WebRecon Sept 2026 Stats: Mixed Month of September, Everything Still Up YTD

WebRecon September 2026 Litigation Summary

The bottom line: September was a mixed month, but consumer litigation is still running above 2025 levels across the board. FCRA is the main driver, while FDCPA and TCPA growth is moderating.

Month-over-month (September vs. August)

FCRA lawsuits: 1,083, up 11.9% and the only statute to rise
FDCPA lawsuits: 357, down 1.9%
TCPA lawsuits: 191, down 3.5%
CFPB complaints: 21,410, down 2.4%

Year-to-date vs. 2025

FCRA: +43.8%
CFPB complaints: +14.2%
TCPA: +13.4%
FDCPA: +7.2%

Total lawsuits for 2026 now stand at 12,362: 8,329 FCRA, 3,342 FDCPA and 2,096 TCPA. If current trends hold, 2026 will be the second straight year of meaningful FDCPA growth after a decade of decline.

What this means for your portfolio

FCRA is where the volume is. FCRA filings are about 2.5 times FDCPA filings this year, and only 0.9% are class actions. These are overwhelmingly individual suits, which makes them the most addressable through upfront screening.
TCPA risk is concentrated in class actions. Monthly TCPA filings are well below their spring peak, but 68.6% of September’s TCPA suits were putative class actions, compared with 9.5% for FDCPA.
Repeat filers matter. About 37% of September’s plaintiffs (497 of 1,354) had sued under consumer statutes before. Identifying known litigants before contact remains one of the most effective ways to reduce exposure.
Plaintiffs are concentrating on fewer targets. About 609 collection firms and creditors were sued in September, down from 669 in August, even though plaintiff counts rose.

Where suits are being filed Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta) led with 153 suits, well ahead of Northern District of Illinois (84) and Central District of California, Los Angeles (77). Cleveland (N.D. Ohio) and Orlando entered the top 10.

Who is filing Jonathan Heeps represented the most consumers in September (48) and now ranks second year-to-date (256). Gerald Lane remains first year-to-date (504).

CFPB complaint trends

"Attempts to collect debt not owed" remained the top issue at 52% of complaints.
"False statements or representation" rose to 15% of complaints, up from 10% in August.
"Attempted to collect wrong amount" climbed to 15% of subissues and is now the second most common.
Texas, Florida and Georgia generated the most complaints.

Full details are available at webrecon.com/litigation-stats-blog.