FDCPA Lawsuits Projected to Decline in 2012

The total number of lawsuits against ARM firms filed in 2012 by consumers claiming violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is now projected to fall under the number filed in 2011, according to a company that tracks the cases.

Even with a slight surge in FDCPA case filings in the first half of October, the total number of such suits filed in 2012 is 8 percent below those filed at the same point in 2011.

“We can now project FDCPA claims will finish the year at around 10,500 suits, down from 12,018 in 2011,” said Jack Gordon, whose company, WebRecon LLC, tracks suits filed under consumer statutes.

FDCPA cases filed in 2012 have been tracking lower than 2011 for most of the year. But around mid-year, it became apparent that 2012 could see a year-over-year decline.

If the total number of cases claiming violations of the FDCPA does decrease in 2012, it would mark a turnaround in the meteoric rise in such cases over the past few years.

But lawsuits against ARM firms claiming violations of other statutes have filled the void this year. For example, Gordon says that suits filed under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) will be far higher in 2012 than in 2011. As it stands now, TCPA suits are up 50 percent from 2011 while FCRA suits are up 16 percent.