Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., LPA Vows to Defend Against CFPB Lawsuit

Law firm emphasizes no finding of consumer harm; will further defend reputation in court

Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., LPA (Weltman) has issued a clear message in response to the lawsuit filed against it today by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

"We fundamentally disagree with the CFPB's allegations and believe that this lawsuit is the result of our firm's refusal to be strong-armed into a Consent Order," said Weltman Managing Partner Scott Weltman. "We are a law firm that is legally allowed, under federal and state law, to provide collection and legal services. We are being truthful with consumers and factually accurate when we use our name and our company's letterhead for proper debt collection activity. Weltman has taken every reasonable step to ensure that it collects on consumer debts in compliance with those statutes and to ensure that every statement made to consumers is accurate and not misleading. I'd also like to emphasize that the CFPB’s two-and-a-half-year investigation into our firm did not uncover a single instance of consumer harm."

Weltman cooperated fully with the CFPB since it initiated its Civil Investigative Demand (CID) in September 2014, producing hundreds of thousands of pages of documents and more than 1 million collection phone call recordings, and submitting to two investigational hearings. This was done at significant cost to Weltman, but with the goal of proving to federal regulators that its attention to compliance and its by-the-book ethical practice of law is exemplary.

It is not unusual for any large entity in the financial services industry to receive a CID from the CFPB. Weltman, which has 65 attorneys and more than 650 employees, represents many of the largest financial institutions in the U.S. in bankruptcy, consumer and commercial collections, litigation, and real estate default matters. Weltman has not been the subject of any other formal government actions or disciplinary reviews.

"The result of the CFPB's investigation of our law firm is based on its interpretation of the law, and not on any actual violation of federal or state laws or regulations as they are written today," said Mr. Weltman. "We will continue to vigorously defend Weltman's honest, ethical and compliant collection practices, and we look forward to our day in court."


PLEASE ADDRESS ANY INQUIRIES TO:

Kira M. Sandmann, Associate Director of Marketing
Mobile: (330) 357-2583
Direct: (216) 739-5227
ksandmann@weltman.com