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Federal Regulation History

To better understand the operational costs of debt collection firms, particularly in areas potentially affected by regulatory proposals under consideration, the CFPB conducted a survey of debt collection firms and vendors. The answers to the survey questions provide material for the CFPB consideration of what it would cost collectors of different types to comply with potential new rules, including what was eventually enacted as Regulation F.

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This is an outline of the Panel Report addressing the CFPB’s debt collector and debt buyer rulemaking that led to Regulation F. Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), the CFPB must convene and chair a Small Business Review Panel when it is considering a proposed rule that could have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Panel considers the impact of the CFPB proposals under consideration and obtains feedback from representatives of the small entities that would be subject to the rule.

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This Panel Report addresses the CFPB’s debt collector and debt buyer rulemaking that led to Regulation F. Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), the CFPB must convene and chair a Small Business Review Panel when it is considering a proposed rule that could have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. The Panel considers the impact of the CFPB proposals under consideration and obtains feedback from representatives of the small entities that would be subject to the rule. 

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This report presents the results of the Survey of Consumer Views on Debt which the CFPB conducted between December 2014 and March 2015. The survey results substantially expand the understanding of debt collection in the United States by providing the first comprehensive and nationally representative data on consumers’ experiences and preferences related to debt collection.  The study led to CFPB Regulation F.

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The CFPB has issued a proposal to amend Regulation F, which implements the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The proposal seeks public comment on Federal rules governing the activities of debt collectors covered by the FDCPA. Among other things, the proposal would incorporate many existing provisions of the FDCPA into Regulation F with only minor wording and organizational changes. This document generally focuses on the portions of the proposal that would substantially clarify or interpret FDCPA requirements.

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Building on CFPB qualitative work, CFPB engaged ICF in September 2019 to quantitatively measure how variations of the language, content, and display in the Regulation F validation notices affect consumer understanding and stated behavior. The survey was conducted with 8,011 total respondents, with 5,312 having experienced debt collections. The study was a web survey conducted with respondents who were panelists from Ipsos KnowledgePanel.

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This report presents the results of a large-scale online survey experiment designed to test several versions of Regulation F proposed disclosures to support the understanding of time-barred debt and revival. These data were collected by ICF International on behalf of the CFPB between May 2019 and September 2019. ICF International produced a detailed report, available at this link, on its methodology, including sampling, response rates, and question development.

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