i.e. a smartphone) the risk of fraud exists if
that device is not secure and is lost or stolen. Third, old scams that have
existed forever have simply moved their scam to this new platform. A scam that previously
involved a stolen checkbook and forged signature has just moved from paper to
the digital world.

Finally, the panel moved to a
discussion of privacy concerns. What transaction data is being retained and
could that data be used? Again, much of this issue might be mitigated by
security and privacy settings on a smartphone when the application is
installed.

The insideARM Perspective

The program was fascinating.
The products discussed are innovative. These are products the ARM industry
should know about.

insideARM
recommends a review of the program. Usually the FTC archives their webcasts.
Past webcasts of FTC events are available at www.ftc.gov/videos.
However, as of this morning the broadcast was not yet on the site. It is likely
to be available in the near future.

We, too, are focused on
innovation. To this end, The iA Institute (publisher of insideARM) is in the process of
forming an Innovation Council to leverage the collective imagination of big
thinkers from across – and outside – the ARM industry, including creditors,
collectors, and technology organizations. The Innovation Council will work
closely the Consumer Relations
Consortium, also
managed by The iA Institute, to develop ways to address emerging regulations,
better serve consumers, and still manage to remain profitable. If you
think you can contribute, please get in touch.

insideARM maintains a
free TCPA
resources page to provide the ARM
community a destination for timely and topical information on the Telephone
Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”). This page is generously supported by LexisNexis. See the page here or find it in our main navigation bar from any page on
insideARM. 

The cornerstone of the page
is a chart of significant TCPA cases. Click on the link in the chart for
the complete text of the decision. Where insideARM has already published a
story on the case, we provide a link. Case information and analysis is
provided by the Bedard Law Group.

TCPA cases in
September and October 2016 brought both positive and negative outcomes for the
ARM industry

Tuck v. Guardian
Protection Services, Inc.

The gist: The District
Court for the Southern District of California granted in part and denied in
part Guardian Protection Services’ motion to dismiss for failure to state a
claim.

Pozo v. Stellar Recovery
Collection

The gist: The District
Court for the Middle District of Florida held that the defendant violated the
TCPA but found there was insufficient evidence to prove a violation of the
FDCPA as well.

LaVigne v. First
Community Bancshares

The gist: The District
Court for New Mexico held that the defendant violated the TCPA and denied the
defendants’ motion to dismiss the case.

Espejo v. Santander
Consumer USA, Inc.

The gist: The District
Court for the Northern District of Illinois granted the defendant’s motion for
summary judgment in one case and denied it in another, and additionally denied
the plaintiff’s motion for class certification.