The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) U.S. antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection.
Experian plc is an Anglo-Irish multinational consumer credit reporting company. Experian collects and aggregates information on over 1 billion people and businesses including 235 million individual U.S. consumers and more than 25 million U.S. businesses.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Pub. L. 95-109; 91 Stat. 874, codified as 15 U.S.C. § 1692 –1692p, approved on September 20, 1977 is a consumer protection amendment, establishing legal protection from abusive debt collection practices, to the Consumer Credit Protection Act, as Title VIII of that Act. The statute's stated purposes are: to eliminate abusive practices in the collection of consumer debts, to promote fair debt collection, and to provide consumers with an avenue for disputing and obtaining validation of debt information in order to ensure the information's accuracy. The Act creates guidelines under which debt collectors may conduct business, defines rights of consumers involved with debt collectors, and prescribes penalties and remedies for violations of the Act. It is sometimes used in conjunction with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681, is U.S. Federal Government legislation enacted to promote the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of consumer information contained in the files of consumer reporting agencies. It was intended to protect consumers from the willful and/or negligent inclusion of inaccurate information in their credit reports. To that end, the FCRA regulates the collection, dissemination, and use of consumer information, including consumer credit information. Together with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the FCRA forms the foundation of consumer rights law in the United States. It was originally passed in 1970, and is enforced by the US Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and private litigants.
Equifax Inc. is an American multinational consumer credit reporting agency and is one of the three largest consumer credit reporting agencies, along with Experian and TransUnion. Equifax collects and aggregates information on over 800 million individual consumers and more than 88 million businesses worldwide. In addition to credit and demographic data and services to business, Equifax sells credit monitoring and fraud prevention services directly to consumers.
Debt collection is the process of pursuing payments of debts owed by individuals or businesses. An organization that specializes in debt collection is known as a collection agency or debt collector. Most collection agencies operate as agents of creditors and collect debts for a fee or percentage of the total amount owed.
A credit bureau is a data collection agency that gathers account information from various creditors and provides that information to a consumer reporting agency in the United States, a credit reference agency in the United Kingdom, a credit reporting body in Australia, a credit information company (CIC) in India, Special Accessing Entity in the Philippines, and also to private lenders. It is not the same as a credit rating agency.
Capital Acquisitions and Management Corporation (CAMCO) was a United States debt collection agency and subsidiary of Risk Management Financial Services, Inc., that was fined and closed down for repeated violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Its closure marked the first time a Federal Trade Commission investigation shut down a collection company.
MIB Group, Inc. or MIB is a membership corporation owned by approximately 430 member insurance companies in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1902 and based in Braintree, Massachusetts, MIB provides services designed to protect insurers, policyholders, and applicants from attempts to conceal or omit information material to underwriting life & health insurance.
A debt buyer is a company, sometimes a collection agency, a private debt collection law firm, or a private investor that purchases delinquent or charged-off debts from a creditor or lender for a percentage of the face value of the debt based on the potential collectibility of the accounts. The debt buyer can then collect on its own, utilize the services of a third-party collection agency, repackage and resell portions of the purchased portfolio or any combination of these options.
A robocall is a phone call that uses a computerized autodialer to deliver a pre-recorded message, as if from a robot. Robocalls are often associated with political and telemarketing phone campaigns, but can also be used for public-service or emergency announcements. Some robocalls use personalized audio messages to simulate an actual personal phone call. In 2019, the United States Congress passed legislation expanding the regulation of robocalls.
Spokeo is a people search website that aggregates data from online and offline sources. Spokeo and similar services have been criticized because of the danger caused by listing the personal information and physical addresses of unwitting people openly online, and for profiting off the exploitation of personal data.
FairPoint Communications, Inc. was headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, and operated communication services in 31 markets in 17 states, mostly in rural areas. FairPoint services include local and long distance phone service, data, Internet, broadband, television, business communications solutions and fiber services. FairPoint, along with Frontier Communications, had been at the forefront of acquiring Verizon landline operations.
ILD Teleservices, is a clearing house for LEC billing and alternative payment options, such as e-checks, ACH and micro payments. ILD performs payment processing services for communications companies, digital content providers, and other online vendors in North America. Founded in 1996, the company is headquartered in Ponte Vedra, Florida. In recent years, the company has been the subject of many consumer complaints as well as legal action brought by at least two states and the Federal Trade Commission. In 2003, ILD settled with the Federal Trade Commission.
The Red Flags Rule was created by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), along with other government agencies such as the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), to help prevent identity theft. The rule was passed in January 2008, and was to be in place by November 1, 2008. But due to push-backs by opposition, the FTC delayed enforcement until December 31, 2010.
Tenant screening is a process used primarily by residential landlords and property managers to evaluate prospective tenants. The purpose is to assess the likelihood the tenant will fulfill the terms of the lease or rental agreement and will also take great care of the rental property in question. The process culminates in a decision as to whether to approve the applicant, approve the applicant conditionally or deny tenancy.
Founded in 2012, Expert Global Solutions, Inc.,, based in Plano, Texas, was the world's largest privately owned Business Process Outsourcing company with more than 100 locations globally and more than 40,000 associates. It is a holding company for NCO and APAC Customer Services, Inc. (APAC), providers of global business process outsourcing services. NCO provides accounts receivable management (ARM) services, and APAC provides customer relationship management (CRM) services. EGS has over 100 locations, with more than 42,000 employees. EGS was formerly owned by One Equity Partners (OEP), the private investment arm of JP Morgan Chase & Co.
Exact Data helps small and medium sized businesses acquire customers cost effectively, by selling highly targeted consumer and business email, postal and phone audiences. Exact Data is based in Chicago, Illinois and has offices in Los Angeles, California and Deerfield Beach, Florida.
Navient is a U.S. corporation based in Wilmington, Delaware, whose operations include servicing and collecting student loans. Managing nearly $300 billion in student loans for more than 12 million debtors, the company was formed in 2014 by the split of Sallie Mae into two distinct entities, Sallie Mae Bank and Navient. Navient employs 6,000 individuals at offices across the U.S. As of 2018, Navient services 25% of student loans in the United States.
Financial privacy laws regulate the manner in which financial institutions handle the nonpublic financial information of consumers. In the United States, financial privacy is regulated through laws enacted at the federal and state level. Federal regulations are primarily represented by the Bank Secrecy Act, Right to Financial Privacy Act, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Provisions within other laws like the Credit and Debit Card Receipt Clarification Act of 2007 as well as the Electronic Funds Transfer Act also contribute to financial privacy in the United States. State regulations vary from state to state. While each state approaches financial privacy differently, they mostly draw from federal laws and provide more stringent outlines and definitions. Government agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission provide enforcement for financial privacy regulations.
