February 24, 2015 (Washington, D.C.) — The Online Lenders Alliance (OLA) today praised the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) action against firms allegedly running a debt relief scam targeting short-term loan customers.
“We applaud the FTC’s efforts to put fraudulent debt relief companies out of business. The sole business interest of many of these companies is to scam consumers,” McGreevy said.
The FTC lawsuits claims PSC Administrative, Infinity Client Solutions, Infinity Collect, Coastal Acquisitions, Richard Hughes, and Jared Irby violated the Telemarketing Sales Rule when they told consumers they could eliminate their debt by enrolling in a program that had the consumers pay the so-called debt relief company, rather than lenders. The FTC alleges that these companies and individuals falsely promised to pay off or eliminate the borrowers’ outstanding loans in exchange for the payment of certain fees.
“OLA members abide by a list of Best Practices that includes strict rules regarding debt collection to ensure consumers are treated fairly,” McGreevy said.
OLA encourages consumers to report instances of fraud to its live-operated Consumer Hotline (866-299-7585). OLA reports fraud to the FTC and other law enforcement agencies for investigation.
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The Online Lenders Alliance represents the growing industry of financial technology companies offering consumers small, short-term loans online. OLA member companies abide by a list of Best Practices and Code of Conduct to ensure that customers are fully informed and fairly treated.
