Tag Archives: Debt Collection

CFPB Issues Second Final Rule Clarifying Regulation of Fair Debt Collection Practices

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Wayne Streibich, Jonathan K. Moore, and Louise Bowes Marencik

On December 18, 2020, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) issued a final rule concerning debt collection disclosures, which follows its October 30, 2020 final rule regarding debt collection communications. The two final rules implement and interpret the consumer protections set forth in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) of 1977. The final rules will both become effective on November 30, 2021.

The latest final rule outlines various requirements regarding debt collection disclosures. Specifically, a debt collector must send a written disclosure to a consumer containing information concerning the debt and actions the consumer may take in response, within five days of its initial communication with the consumer. This disclosure must be sent unless such validation information was provided in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt. The final rule includes a model validation notice, which, if used, provides a safe harbor for compliance with the disclosure requirements. The final rule also requires debt collectors to disclose the existence of a debt to the customer, orally, in writing, or electronically, before it can report information concerning the debt to a consumer reporting agency.

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Second Circuit Holds No Need to Identify Components of Debt Where Collection Letter Provides Exact Amount Owed and Reaffirms Use of Safe Harbor in Holding Debt Collector’s Letter Did Not Violate the FDCPA

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Jonathan M. Robbin, Diana M. Eng, and Namrata Loomba

In Kolbasyuk v. Capital Management Services, LP, No. 18-1260 (2d Cir. 2019), the Second Circuit recently held that a debt collector’s letters informing a consumer of the total present amount of debt owed satisfies Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) requirements. The Second Circuit’s decision clarified that, under the FDCPA, collection letters are not required to inform consumers of the debt’s constituent components, or the rates by which the debt may later increase.

Summary of Facts and Background

In July 27, 2017, Capital Management Services, LP (“CMS”) sent Plaintiff a collection letter stating “[a]s of the date of this letter, you owe $5918.69.” The letter further stated, “[b]ecause of interest, late charges, and other charges that may vary from day to day, the amount due on the day you pay may be greater.” Continue reading →

U.S. Supreme Court Excludes Banks Collecting Purchased Delinquent Debt from Definition of “Debt Collector” under the FDCPA

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By: Diana M. Eng and Louise Marencik

Banks and other consumer finance firms that purchase delinquent debt and then collect on their own behalf are not “debt collectors” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. However, this limitation still does not apply to those institutions that collect on behalf of another.

In a unanimous decision in Henson et al. v. Santander Consumer USA Inc., the United States Supreme Court held that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) does not apply to banks and other consumer finance firms that purchase and then collect on defaulted debt that they own. No. 16-349, ____ U.S. ____ (2017).

Please click here for the full alert.