Daily Digest - July 13, 2026

🎂 Happy birthday to: Robert Pinchuck of FDCPA Certifications. Happy belated Birthday to: Tom Lockard of CBE Companies (July 12), Adam Pearlman of A.R.M. Solutions (July 12), Jason Davis of CastleWise Insurance Group (July 12), Karley Cummings of TrueAccord (July 11), Jeremy Wood of Glenview Finance (July 11), Eric Lantz of SNAAC (July 11), Haseeb Khalid of A.R.M. Solutions (July 11), Dan Fricano of Santander US (July 11), Godfrey Tan-Torres of USCB Inc (July 11), and Mike Pallota of AmeriCU Credit Union (July 11).

🎉Congratulations for starting new positions: John Griffith as Head of Collections and Recovery Operations at College Ave.

NEW AI SURVEY

Have 90 seconds to help me out? Take this quick survey, sponsored by TCN, on how you are using AI, what you like about it, and what frustrates you.

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!

I am thrilled to announce a new live conference I am hosting. It’s an AI conference for the credit and collection industry. It will be held in Denver this September. Check out getbrainstorming.com for more information. And watch the video below to see me showcasing my outdoor skills.

If you are interested in being a speaker at the event, click here.

Judge Pauses Fight Over CFPB Mass Layoff Plan Until New Director Confirmed, Keeps Injunction in Place

• The plan to cut the CFPB's workforce by two-thirds is officially on hold, and the injunction blocking mass layoffs stays in force while everyone waits on the Senate. The Bureau's own CFO says it has the money to stay fully staffed indefinitely. What happens next depends on Brian Johnson, and the clock runs out in January. Here's what the stay actually covers, and the one carve-out worth watching.

• More details here.

A MESSAGE FROM TCN

TODAY’S WEBINAR

UPCOMING WEBINARS

Bill Would Cut Credit Reporting Window to Four Years, Ban Medical Debt from Consumer Reports

• Seven years becomes four. Bankruptcies drop to seven. Paid collection accounts come off in 45 days. And medical debt disappears from consumer reports entirely. A new House bill would rewrite the FCRA more aggressively than anything the CFPB attempted, and while its odds this session are long, it is the clearest blueprint yet of where consumer advocates want credit reporting to go. Every furnisher should know what's in it.

• More details here.

Judge Grants MTD in FDCPA Suit Over Repossession During Funeral Trip

• A creditor repossessed a mother's Kia in New York City less than 24 hours after she arrived with her four kids for a family funeral, more than a year after it went silent on the account. She sued on nine counts, including claims the creditor tracked her location. A Maryland judge tossed all nine. The ruling is a useful roadmap on when repossession notices are required, what post-repo notices must say, and why sympathetic facts alone don't create liability.

• More details here.

Consumers Are Three Times More Likely to Use Their Own AI Than a Company's Chatbot, Gartner Finds

• Service leaders put a median 12% of their budgets into AI last year, more than any other business function. Only 24% saw a positive return. The reason, per new Gartner data: consumers are skipping company chatbots and asking ChatGPT and Claude instead, at three times the rate. If your agency is betting on self-service AI to drive resolutions, this research suggests the engagement battle may not happen on your portal at all.

• More details here.

Study Finds AI Tools Give Consumers Inconsistent Financial Advice, With Signs of Demographic Bias

• Ask seven AI chatbots how much an identical family should keep in emergency savings and you'll get answers ranging from $19,500 to $37,500. Change only the race of the household head and some recommendations shift dramatically. New academic research shows the AI advice consumers bring into collection conversations is inconsistent, and in some cases biased. Your agents may already be negotiating against it.

• More details here.

Judge Trims FCRA Suit Against CRA, But Allows Core Claims to Move Forward

• A pro se plaintiff's "relatively sparse" allegations were enough to get her accuracy and reinvestigation claims past a motion to dismiss, in part because the disputed accounts came off her report only after she served the summons. The permissible purpose claim over promotional inquiries didn't survive. A reminder that the pleading-stage bar is lower than furnishers might like, plus a judicial warning about the limits of pro se leniency.

• More details here.

Compliance Digest — July 13

• The Supreme Court hands the President sweeping power to fire agency heads. Massachusetts ties medical debt credit reporting to provider licenses. Illinois bars hospital liens on patients' homes. Eight of the week's biggest compliance stories, each broken down by the industry's top defense attorneys, including what the standing rulings mean for your dispute investigation files and why one court sanctioned a litigant over AI-generated case citations.

• More details here

• This series is sponsored by Frost Echols

WORTH NOTING: Washington state has announced it is increasing its professional licensing fees ... The death of the status update and why so many fewer people are posting to social media ... Could when you eat matter just as much as what you eat? ... Is now the right time to buy a new iPhone? ... Is Netflix looking to start managing its own cable channels? ... How OpenAI is deepening its push into families ... Gear to help you make small bedrooms more functional ... More young workers are feeling less shame and embarrassment and are posting their salaries online.

Music Monday, part I

Music Monday, Part II

Webinar Recap: Reading the Consumer Right Now: Collecting When Household Budgets Are Shorte

In the webinar, the panel of experts discussed how rising costs and shifting consumer priorities are reshaping debt collection strategies in 2026. Mike Gibb opened by noting, “Every consumer who picks up the phone right now is doing math in their head… rent, mortgage, groceries, the car payment, and your account is fighting for a position on that list.”

Panelists agreed that while delinquency volumes are increasing, recoveries are harder to secure. Consumers are more selective, prioritizing obligations that maintain access to essentials like housing, cars, and phones, while unsecured debts often fall to the bottom of the payment hierarchy. Commitment is no longer defined by a single payment but by sustained patterns over time. Agencies and creditors must adapt by leveraging technology, tailoring payment plans, and focusing on quality engagement rather than call volume.

🧠 Key Takeaways:

• Redefine commitment metrics: As John Watson observed, “Commitment is not really an event anymore… it’s a series, a pattern.” Agencies should measure sustained payment behavior rather than one‑time promises.

• Leverage technology and digital tools: Panelists emphasized investing in automation, branded calling, and self‑service portals to free agents for deeper conversations and improve consumer contactability.

• Tailor strategies to consumer segments: David Guy stressed the importance of distinguishing between temporary illiquidity, structural overspending, and insolvency. Flexible, lower‑dollar payment plans with gradual increases can help maintain engagement.

This discussion underscores the urgent need for collection professionals to adapt strategies to a consumer base that is stretched, selective, and fragmented. By focusing on sustained engagement, smarter segmentation, and technology‑enabled efficiency, agencies and creditors can improve recovery outcomes in today’s challenging environment.

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