Daily Digest - August 26, 2025

Brought to you by: TCN | By Mike Gibb

Author

Mike Gibb
August 26, 2025

🎉🎂 Happy Birthday to: Jeff Gronholz of Credit Bureau of New Ulm, Cathy Fellabaum of Harvest Strategy Group, Teresa Paurich of InteLogix, Sara Costanzo of Weltman, Weinberg & Reis, and Christian Ballard of SCJ Commercial Financial Services. Happy belated Birthday to: Sameer Maini of CollaborationRoom (yesterday)

🚨Meeting Alert! 🚨

If you care about the collection platform you are on, if you are looking at potentially switching platforms, if you just switched platforms, or want to get the most out of your platform, be at the first meeting of Platform Pulse today at 3pm ET.

☕️ 💡 Networking & Solutions — all in one place!

Click here to sign up for the group text chat and be placed in a group with other industry professionals. It’s a great chance to get to know others in the industry and get different perspectives and opinions on industry trends and problems. Also, I am launching a new virtual coffee & chat opportunity, where you are randomly paired with someone from the industry and asked to spend 15-20 minutes getting to know one another.

🔖 🎓 Now with CLE Credits!

Class-Action Suit Accuses Creditor, Collection Law Firms of FDCPA Violations for Commercial Debt

  • You can’t have it both ways, can you? The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act applies to consumer debts — those incurred for personal, family, or household purposes. Debts that are incurred for commercial purposes, like those related to business expenses, are not covered by the FDCPA. A plaintiff has filed a class-action lawsuit in Georgia federal court, accusing a credit card company and two collection law firms of violating the FDCPA, with a head tilt to alleging they also violated Regulation F, but while also claiming the debts were not incurred for personal purposes.

  • More details here.

  • This series is sponsored by WebRecon

A MESSAGE FROM TCN

TODAY‘S WEBINAR

UPCOMING WEBINARS

  • Navient Solutions has announced plans to lay off up to 128 employees tied to its Fishers, Ind. office, according to a WARN notice filed on August 4,. While the layoffs are permanent and span from October through next June, they do not involve closing the facility. The affected workers are primarily remote, but report through Indiana-based management, with roughly two-thirds residing in the state and the rest scattered elsewhere.

  • More details here.

FTC Cracks Down on Alleged AI Scammer

  • If it seems like every product and piece of software today claims to use artificial intelligence in some way, shape, or form, it’s not just you. In fact, the Federal Trade Commission yesterday announced it has launched an enforcement action against a company that claimed to be able to use conversational AI to replace customer service representatives, but instead were making false and unsubstantiated claims and refused to provide refunds.

  • More details here.

Appeals Court Upholds Denial of Class Certification in TCPA Debt Collection Case

  • The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has upheld a lower court’s denial to certify a class and not to allow testimony from an expert witness used by the plaintiff in a Telephone Consumer Protection Act case against a creditor that was attempting to collect on an unpaid debt.

  • More details here.

WORTH NOTING: Understanding the true cost of home insurance ... Consumer confidence in their overall financial outlook continues to deteriorate ... New research shows that artificial intelligence is "profoundly" limiting the employment prospects of young Americans ... People are doing a lot less "guilt tipping" these days ... Fact checking the benefits and potential issues with weighted vests when exercising ... More outrage over changes at Cracker Barrel. Now it's the peg game ... A lot of employees weren't happy with the onboarding process at their new jobs ... How to transition from a remote to in-office job.

Trailer Tuesday, part I

Trailer Tuesday, Part II

Webinar Recap: The Tech & Expertise You Need to Manage and Access and Secure Your Data

In a recent webinar hosted by Mike Gibb and sponsored by CSS Impact, industry experts Ryder Thompson, Lucas Brown, Jacob Bennett, and Chad Kruse discussed the growing importance of data management and security in the credit and collections industry. With data described as “the new oil,” the panel emphasized that organizations must not only protect sensitive information but also harness it to drive smarter decisions and operational efficiency.

Panelists highlighted that while companies often focus on collecting vast amounts of data, the true challenge lies in classifying, securing, and making it actionable. Effective categorization of sensitive data (such as PII), implementing retention policies, and obfuscating unnecessary details are critical steps in minimizing risk while enabling deeper analytics. The discussion also stressed the importance of bridging silos between IT and operations, encouraging experimentation, and building internal expertise to unlock real value from existing datasets.

As agencies modernize, adopting AI and analytics tools—from machine learning models to website heat-mapping software—can provide new insights into consumer behavior and optimize recovery strategies. However, panelists cautioned that tools alone are insufficient without skilled people and a supportive culture willing to learn from both successes and failures.

🧠 Key Takeaways:

  1. Start with Data Classification & Retention – Identify what data is essential, categorize it by sensitivity, and establish clear policies for retention or disposal to reduce compliance and security risks.

  2. Invest in People Over Tools Alone – A strong analyst with domain expertise can deliver more value than expensive platforms. Build in-house skills while leveraging tools to scale insights.

  3. Make Data Actionable – Focus on operationalizing analytics with simple, high-impact strategies (e.g., targeting repeat payers, re-engaging website visitors) before pursuing complex models.

For agencies, debt buyers, and financial institutions, the message is clear: securing and leveraging data isn’t just a compliance necessity—it’s a competitive advantage.

The Daily Digest is sponsored by TCN