Daily Digest - August 17, 2026

🎂 Happy Birthday: Michelle Henderson Akindunni of Ironhorse Funding. Happy belated Birthday to: Dave Cherner of Clear Capital (August 16), Rich Schlegel of RevSpring (August 16), Michael Roncoroni of TransUnion (August 16), Ray Dziubla of iTX Companies (August 16), Victoria Danielle of Guardian Litigation Group (August 16), Chase Cedrone of D1AL (August 15), Ashley Keating of CallMiner (August 15), Angela DiCenso of LexisNexis Risk Solutions (August 15), and Rudy Schatzmann of Altus Receivables Management (August 15).

🎉Congratulations for starting new positions: John Bratsakis as Chief Executive Officer at The League of Credit Unions & Affiliates, Denice Smith as VP Operations and Loan Servicing at Gesa Credit Union, TJ Berdzik as Chief Financial Officer at The Cascade365 Family of Companies, David Der as AI Product Acceleration & Innovation at Wells Fargo, Michael Fromknecht as Vice President Operations at Sequium Asset Solutions, Maysa Budri as Process Analyst at USAA, Sarah Asercion as Director, HR Acquisitions, Programs & Integrations at Mariner, and Douglas Greenberg as U.S. Legal Counsel at Cleo.

New Digital Communications Report

The industry is optimistic. Placements are expected to climb. Consumers, it turns out, are more ready for digital than the businesses serving them.

New AI Event!

Cut through the hype and promotion. Figure out what is fact and what is fiction. Learn from the experts who are doing some amazing things with AI. Hear how others are approaching this revolutionary technology and what they are comfortable with it touching inside their operation.

These are all reasons why you need to be at brainstorm. Can you run the risk, personally and professionally, of falling further behind those who are going to be there?

🏆 NEW CONTEST! 🧑‍🎨

TCN is going to give away a free T-shirt to all brainstorm attendees and they are excited to be hosting a contest to choose the shirt design. So use your imagination or your best AI tool and email me ([email protected]) your shirt designs. Submissions will be voted on and the winning design will be put on the shirts given out to brainstorm attendees.

Deadline for submission is Friday, August 21. 

CFPB to Stop Publishing Consumer Complaint Narratives in Public Database

• After a decade of posting consumers' unedited grievances for anyone to read, the CFPB is reversing course, arguing the narratives are one-sided, unverified, and needlessly damaging to companies' reputations. The decision lands as complaint volume explodes past 6 million a year, most of it tied to credit reporting. What's disappearing, what the bureau is keeping, and why a ranking senator says the agency is "burying the evidence."

• More details here.

A MESSAGE FROM TCN

TODAY’S WEBINAR

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Judge Lets FDCPA Claim Proceed Against Collector Over Disputed Cellphone Debt

• It started with a store visit to fix spotty cell service and ended with a blank tablet screen, four agreements the consumer says he never knew he signed, and a $565 phone that couldn't get a signal at his house. Years later, the unpaid device bills landed with three collectors, and one of them is now facing a surviving FDCPA claim after a Massachusetts judge read a self-represented plaintiff's complaint generously. How the court split the federal claim from the preempted state-law theories is the part worth reading.

• More details here.

Judge Voices Doubts But Won't Dismiss Consumer's FCRA Damages Claim

• The consumer crossed out the consent language on the insurer's forms before returning them. The company pulled his medical and credit records anyway, then admitted it. What looked like a straightforward FCRA case turned on a thornier question: whether anxiety, migraines, and insomnia are enough to keep the suit alive, or whether a congressional campaign was the real source of the stress. An Arizona judge made his skepticism plain, then ruled anyway.

• More details here.

Convenience Goes Digital, Trust Stays In Person: What Middle-Income Consumers Want Today

• Middle-income Americans will check a balance on their phone without a second thought, but when the decision gets big, nearly two-thirds still want a human across the table, not an app and definitely not AI. Santander's latest survey maps exactly where consumers draw that line, why physical branches still move the needle on trust, and what a majority now say about using AI to shop for a car. The numbers on where digital ends and people begin may reshape how you think about channel strategy.

