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Fair Debt Collection: 9.4.7.2 Debt Amount As of Itemization Date

Under Regulation F (effective November 30, 2021), the required disclosure of the debt amount on the itemization date231 includes any fees, interest, or other charges owed as of that date.232 Guidance provided by the CFPB explains that “the amount of the debt as of the itemization date may be the amount of the debt that is required to bring the account current as of that date or the total outstanding debt as of that date.”233

Fair Debt Collection: 9.4.7.4 Current Amount Due

Under Regulation F, the third disclosure related to the amount of the debt that must be included as part of the validation information is the current amount of the debt,256 that is the amount as of when the validation information is provided.257 The disclosure is proper as long as the collector provides the correct balance as of the date the validation information is submitted (e.g., not some earlier date).258

Fair Debt Collection: 9.4.8.2 Three Disclosures of Consumer Rights

Under Regulation F (effective November 30, 2021), the debt collector in providing the validation information must make three disclosures of consumer rights, where each require disclosure of the date that the debt collector will consider the end date of the validation period.289 The calculation of this date is discussed in § 9.4.8.1, supra.

Fair Debt Collection: 9.4.11 Consumer Response Information

Regulation F (effective November 30, 2021) provides that the collector must specify how the consumer can dispute the debt or request information about the creditor. The consumer response information must be segregated from all other required or optional information contained in the validation notice.311 If the consumer response information is provided on a validation notice, it must be located at the bottom of the notice under the headings, “How do you want to respond?” and “Check all that apply: . .

Fair Debt Collection: 9.5.2.2 Optional Information and the Safe Harbor

Regulation F (effective November 30, 2021) provides that any and all optional information found on the model validation notice can be omitted and the validation notice still can benefit from the safe harbor.335 Similarly, the collector still benefits from the safe harbor if it includes optional information not already found on the model validation notice, as described at § 9.6

Fair Debt Collection: 9.5.2.3a Model Validation Notice and State Laws

Collectors must evaluate whether use of the model validation notice conflicts with relevant state laws.347 The FDCPA does not preempt state debt collection laws that provide additional consumer protections,348 including “disclosure required by applicable State law that describes additional protections under State law.”349

Fair Debt Collection: 9.6.1 Overview

Under Regulation F (effective November 30, 2021), a debt collector adding any of the eight types of optional validation information does not lose a safe harbor where the debt collector otherwise complies or substantially complies with Reg.

Fair Debt Collection: 9.6.2.1 Generally

“Disclosures required under applicable law” is one of the eight optional types of validation information that can be added to the model validation notice. 380 Collectors can add one or more of these types of optional validation information and still retain the safe harbor for use of the model validation notice.381

Fair Debt Collection: 9.6.4 Merchant Brand, Affinity Brand, or Facility Name

Regulation F (effective November 30, 2021) allows debt collectors to provide information about any merchant brand, affinity brand, or facility name associated with the debt.419

The Regulation F Official Interpretations give an example of a merchant brand. “For example, assume that a debt collector is attempting to collect a consumer’s credit card debt. The credit card was issued by ABC Bank and was co-branded XYZ Store. “XYZ Store” is the merchant brand.”420

Fair Debt Collection: 9.7.1 Overview

(a) NOTICE OF DEBT; CONTENTS.—Within five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice containing—

(1) the amount of the debt;

(2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed;

Fair Debt Collection: 9.7.3 Name of Person to Whom the Debt Is Owed

The validation notice must contain the name of the current creditor to whom the debt is owed.466 As the Seventh Circuit said in Steffak v. Client Services, Inc., the FDCPA requires the debt collector to “identify the current creditor clearly, without leaving the matter to guesswork.”467 In Bryan vs.

Fair Debt Collection: 9.7.5 Verification Required If Consumer Timely Disputes Debt in Writing

A debt collector must include “a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector in writing within the thirty-day period that the debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer by the debt collector.”503