First party and early-out servicing provides an enhanced customer service experience and greater responsiveness for consumers. These qualities make first party and early-out servicing beneficial for creditors as well as consumers. However, as the prevalence of this type of servicing increases, consumer attorneys and regulators seek to find ways to apply traditional debt collection laws and statutes to first party and early-out servicing.
In the latest episode of the Debt Collection Drill, Moss & Barnett attorneys John Rossman, Mike Poncin and Dave Cherner discuss risks for first party and early-out servicing arising from the FTC DeMayo Opinion, discuss specific State licensing and disclosure requirements (24 States and jurisdictions may require early-out servicers to obtain a collection agency license) and also address possible CFPB rulemaking to modify the definition of default, as determined by meetings that Mr. Rossman and Mr. Cherner have attended with the CFPB through the Consumer Relations Consortium.