The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") submitted its annual report to Congress on the administration of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"). The report highlights CFPB and Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") efforts to combat unlawful debt collection practices.

In the report, the CFPB and FTC stated that they brought numerous enforcement actions in 2018. Specifically, the CFPB undertook six public enforcement actions arising from alleged FDCPA violations and handled over 80,000 debt collection complaints. The FTC stated that it filed or resolved seven cases against a total of 52 defendants and obtained over $58.9 million in judgments. Further, the FTC banned over 30 companies and individuals from working in debt collection and returned approximately $850,000 to consumers.

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