Debt Collection

Nearly all households who are behind on their bills paid their bills until they faced a financial catastrophe: unemployment, illness, disability, divorce, or succumbed to some of the daily exhortations in their mailbox to borrow and on TV to buy on credit. During recessions even more consumers fall behind because they are laid off by an employer. Recognizing this, federal and many states’ laws require that financially distressed consumers not be abused, deceived, lose their privacy, or be treated unfairly.

Debt collectors use various forms of illegal intimidation, including talking with friends and employers about a consumer’s debt without permission from the debtor; making harassing or abusive telephone calls; threatening to take actions that are illegal or not intended; and suing on debts that were paid or not owed. Fortunately there are more lawyers specializing in helping consumers with debt collection harassment than ever before. Check out www.naca.net to find a lawyer.

Model Statutes

Model Family Financial Protection Act, June 8, 2012

Policy Analysis

Policy Briefs, Reports & Press Releases

CFPB Final Rule on Debt Collectors, October 24, 2012
New Law Protects Cars, Wages, Bank Accounts from Collectors, March 9, 2011
White paper: Time to Update the Credit Practices Rule; CFPB Should Modernize FTC Rule Addressing Abusive Creditor Collection Practices, Dec. 2010
Press Release: FTC May Weaken Protections, Allow Debt Collectors to Target Families, Friends, Neighbors of Consumers Who Have Died, Nov. 2010 (NCLC Comments)
The Debt Machine: How the Collection Industry Hounds Consumers and Overwhelms the Courts Press Release and Report, July 2010
NCLC urges Federal Communications Commission to allow prerecorded debt collection calls to consumers only with consumers' express consent, May 2010
Press Release: Debt Collection Horror Stories, 2007

Debt Collection Comments and Testimony

Testimony of Robert J. Hobbs to the Nevada House of Representatives in support of SB 373 Nevada Wage Protection Act to increase the amount of wages exempt from creditors from 75% to 90%, March 26, 2013; Nevada Assembly testimony, May 3, 2013
Group comments to the IRS re: Notice 2012-65, March 14, 2013.
NCLC Comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau re: Senior Financial Exploitation, Aug. 20, 2012
Comments to the CFPB re: defining the "larger" debt collectors and consumer reporting agencies, April 17, 2012
Testimony Opposing HR 3035, the Mobile Informational Call Act of 2011 by the National Association of Consumer Advocates and National Consumer Law Center Nov. 4, 2011
Comments re: proposed debt collection regulations MA 940 CMR 7.00., June 17, 2011
Comments to the FTC: Protecting Consumers in Debt Collection Litigation and Arbitration: A Roundtable Discussion, 2009
Testimony regarding Protecting Social Security Benefits from Predatory Lending and Other Harmful Financial Institution Practices, 2008
Comments to the Federal Regulators on the InterAgency Guidance on Exempt Benefits, November 27, 2007
Comments to the FTC: Collecting Consumer Debts: The Challenges of Change, 2007
NCLC Criticizes States Treating Checking Account Mistakes As Criminal, 2007
NCLC's Comments Opposing Debt Collectors Autodialing Personal Cell Phones, 2006
Testimony: The Consumer Impact of Regulatory Relief Proposals Affecting Banks, Thrifts and Credit Unions, 2006

Letters

Group letter to the CFPB re: FHA violation of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act's Anti-Retaliation Provisions, March 30, 2012

Webinar

"Stopping Debt Collection Harassment and Responding to Debt Collection Suits" By Bob Hobbs (NCLC), Michelle Weinberg (Legal Assistance Foundation of Metropolitan Chicago), May 6, 2009

NCLC Reports

Effective May 1, a new Treasury rule creates automatic, self-enforcing restrictions on garnishment of electronically-deposited Social Security, SSI and other federal benefits! This special NCLC REPORTS issue examines all aspects of this new rule protecting exempt funds from garnishment
Debt Collection & Repossessions: These four-page reports, issued 6 times a year, keep you up-to-date with the latest trends and tactics, and also the practice implications of recent decisions and law changes.

Related Publications

Fair Debt Collection, 2008 6th ed. and 2009 Supplement (The latest thinking and definitive analysis of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the statute that dramatically alters how collection agencies and attorneys collect consumer debts, now in an all new revised edition.)
Collection Actions, 2008 1st ed. and 2009 Supplement (This new title covers consumer defenses to collection lawsuits on credit card, medical, and other debts.)