Consumer Bankruptcy Journal Winter 2016 | Page 44

The Private Right of Action Against Mortgage Servicers and Debt Collectors Should Survive Trump and Republican Attacks on Dodd Frank By Marc Dann Esq. The Dann Law Firms Cleveland, Ohio B efore we all write off the CFPB and Regulations X and Z ( The Mortgage Servicing Regulations) we all need to remember that the Wells Fargo scandal is still smoldering, that the individuals most likely to be harmed by mortgage loan servicers and debt collectors are exactly the voters who put Donald Trump over the top in the recent election and that Dodd Frank is a sprawling and complicated hodgepodge of regulation and related legislation, so discussions of simply “repealing” Dodd Frank oversimplify the legislative reality. Take for example the the parts of the law that impact the clients of our firm and the clients of other consumer lawyers, the private right of action under Regs X and Z and the proposed Fair Debt Collection Regulations. These provisions these both govern a consumer business relationships that consumers did not choose. While the consumer may choose to borrow money for a house or incur debt with a creditor they have no freedom of choice about who their mortgage loan servicer or debt collector ends up being. There 44 CONSUMER BANKRUPTCY JOURNAL is a strong public policy and practical argument to be made that these types relationships that must be regulated. Another argument for leaving our clients alone is that these types of cases we bring really don’t lend themselves to Class Actions, another hot point on the republican agenda. Allowing a private right of action in “forced consumer relationships” is a compelling argument that should appeal to legislators on both sides of the political spectrum. Winter 2016 National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys