The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau shut down Commonwealth Financial Systems for illegally trying to collect unverified medical debts after consumers disputed the validity of the debt.
The medical debt collection company violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act by failing to conduct reasonable investigations of disputed debts and to inform consumer reporting companies that certain information was disputed, according to a Dec. 15 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau news release. The company also violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by continuing to attempt to collect disputed debts without substantiating documentation.
In addition to shutting down permanently, the company was ordered to pay a $95,000 fine to the CFPB's victims relief fund, according to the release. It must also tell consumer reporting companies to delete all collection accounts.