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Fair Debt Collection: B.3.6 CFPB, Bulletin 2015-06: Requirements for Consumer Authorizations for Preauthorized Electronic Fund Transfers

This guidance summarizes current law regarding consumer authorization of preauthorized electronic fund transfers (EFTs) and discusses compliance with the Electronic Fund Transfer Act (EFTA), EFTA’s implementing Regulation E, and the E-Sign Act. Debt collectors, mortgage servicers, student loan servicers, and small dollar lenders frequently solicit preauthorized EFTs to make withdrawals from consumer accounts at regular intervals.

Fair Debt Collection: B.3.8 CFPB, Bulletin 2017-01: Phone Pay Fees

This guidance lists examples of conduct related to phone pay fees that may constitute unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices (UDAAPs). It also reminds debt collectors that collecting phone pay fees violates section 1692f(1) of the FDCPA unless “such amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law.”20

Fair Debt Collection: B.4.1 Overview

In its list of guidance documents the CFPB includes guidance from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC). The FFIEC is:

Fair Debt Collection: C.1.2 June 23, 2009, FTC Advisory Opinion

A June 23, 2009, FTC advisory opinion on the FDCPA dealt with the § 1692c(c) requirement that debt collectors cease communicating with the consumer after the consumer’s written request,5 and this requirement’s potential conflict with the FTC’s Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) regulations. The FCRA regulations required furnishers of information to consumer reporting agencies to report to the consumer the results of a consumer’s direct dispute (16 C.F.R.

Mortgage Servicing and Loan Modifications: E.3.8 How to Request Your FEMA File

The following information is provided with the permission of, and adapted from information developed by, the Legal Services of New Jersey. It contains information on creating an online account to view certain items from a consumer’s FEMA file for a disaster and a form to request by mail the full FEMA file.

Fair Debt Collection: C.1.3 March 19, 2008, FTC Advisory Opinion

A March 19, 2008, FTC advisory opinion on the FDCPA concluded that there was no per se violation of the FDCPA if a debt collector included information regarding foreclosure settlement options along with a validation notice or in subsequent communications after that notice was delivered. Nevertheless, a specific communication about settlement options can be a violation if it overshadows or is inconsistent with the consumer protections in § 1692g(a).7

Fair Debt Collection: C.1.4 October 5, 2007, FTC Advisory Opinion

An October 5, 2007, FTC advisory opinion on the FDCPA determined that a debt collector who, pursuant to FDCPA § 1692g, ceased collection of a debt in response to a consumer’s dispute or request for verification of the debt, may send the consumer one additional communication stating that the debt collector is ceasing its debt collection activities with respect to that debt. See § 9.11.3, supra.

Fair Debt Collection: C.1.5 March 31, 2000, FTC Advisory Opinion

A March 31, 2000, FTC advisory opinion on the FDCPA dealt with two issues. In the first, the opinion concluded that, during the thirty-day period following the collector sending the consumer validation information, a collector can demand payment or take legal action until during that period the consumer disputes the debt in writing.

Fair Debt Collection: C.1.6 July 28, 2006, Denial of Request for FTC Advisory Opinion

A July 28, 2006, FTC statement denied a request for an advisory opinion on the FDCPA. The request sought an advisory opinion about how a collector should identify its corporate name in a voicemail where that name implies the collection of a debt, and whether the collector must indicate in the voicemail that it is attempting to collect a debt.

Fair Debt Collection: C.2 FTC Staff Commentary

The FTC staff issued a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Commentary at 53 Fed. Reg. 50,097–50,110 (Dec. 13, 1988). The full text is found as one of this treatise’s Primary Sources. The Commentary was not voted on by the FTC Commissioners and, unlike advisory opinions, could not be relied on as a defense pursuant to §1692k(e).

Fair Debt Collection: C.3 FTC Informal Staff Letters

The FTC staff advised debt collectors, attorneys, creditors, and consumers of its policies and interpretations of the FDCPA through hundreds of informal staff letters. Staff started writing the letters in 1977, a large number were written in 1986 and 1987, and none have been issued since 2002. The letters are not approved by the FTC Commissioners and, unlike advisory opinions, cannot be relied on as a defense pursuant to §1692k(e).

Fair Debt Collection: Introduction

These abbreviations or variations of them are commonly used by collectors when recording contacts with debtors. The recording of a contact is usually preceded by a date (for example, 7/22) and the collector’s initials. Thus an example entry would be “7/22 RJH Ph Ho NA Ph NB Lft Msg Urgent.” Numbers are often used to refer to particular form collection letters or telephone collection scripts.

Fair Debt Collection: 14.11.1 Overview

Occasionally state or local officials are involved in debt collection abuse. This can occur either because the state itself is the creditor or because a private creditor manages to enlist an official’s aid in collecting the debt. Where officials are involved, they and the private parties with whom they act may be subject to liability under 42 U.S.C. § 1983.

Fair Debt Collection: 14.11.2.1 Government Officials As State Actors

The first question is whether there is sufficient state action to make section 1983 applicable. State officials are state actors when they are exercising power possessed by virtue of state law and made possible by their state authority.611 Abuse of authority by a state official is state action, even if it is illegal under state law.612