The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its annual report to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) on its enforcement activities regarding the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), Consumer Leasing Act (CLA), and Electronic Find Transfer Act (EFTA).
The FTC report highlights the FTC’s enforcement actions relation to the above financial acts including the following:
- Automobile Purchase and Financing: The FTC continues its efforts in combating deceptive automobile dealer practices. The FTC brought two enforcement actions involving Regulation Z and TILA as well as the CLA and Regulation M. One of these cases involved the FTC’s settlement with Richard Berry, the owner and manager of four auto dealers, in the FTC’s action against Tate’s Auto for falsifying consumers’ information on financing applications and misrepresenting financial terms in advertisements.
- Payday Lending: The FTC settled charges with owners of a payday lending company called Harvest Moon, which the FTC alleged deceptively overcharged consumers millions of dollars among other deceptive tactics.
- Electronic Fund Transfers: The FTC had two cases pertaining to the EFTA and Regulation E. One case involved violations of the EFTA and Regulation E in the context of “negative option” plans. The FTC alleged Redwood Scientific engaged in robocalls to deceptively market “dissolvable oral film strips as effective smoking cessation, weight-loss, and sexual-performance aids, and enrolled consumers in auto-ship continuity plans without their consent, in violation of the FTC Act, the EFTA, and the TSR, among other statutes. The FTC has also issued an enforcement policy statement about negative options and warned companies against using illegal practices to trick consumers into subscription services.
Finally, the report highlights the FTC’s Military Task Force, which works on various initiatives for military consumers.
To see the FTC’s full annual report to the CFPB, please visit this link here.