Consumer Litigation Under FDCPA and TCPA Continues Elevated Pace Through 2026
Published 2026-03-04 · Legal Niche Pros
Litigation under the country's core federal consumer protection statutes has stayed elevated through the first half of 2026, according to monthly tracking reports summarized in legal industry coverage. One mid-2025 update noted Fair Credit Reporting Act filings up roughly 12% year over year in a single quarter, with Telephone Consumer Protection Act litigation spiking as much as 39% in the same window.
Subsequent monthly updates through the rest of the year describe a volatile but persistently elevated pattern, with Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and TCPA filings alternating between brief dips and renewed surges, alongside a steady rise in complaints tracked by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Court rulings have also expanded liability in some circuits: one federal appeals court decision vacated the dismissal of an FCRA claim involving a consumer's disputed debt, reinforcing that furnishers of credit information have an ongoing duty to reasonably investigate disputes rather than simply re-verify a disputed item without further review.
For consumers, the throughline across FDCPA, FCRA, and TCPA litigation is that each statute creates an independent, private right to sue — meaning a consumer facing unrelated debt collection activity may separately have a viable claim over harassment, an inaccurate credit report entry, or unwanted robocalls, regardless of whether the underlying debt itself is valid.