• More details here.

White House Authorizes Vetted Private Companies to Hack Foreign Cybercriminals

• A new presidential memorandum would let vetted U.S. companies go on the offensive against foreign criminal groups, surveilling their systems and, in some cases, disrupting or destroying them outright. With Americans reporting more than $20 billion in losses to cyber-enabled crime last year, the White House calls it a major expansion of the fight. Others aren't sold. The guardrails, the $1 million bond, and one former official's blunt verdict are all inside.

• More details here.

New York DFS Overhauls Independent Dispute Resolution for Surprise Medical Bills

• New York is rewriting the rules for how out-of-network providers and insurers settle their billing fights, adding new health plans to the process, stripping others out, and moving to a benchmark pegged to the 50th percentile of local charges. With an August 26 effective date bearing down, the state is set to adopt the changes on an emergency basis. The specifics on new deadlines, fee-handling rules, and who's now in or out of the IDR system are here.

• More details here.

Compliance Digest – August 17

• This week's roundup of the rulings, bills, and regulatory moves shaping compliance, with the industry's sharpest legal minds weighing in on what each one actually means for you. An Illinois court says buying defaulted mortgage notes can require a collection agency license. A judge warns a pro se plaintiff about AI-hallucinated case citations. A servicemember FDCPA bill returns with bipartisan backing. And a CFPB official is caught warning examiners against getting too aggressive. Expert takes on all of it, plus several more, inside.

• More details here

• This series is sponsored by Frost Echols

WORTH NOTING: For anyone who wants access to 230 years of the country's federal financial history, it is now available ... Seven desk gadgets that will purportedly make your workday better ... Bank of America has a new policy: Employees can't work remotely two days in a row anymore ... An app that McDonald's is using to help employees avoid issues that lead them to calling out of work ... The etiquette pressures surrounding digital tipping ... What happens when Claude was put in charge of human workers ... Three minutes of sprinting may beat an hour of regular cardio ... How to avoid a freezer meltdown when you go away on vacation.

Music Monday, part I

Music Monday, Part II

Webinar Recap: Dealing with Represented Consumers

In a recent webinar hosted by Mike Gibb of AccountRecovery.net and sponsored by CSS Impact, industry experts tackled one of the most complex compliance challenges: how to handle consumers who claim legal representation. As Gibb noted, “The moment a consumer says, ‘Talk to my lawyer,’ everything changes.”

Panelists Dennis Barton, Alison Emery, Jenna Williams, Todd Gurstel, and Jer’Ron Dinwiddie explored the murky definitions of representation under the FDCPA, the role of debt settlement companies, and the risks of missteps that can trigger lawsuits. They emphasized that while the FDCPA requires collectors to stop contacting consumers once attorney representation is known, gray areas abound—such as power of attorney arrangements, bankruptcy counsel, and attorneys who fail to respond.

The discussion highlighted the importance of cautious policies, documentation, and understanding state‑specific laws. Gurstel warned of “traps” set by FDCPA attorneys, while Williams advised: “If you’re going to be represented, you’re going to be represented. Don’t play that game.”

🧠 Key Takeaways:

• Verify and Document Representation: Always request formal attorney notification and maintain a clear paper trail of communication attempts. This protects against claims of improper contact.

• Treat Ambiguities Conservatively: Whether dealing with debt settlement companies, POA holders, or silent attorneys, err on the side of caution. As Emery noted, risk‑benefit analysis may mean choosing not to pursue small balances.

• Know Your Opposing Counsel: Strategies should differ depending on whether the attorney is cooperative, settlement‑focused, or an FDCPA specialist. Gurstel stressed the need to “educate your client what you’re up against” to avoid costly litigation.

This session underscored that dealing with represented consumers is less about rigid rules and more about risk management, documentation, and strategic decision‑making. For agencies, debt buyers, and financial institutions, adopting conservative policies and training collectors to recognize these nuances is essential to minimizing exposure and maintaining compliance.

Did you know you can get full access to all of my past webinars, along with transcripts and summaries of each, for only $29/month? Sign up to be a premium subscriber today!

The Daily Digest is sponsored by TCN