Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Sues Debt Collectors and Debt Buyers Encore Capital Group, Midland Funding, Midland Credit Management, and Asset Acceptance Capital Corp.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Bureau) filed a lawsuit against Encore Capital Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries, Midland Funding, LLC; Midland Credit Management, Inc.; and Asset Acceptance Capital Corp. The companies, which are headquartered in San Diego, California, together comprise the largest debt collector and debt buyer in the United States, with annual revenue exceeding $1 billion and annual net income exceeding $75 million. Encore and its subsidiaries are currently subject to a 2015 consent order with the Bureau based on the Bureau’s previous findings that they violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), and Fair Credit Reporting Act. The Bureau alleges that Encore and its subsidiaries have violated the terms of this consent order and again violated the FDCPA and CFPA. The Bureau’s complaint seeks injunctions against them, as well as damages, redress to consumers, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, and civil money penalties.

The Bureau’s complaint, filed in federal district court in the Southern District of California, specifically alleges that since September 2015, Encore and its subsidiaries violated the consent order by suing consumers without possessing required documentation, using law firms and an internal legal department to engage in collection efforts without providing required disclosures, and failing to provide consumers with required loan documentation after consumers requested it. The Bureau also alleges that the companies violated the consent order, the CFPA, and the FDCPA by suing consumers to collect debts even though the statutes of limitations had run on those debts and violated the consent order by attempting to collect on debts for which the statutes of limitations had run without providing required disclosures. The Bureau further alleges that the companies violated the CFPA by failing to disclose possible international-transaction fees to consumers, thereby effectively denying consumers an opportunity to make informed choices of their preferred payment methods. The Bureau also alleges that each violation of the consent order constitutes a violation of the CFPA.

The complaint is not a finding or ruling that the defendants have violated the law.

A copy of the complaint filed in federal district court in the Southern District of California is available at: https://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/documents/cfpb_encore-capital-group-et-al_complaint_2020-08.pdf

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a 21st century agency that helps consumer finance markets work by making rules more effective, by consistently and fairly enforcing those rules, and by empowering consumers to take more control over their economic lives. For more information, visit www.consumerfinance.gov.