Daily Digest - December 29, 2025

🎂 Happy Birthday to: Daniel Yakimenko of EXL, Feroze Waheed of Reliant Capital Solutions, Krista LaMonica of PRA Group, Peter Wang of Aktos, and Richard Formoe of Paydoff. Happy belated Birthday to: Michelle Wood of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Dec. 28), Robert Andreu of Altus Receivables Management (Dec. 28), Gunjan Rustagi of Provana (Dec. 28), Shaun Ertischek of Cascade Receivables Management (Dec. 27), James Vitale of Prodigal (Dec. 27), Cheryl Widhalm of the Barton Law Group, LLC (Dec. 27), Terry N. Taylor of Dynamic Legal Recovery (Dec. 26), Tim Collins of Pay Ready (Dec. 26), Amanda Secrest of Finvi (Dec. 26), David White of Professional Credit (Dec. 26), Adel Jawad of Span Collection & Credit Management (Dec. 26), Aaron Reiter of InterProse (Dec. 25), Hashem Sadeghiyeh of Arro (Dec. 25), and Christopher Murphy of Debtlink.com (Dec. 25).

🎉Congratulations for starting new positions: Aaron Brooks as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at InvestiNet, LLC, Brian Snyder as Chief Commercial Officer at Matrix Imaging Solutions, and Gene Thomas as Vice President of Sales at Solvent+.

New Speakers Being Added Daily

Check out ARMTech.live for the growing list of impressive speakers who are going to be in Dallas. This is going to be the must-attend event of the year!

Study Finds Student Loan Discharges in Bankruptcy Are Succeeding at Record Rates

• For decades, student loans have been viewed as effectively immune from bankruptcy; a perception that shaped borrower behavior, legal advice, and even mainstream media coverage. A recent academic analysis published the The American Bankruptcy Law Journal suggests that narrative is no longer aligned with reality.

• More details here.

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Court Reinforces Limits on Furnisher Liability in Credit Reporting Disputes

• A District Court judge in Tennessee has granted a defendant’s motion to dismiss claims it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act over claims it misreported the plaintiff’s mortgage payment as being late. Ultimately, the judge concluded that the plaintiff failed to allege facts sufficient to trigger the defendant’s statutory duties as a furnisher of information and, in several instances, relied on provisions of the FCRA that do not apply to furnishers at all.

• More details here.

Judge Denies MTD in FDCPA, RFDCPA Case Over Repossession

• A District Court judge in California has denied a defendant’s motion to dismiss claims it violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act because, as many of you will know, at the motion to dismiss stage, the judge has to accept the claims made in a complaint as true. In doing so, the court allowed claims tied to an allegedly improper vehicle repossession to move forward, offering another reminder of how breach-of-the-peace allegations can derail early dismissal efforts in repossession cases.

• More details here.

N.Y. AG Secures $2.4M in Debt Relief Over Deceptive Lease-to-Own Practices

• New York Attorney General Letitia James has secured $2.4 million in debt relief and $175,000 in penalties from Monterey Finance, sending another clear signal that regulators are closely scrutinizing how alternative financing and collection practices are structured, marketed, and enforced. The settlement, announced December 23, requires Monterey to cancel all outstanding New York leases, halt collection activity, and request the removal of negative credit reporting tied to the affected accounts.

• More details here.

FTC Warns Companies on Fake Reviews as Online Reputation Pressure Mounts

• For many companies in the credit and collection industry, online reviews have become a critical tool for establishing legitimacy, improving search-engine rankings, and reassuring skeptical consumers. But a recent move by the Federal Trade Commission is a pointed reminder that taking shortcuts in this area can quickly lead to regulatory trouble.

• More details here.

WORTH NOTING: This may make communicating with consumers via email a little more difficult ... A look at how states are seeking to protect consumers from medical debt burdens ... The average consumer is carrying a lot of debt, but less than they did a year ago ... What happens when a CFPB employee is a contestant on Jeopardy! ... Surrogacy is big business, but can leave people saddled with mountains of debt ... The right way to ask for a raise ... How to use the rest of your FSA/HSA funds before time runs out this week ... A list of 12 communication habits to ditch in 2026.

Music Monday, part I

Music Monday, Part II

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The Daily Digest is sponsored by TCN