The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is the primary federal law governing debt collection practices. The FDCPA prohibits debt collection companies from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect debts from you. The FDCPA requires a collection agency to disclose specific information and prohibits collectors from engaging in many types of abusive or misleading behavior. The FDCPA only applies to third-party debt collectors, such as those who work for a debt collection agency.
The law covers credit card debt, medical bills, student loans, mortgages and other types of family debt. A creditor may try to collect an outstanding debt in a number of ways. However, due to “abundant evidence” of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by many debt collectors, (15 U.S. UU., C.) The FDCPA prohibits outside debt collectors from contacting a debtor directly if they know that the debtor is represented by counsel.
In addition, in their first communication with the consumer, debt collectors must “notify debtors of their ability to challenge the validity of a debt and provide other basic information.” Photo against NCO Financial Systems, Inc. This includes informing the debtor of their right to ask the collection agency to “validate” the debt. In addition to administrative enforcement (15 U, S, C. Preliminarily, the FDCPA generally applies only to third-party debt collectors; the legal scheme was not intended to cover the conduct of the original creditor).
However, some states, such as California, have enacted consumer protection laws that offer broader coverage than the FDCPA, and may include the conduct of the original creditor in their scope of application. The FDCPA allows these types of state laws. For more information on the FDCPA, see this article from the University of Berkeley Law Review, this article from Brooklyn Law Review, and this article from St. Are you calling a debt collector? What can it do? What are your rights? The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) makes it illegal for debt collectors to use abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices when collecting debts.
Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about your rights. A debt collector who leaves a limited-content message does not violate the FDCPA prohibition against communicating with third parties.
