Pub. 7 2016 Issue 4

Winter 2016 11 West Virginia Banker 2015 Amendments to the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act May Not Apply Retroactively By Sandra Murphy and Floyd Boone, Bowles Rice LLP B ased on legislative history, the credit and debt collection practices of West Virginia community banks were not the impetus for the West Virginia Legislature’s enactment of the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act (“WVCCPA”) in 1974. To the contrary, the WVCCPA was a response to perceived abuses among non- bank consumer lenders who were then able to assess finance charges significantly higher than those that could be charged by banks. Ironically, many West Virginia banks actively supported the passage of the WVCCPA since the abuses targeted by the Act were not activities banks engaged in. Within the last decade, West Virginia courts have been deluged by lawsuits alleging violations of the WVCCPA’s debt collection provisions. Based on the WVCCPA’s broadly- worded, pro-consumer provisions and the use of electronic evidence collection devices that were unimaginable in the 1970s (e.g., devices that count the number of telephone calls made to a consumer’s telephone), hundreds of lawsuits – many seeking tens of thousands of dollars – have been filed in West Virginia courts. And although they may not have anticipated it back in 1974, many of these lawsuits have targeted West Virginia banks.  2015 Amendments to the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act May Not Apply Retroactively — continued on page 12 Within the last decade, West Virginia courts have been deluged by lawsuits alleging violations of the WVCCPA’s debt collection provisions. Based on the WVCCPA’s broadly- worded, pro-consumer provisions and the use of electronic evidence collection devices that were unimaginable in the 1970s (e.g., devices that count the number of telephone calls made to a consumer’s telephone), hundreds of lawsuits – many seeking tens of thousands of dollars – have been filed in West Virginia courts. And although they may not have anticipated it back in 1974, many of these lawsuits have targeted West Virginia banks.