The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was enacted in 1977 to protect consumers from abusive, unfair, and deceptive practices by third-party debt collectors. The law details when and how a collector may contact a debtor. The government enforcer of the law has historically been the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), but some regulatory duties may be shared with the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection housed within the Federal Reserve, created in 2010. The FDCPA is a strict civil liability law, which means that a consumer need not prove actual damages in order to claim statutory damages of up to $1,000 per violation plus reasonable attorney fees.
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Bill Bartmann Double-Faults on Debt Collectors
2 May 2012
SF Chronicle Runs Misinformed Opinion Blog on Debt Collectors
1 May 2012
FDCPA Lawsuits Slow Down in First Half of April
30 April 2012
Scam Collection Agency Still on Hook for $10 Million if Anyone Can Find Them
26 April 2012
Debt Collectors & Facebook: a Social Media Cautionary Tale
24 April 2012
Massachusetts First State to Require Creditors to Validate Consumer Debts
23 April 2012
FDCPA Lawsuits Gain Steam in Second Half of March
12 April 2012
FTC Halts Another Fake Debt Collector Calling from India
12 April 2012
Who Will Win Most Fraudulent State?
12 April 2012
“Emailing Consumers” Presentation at NHCA Spring Conference
12 April 2012
New Study Finds Consumers Prefer Text Messaging; FDCPA Still Doesn't
10 April 2012
CFPB Focuses on Mortgage Servicers With Proposed New Regulations
10 April 2012
NYT Attempts to Answer Why People Hate Banks
3 April 2012
FDCPA Used to Protect Collection Agencies in Oregon
2 April 2012
FDCPA Lawsuits Up in First Half of March; Pull Even Year-over-Year
30 March 2012
Student Loan Debt Collection Market Attacked by Bloomberg
26 March 2012
Shaming "Delinquent" Stamp Puts Montana County in the Dog House
26 March 2012
The End of Off-Shoring Collection Agencies?
26 March 2012
Freelance Unlicensed Debt Collector Does a Terrible Job
26 March 2012
CFPB Issues First Annual FDCPA Report to Congress
21 March 2012