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Fair Debt Collection: 5.2.6 FDCPA § 1692b Only Applies Where Purpose Is to Acquire Location Information

The FDCPA § 1692b exception to the general prohibition of third-party contacts applies only if the collector is attempting to obtain location information, defined as “a consumer’s place of abode and his telephone number at such place, or his place of employment.”37 The location purpose of a debt collector’s contacts with third parties may be indicated by the debt collector disclosing the purpose,38 by asking for the consumer’s contact information,39 or b

Fair Debt Collection: 5.2.9.2 Exception Where Consumer Is Deceased

When the consumer is deceased, the collector may wish not just to locate the contact information of the individual responsible for paying the estate’s debts, but to identify who that individual is. In seeking the identity of that person, the question is raised whether the collector can ask third parties who is responsible for handling the financial affairs of the deceased, or whether this conflicts with the FDCPA § 1692b(2) prohibition that the collector not state to third parties that the consumer owes a debt.

Fair Debt Collection: 5.2.10 Limits on the Number of Location Communications

FDCPA § 1692b(3) provides that, if a debt collector is communicating with a third party to locate a consumer, the collector cannot “communicate with any such person more than once unless requested to do so by such person or unless the debt collector reasonably believes that the earlier response of such person is erroneous or incomplete and that such person now has correct or complete location information.” 63

Fair Debt Collection: 5.2.11 No Communication Allowed If Consumer Is Represented

FDCPA § 1692b(6) provides that a debt collector seeking a consumer’s location information from a third party shall not do so after it learns the consumer is represented by an attorney with regard to the debt and knows or can readily ascertain the attorney’s name and address.76 The collector instead must communicate only with the attorney for location information, unless the attorney fails to respond within a reasonable period of time to the debt collector’s communication.77 This requirement may prev

Fair Debt Collection: 5.2.12 Enforcement of FDCPA § 1692b

The Seventh Circuit, in Todd v. Collecto, Inc., found that the third party receiving the contact does not have standing to enforce FDCPA § 1692b or the related provision of section 1692c(b).79 While recognizing that some FDCPA provisions, such as section 1692f, protect third parties, the Seventh Circuit refused to find that a son who had been contacted for his mother’s location could obtain FDCPA relief for the debt collector revealing his mother’s debt to him.

Fair Debt Collection: 5.3.2 Prohibitions Apply to Communications in Connection with Collection of a Debt

In order for the restrictions found in FDCPA § 1692c(a) to apply, a communication must be made to the consumer “in connection with the collection of any debt.”91 This section discusses a few relevant FDCPA § 1692c cases interpreting “in connection with the collection of any debt.” For a more general discussion of cases interpreting “in connection with the collection of any debt” that cuts across different sections of the FDCPA, see

Fair Debt Collection: 5.3.3 Consumer’s Prior Consent to the Communication

FDCPA § 1692c(a)’s three prohibitions96 as to collector communications do not apply if the consumer has provided “prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector.”97 The burden is on the collector to show such consent. Several 1977 House bills98 and a 1976 Senate bill99 required that consumers plead and prove the absence of prior consent when alleging violations of these provisions.

Fair Debt Collection: 5.4.2 Contacts at Inconvenient Times

FDCPA § 1692c(a)(1) creates a presumption that any communication received between 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. was made at an unusual or inconvenient time. The parallel provision in Regulation F § 1006.6(b)(1)(i) (effective November 30, 2021) clarifies that this provision applies to any mode of communication between 9:00 p.m.

Fair Debt Collection: 5.4.3 Contacts at Inconvenient Places

FDCPA § 1692(c)(a)(1) and Reg. F § 1006.6(b)(1) (effective November 30, 2021) prohibit a collector from contacting the consumer at unusual or inconvenient places, and not just unusual or inconvenient times. Examples might be a hospital, a military combat zone, a church or other place of worship, a daycare,156 or a funeral parlor.

Fair Debt Collection: 5.4.4 The Known or Which Should Be Known Standard

FDCPA § 1692c(a)(1) provides that a collector cannot contact the consumer at a time or place that is “known or should be known” as inconvenient. This clearly means that once a debt collector receives a request to cease communication at specified inconvenient times or places, whether the request is made orally or in writing, the debt collector then knows the time or place is inconvenient and must honor that request.170

Fair Debt Collection: 5.4.5 Other FDCPA Provisions Also Regulate Phone Calls

FDCPA § 1692c(b)177 prohibits most calls to unobligated persons, except to obtain the consumer’s location information as permitted by section 1692b.178 Collectors are prohibited under FDCPA § 1692f(5) from causing charges to be made to any person for phone calls (or other communications) by concealing the true purpose of the communication.179 When the debt collector reaches a consumer, FDCPA § 1692e(11)180

Fair Debt Collection: 5.5.2 Overview of FDCPA § 1692c(a)(2)

FDCPA § 1692c(a)(2) prohibits collectors contacting consumers if the collector knows the consumer is represented by an attorney with respect to the debt.194 The provision only refers to representation by an attorney,195 but one court has suggested a debt collector may be restricted from contacting a consumer if the consumer authorized an agent to communicate with the debt collector.196

Fair Debt Collection: 5.5.3.1 Actual Knowledge

Notice to the collector that an attorney represents the consumer for all or specified current or future debts should trigger the requirement that the collector deal only with the consumer’s attorney on the specified debts.212 Issues may arise where the notification is not clear as to the scope of representation.213 Notification should be made clear that it is an attorney representing the consumer and not just a paralegal or other non-attorney.214

Fair Debt Collection: 5.5.3.2 Imputed Knowledge of the Consumer’s Representation

Where there is no proof of the collector’s actual knowledge, consumers would benefit if they could impute such knowledge, such as where the creditor hiring the collector has that knowledge or where the collector has knowledge of the consumer’s legal representation in another matter. The statutory language is not helpful here because it requires the collector to know about the representation, not “know or should have known.”