BCFP Settles with eCommerce Retailer for Delaying Transfers of Customers’ Payments to Debt Buyers

A major eCommerce retailer settled allegations that it violated the CFPA by subjecting customers to misleading collection activity.

The BCFP alleged that the retailer received payments from customers whose accounts were already charged-off and sold to third-party debt buyers. The retailer then delayed sending these payments to the third-party debt buyers.  The BCFP found that in a three year period, customer payments were delayed over 31 days in over 18,000 instances and delayed over a year in 3,500 instances.  The BCFP alleged that these delays subjected the customers to misleading collection activity.

The retailer agreed to settle these allegations with the BCFP by paying a $200,000 civil money penalty and agreeing to improve its internal processes relating to customer payments on sold accounts within 90 days of execution of the consent order.

The BCFP press release and consent order can be found here.