New York Paralegal Blog

NEW YORK- Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced New York is part of a 46-state settlement with a Bankruptcy Trustee charged with overseeing the collection of late fees and other charges allegedly owed by approximately 3.3. million former customers of Hollywood Video and its parent company, Movie Gallery, both of which have filed for bankruptcy and are in the process of being liquidated. As many as 200,000 New Yorkers could be impacted by the settlement. "Imagine applying for a mortgage only to find your credit report is tarnished because of a video rental late fee you didn't even owe," said Attorney General Schneiderman .  "This settlement will provide important safeguards to protect consumers against abusive debt collection practices and will ensure that consumers will not have their credit harmed as a result of any outstanding fees claimed to be owed to Hollywood Video or Movie Gallery." New York and the other settl...

Washington, D.C. April 12, 2011 — The staffs of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today announced that they intend to hold a two-day joint public roundtable on May 2-3, 2011, to discuss the schedule for implementing final rules for swaps and security-based swaps under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. The Dodd-Frank Act gives the CFTC and SEC certain flexibility to set effective dates and a schedule for compliance with rules implementing Title VII of the Act, which involves oversight of swaps and security-based swaps, so that market participants have time to develop the policies, procedures, systems and processes needed to comply with the new regulatory requirements. Public comments on Title VII have helped inform the Commissions as to what requirements can be met sooner and which ones will take more time. The roundtable is intended to supplement the comments received to date and help inform...

Starting October 27, consumers trying to settle their debts will be protected by a new rule that prohibits companies that sell debt relief services over the telephone from charging fees before settling or reducing a customer’s credit card or other unsecured debt. The ban on advance fees reflects changes that the Federal Trade Commission made to its Telemarketing Sales Rule last July. “The rule change that goes into effect next week is a major victory for consumers struggling to control and manage their debt without inadvertently digging themselves in deeper,” Chairman Jon Leibowitz said. “Starting on October 27, debt relief telemarketers are on notice – if you charge consumers before actually helping them, you will find the FTC and state enforcers knocking at your door to enforce the Rule. We look forward to working with our state partners to ensure that the Rule is enforced across the country.”

Today the Federal Trade Commission is hosting a public event on consumer protection issues in debt collection proceedings. This is the second in a series of FTC roundtable discussions on these topics. WHAT: “Protecting Consumers in Debt Collection Arbitration and Litigation: A Roundtable Discussion” WHEN: September 30, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Registration at 8 a.m.; Seating limited WHERE: San Francisco State University Downtown Campus 835 Market Street, Rooms 675 and 676 San Francisco, CA 94132 A live webcast, agenda, and information about the participants are available at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/debtcollectround/index.shtm .