Who’s On First? The CFPB’s Recent Focus On First-Party Collections

Successful marketing leads to sales, but sometimes those sales don't result in customers making timely payments.  When that happens merchants and lenders often try to recover the cost of goods sold or loans through collections.  But what are the risk for merchants seeking to collect outstanding payments?  A lot, apparently, if two recent Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") enforcement actions tell us anything.  Although "first-party" collections are largely exempt from the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act ("FDCPA"), the CFPB has begun using its enforcement powers to challenge first-party collection practices, including those used by retail merchants and other lenders.