Daily Digest - June 22, 2026

Happy Birthday to: Mike Anderson of TCN, Scott Schuller of Tucker, Albin and Associates, and Michael Blue of Time Investment Company. Happy belated Birthday to: John Dunkum of First Collection Services (June 21), Juan Mota Sanchez of Credit Control (June 21), Shannon Battani of Unifund CCR (June 21), Amelia Klobchar of Monterey Financial Services (June 21), Kimberly Castagna of Cavalry Portfolio Services (June 21), Chuck Blommaert of Flagship Financial Group (June 20), Eric Johnson of Carmel (June 20), and Kristi Sellers of First Collection Services (June 20).

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.

Appeals Court Refuses to Let CFPB Resume Mass Layoffs

• A federal appeals court declined Friday to let the Trump administration immediately gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s workforce, keeping the agency that supervises much of the credit and collection industry intact for now while a lower court weighs the latest downsizing plan.

• More details here.

A MESSAGE FROM TCN

TODAY’S WEBINAR

UPCOMING WEBINARS

D.C. Medical Debt Overhaul Heads to Mayor

• The D.C. Council has given final approval to its medical debt overhaul, sending the Medical Debt Mitigation Amendment Act of 2026 to Mayor Muriel Bowser and moving the District closer to one of the most restrictive local frameworks in the country for how medical debt is reported, collected, and enforced.

• More details here.

Why Scam Fears Are Reshaping Every Consumer Conversation

• A new survey from the association representing certified financial planners offers a sobering backdrop for an industry whose business depends on consumers answering the phone, opening the email, and trusting that the person on the other end is legitimate. As scammers grow more sophisticated, the credit and collection sector increasingly competes for attention against a flood of fraud that has made consumers wary of nearly every financial contact.

• More details here.

Judge Grants MSJ for CRA, Says Consumer Showed No Actual Inaccuracy

• A District Court judge in Texas granted summary judgment to a credit reporting agency, dismissing a consumer’s Fair Credit Reporting Act lawsuit over accounts and inquiries he claimed were inaccurate or unauthorized.

• More details here.

Health Misinformation Is Deepening Patient Distrust, and Providers Expect It to Worsen

• For the agencies and providers working to recover on medical balances, patient trust in the healthcare system is a quiet but real input. A new survey suggests that trust is under growing strain.

• More details here.

Postage and Gas Money Couldn’t Save Plaintiff in FDCPA Suit

• A collection attonrey has won dismissal of a consumer’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuit over a disputed parking fee after a Magistrate Court judge in Texas found that the only injury the plaintiff described never made it into the operative complaint.

• More details here.

Compliance Digest – June 22

• This week’s Compliance Digest features commentary from David Grassi, James Schultz, Stacy Rodriguez, Akeela White, Nick Prola, Loraine Lyons, Lori Quinn, Stefanie Jackman, Issa Moe, Brit Suttell, Joann Needleman, and David Kaminski, covering a wide range of FCRA, FDCPA, and TCPA developments including court rulings on credit reporting accuracy, debt buyer evidence requirements, AI risk in collections, and the CFPB's deletion of 15 years of public guidance.

• More details here

• This series is sponsored by Frost Echols

WORTH NOTING: A list of the jobs that are most likely to disappear over the next decade ... A report on the credit card landscape from WalletHub ... For people who like to look themselves up online ... Exercises to help you improve your agility ... When the playground bully is a sea lion ... The average 401(k) balance for Americans hit a record high in 2025 ... Feeling poorer than your peers will do a number on your mental well-being ... Three lies that people are telling themselves about work.

Music Monday, part I

Music Monday, Part II

Webinar Recap: The Latest in Dealing with Call Labeling and Screening

The webinar The Latest in Dealing with Call Labeling and Screening, sponsored by TCN, examined how carriers, analytics providers, and device-level tools are increasingly flagging legitimate calls as spam. Panelists emphasized that consumer behavior has shifted—unknown numbers are now seen as potential risk—and reputation scoring for phone numbers has become central to call deliverability. As Bryce Payne noted, “A dial is no longer just a dial, it’s a deliverability event.”

Experts highlighted that dialing strategies resembling spammer behavior—such as burst activity, short call durations, or high abandon rates—quickly trigger negative labels. Michael Brunken stressed the importance of treating phone numbers as assets, not disposable tools, while Richard Rotondo underscored that trust is now the deciding factor: “The industry has moved from can this call be completed to has the caller earned enough trust for the customer to answer.”

The discussion also covered branded caller ID, remediation processes, and multi-channel engagement strategies like sending texts before or after calls to build consumer confidence. TCN introduced its Smart AMD technology, designed to improve right-party contacts by recognizing screening systems and reducing agent delays.

🧠 Key Takeaways:

• Prioritize steady dialing behavior: Avoid bursty traffic, excessive redials, and high abandon rates. Consistency in call patterns reduces spam flags and improves reputation scores.

• Leverage branding and multi-channel engagement: Use CNAM branding where available and reinforce calls with pre- or post-call texts to establish trust and improve answer rates.

• Treat phone numbers as long-term assets: Maintain a curated inventory of numbers, monitor them continuously, and remediate quickly when labels occur rather than swapping numbers frequently.

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