Welcome to the Research Assistant Weekly Newsletter - a subscriber-only resource for insight into emerging compliance challenges, details on peer calls, and links to new Research Assistant reports, documents, tools, and more.
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Last week, we chatted about how the CFPB and 7 State AG’s forced a debt Relief company into receivership. The complaint alleged that Stratfs, LLC f/k/a Strategic Financial Solutions, LLC (SFS) charged illegal advance fees and falsely claimed that lawyers would provide consumers debt relief on their behalf. According to the CFPB, SFS led consumers to believe that lawyers were hired to negotiate their debt-relief payoff amounts; however, it was the Company and its employees, who are not licensed attorneys, conducting these negotiations.
While this enforcement action could result in the demise of this organization and its legal network, sadly there are others waiting in the wings to fill the void. For the benefit of our clients and their non-paying customers, it’s worth the effort to try to make contact with the attorney that consumers believe represents them. Be ready to go back to the consumer when your contact doesn’t result in a response, as is our right under the FDCPA. Treat consumers in unexpected ways—with empathy, active listening, and options that the consumer never considered—to demonstrate that you care more about them and their circumstances than a debt settlement company, or an attorney they have never met, could ever do.
As for handling consumers currently wrapped up in the SFS debacle, we suggest that these accounts be put on hold for at least 60-90 days to allow time for this to be sorted out.
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