State AGs In The News - December 10th, 2015

Consumer Protection

Vermont AG Discourages Reuse of Renewable Credit

Vermont AG William Sorrell issued official guidance for solar power companies to use when making statements regarding the character of electricity provided by a project facility without factoring in the impact of selling renewable energy credits (RECs) in regional markets. The sale of RECs helps finance solar power projects and they are often sold in advance to larger polluters that need them to offset their emissions. The AG clarifies that he will view it as a violation of the Vermont Consumer Protection Act if a solar power project company makes representations that it will provide electricity to the local community that is "renewable," "clean," "green," etc., but the power provider has already sold the corresponding RECs. The guidance indicates that Vermont law is harmonized with federal law as exemplified in the Federal Trade Commission's Guides for the Use of Environmental Marketing Claims. The guidance refers to a letter to Green Mountain Power, from the FTC indicating that that once RECs are sold or transferred, the company "has forfeited its right to characterize the power delivered from those facilities as renewable, in any way." Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

CFPB Reaches Settlement Over Company's Attempts to Collect on Unverified Debt

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has reached an agreement with Collecto, Inc., doing business as EOS CCA, to resolve allegations that the debt collector violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by failing to verify the accuracy of the consumer debt it acquired and on which it attempted to collect. The complaint alleged that EOS paid $35.4 million for a portfolio of defaulted consumer cell phone debt with a face value of $2.3 billion, and then proceeded to collect on the debt without verifying the accuracy of the accounts or determining which accounts had been disputed by the individual consumer. It also alleged that EOS reported account information en masse to credit reporting agencies, with knowledge that the information was not necessarily true for all accounts. EOS, without admitting guilt, agreed to enter into a consent order, and will refund at least $743,000 to consumers according to a redress plan to be approved by the CFPB. EOS will pay $1.85 million in civil penalties, and will remove all information reported to credit bureaus related to the unsubstantiated or...