INDIANAPOLIS — A new report claims some lenders are not only misleading borrowers, but they’re also using unfair and abusive tactics.

The report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) examined lending practices across several categories with a focus on vehicle loans and medical debt collection.

The report found some auto lenders are creating loan balances that are more than the cost of the vehicle being purchased. Also, found some lenders mislead customers by offering loans that were for much larger, more expensive vehicles than advertised. 

The CFPB accuses some auto lenders of charging fraudulent interest on inflated loan balances. There were some cases where lenders canceled automatic payments without notifying the customer who subsequently got hit with late fees.

The report zeros in on illegal attempts to collect medical debt. In some cases, the CFPB report claims agencies would persistently try to collect work-related medical debt even after receiving sufficient information that the debt was uncollectible under workers’ compensation laws. 

That constitutes a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. That’s something the CFPB has been working on for some time and it’s why the bureau is partnering with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Treasury to launch an inquiry into several medical lenders.

If you feel like you’ve been unfairly affected by medical debt collectors, you can report it on the CFPB website. You can also call the bureau at (855) 411-CFPB (2372).