Debt Collection Review & Update

What?

In 1977, Congress enacted the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) to eliminate abusive debt collection practices. The FDCPA generally covers the collection activities of debt collectors collecting on others’ debts and debt buyers (collectively “debt collectors”) but not the collection activities of first-party debt collectors (i.e., creditors collecting on debts owed to them).

The federal government for many years has received more consumer complaints about debt collectors than about any other single industry. Since 2011:

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has brought more than 25 debt collection cases against first- and third-party collectors alleging FDCPA violations or unfair, deceptive, and abusive debt collection acts and practices in violation of the Dodd-Frank Act. In these cases, the Bureau has ordered over $100 million in civil penalties, over $300 million in restitution to consumers, and billions of dollars in debt relief to consumers.
• The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has brought more than 40 debt collection cases alleging FDCPA violations or unfair or deceptive acts and practices in violation of the FTC Act.
• States have brought numerous additional actions against debt collectors for violating state debt collection and consumer protection laws.

• The conduct of collectors in interacting with consumers in trying to recover on debts through the collection process;
• The quantity and quality of information in the debt collection system;
• Debt collection litigation;
• Recordkeeping, monitoring, and compliance issues; and
• How to address contemporary debt collection challenges, including questions such as how collectors apply the FDCPA to technology such as cell phones, text messages, and email.

This two-hour webinar explains the current FDCPA requirements, recent enforcement actions, and the direction of proposed changes. Participants receive a detailed manual that serves as a handbook long after the program is completed.

Upon completion of this program, participants understand: 

• The basic requirements of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act;
• The connection between the FDCPA and Unfair, Deceptive or Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP) provivions as seen in a recent enforcement action against a large depository institution.
• Recent CFPB and Federal Trade Commission cases;
• What the CFPB hopes to accomplish with proposed revisions;
• Scope of the proposals;
• Information integrity concerns;
• Review and transfer of certain information;
• Validation notice and statement of rights;
• Communication practices:
• Contact frequency and leaving messages;
• Time, place and manner restrictions; and
• Decedent debt.

The live versions are interactive, meaning that participants can ask questions in real time, plus are a very cost-effective form of training because 1) you receive fast, convenient learning without any out-of-office time; 2) you can invite as many colleagues as you'd like to listen in on a single phone line; 3) you incur no travel expenses; and 4) you and your colleagues are back at work immediately after the session ends!

And though with recorded versions you do lose the ability to ask questions, you gain the ability to hear the presentation numerous times and to share it with others in your office.

Handout materials and the phone number for live presentations are made available to you prior to the event via email from the presenter and from the "MyAccount" link on the menu bar. Copies of the presentations are included with recorded versions.

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