FDCPA Round Robin: Voices in the Collections Industry Weigh in on Proposed FDCPA Changes

In July, we took a look at proposed Fair Debt Collection Practices Act changes suggested by Tennessee Representative Steve Cohen and friends.

The bill (H.R. 2361, found here) is obsessed with out-of-stat (i.e., past the statute of limitations) debt, and would do two things:

(1) Amend Section 811 of the FDCPA by including this language: “A debt collector may not bring, or threaten to bring, legal action against any consumer on a debt in which the statute of limitations has expired.”

(2) Amend Section 805 of the FDCPA by including this language: “Communication With Consumers With Time-Barred Debt- In connection with the collection of debt in which the statute of limitations has expired, a debt collector shall disclose to a consumer the following: (1) The debt has been transferred to the debt collector; (2) The creditor no longer holds the debt; (3) As a result of the expiration of the statute of limitations with respect to such debt, the debt collector may not bring legal action against the consumer to collect such debt; and (4) Any payment by the consumer towards the debt may cause the statute of limitations for such debt to reset.”

The will-they-won’t-they seasons-one-through-five-of-”The Nanny” nature of the passage of the bill makes it difficult to predict with any certainty what the final outcome will be. That didn’t stop us at insideARM.com, though, from asking various voices in the industry — from both the collections side and the consumer side — to weigh in with thoughts about what the bill means, and what will happen if it passes.

I want to thank everyone who participated. We appreciate their time and their insight. The full alphabetical roster is below. The comments start on the next page.

insideARM.com FDCPA Round Robin Participants
Rozanne Andersen, Ontario Systems
Susann Bouchillon, ProfessionalCollector.net
Gerri Detweiler, Credit.com
Mike Ginsberg, Kaulkin Ginsberg
Valerie Hayes, ACA International
Gina McNaughton, The McNaughton Group
Tomio Narita, Simmonds & Narita LLP
Mark Neeb, ACA International
Anita Tolani, Weinberg, Jacobs & Tolani, LLP