On September 18, 2019, 43 organizations submitted a comment letter to the CFPB about the need for greater protections for Limited English Proficient (LEP) consumers in the debt collection process.
We have just one day left to let the CFPB know that we are already harassed enough by debt collectors — and we won’t stand for even more. The Bureau has proposed letting debt collectors make unlimited texts and emails to you about outstanding debts,
Strong majorities across parties oppose the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB) proposed debt collection rule including medical debt, according to a new poll released by Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) and the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL). The poll was conducted by the bipartisan team of Lake Research Partners and Chesapeake Beach Consulting.
In its proposed rule, CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger is sanctioning consumer harassment by allowing debt collectors to: call consumers seven times per debt, per week; send unlimited emails, texts, and social media messages without consumer consent; allow debt collectors to collect very old “zombie debts” where the time to sue has expired; and file baseless lawsuits by making it easier to sue the wrong consumer, for the wrong amount.
As we approach the fifth year anniversary of the proposed rulemaking on debt collection, and the regulatory process appears to be moving forward, the 74 undersigned consumer, community, civil rights, faith, labor and legal services groups write to urge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“Consumer Bureau”) to focus on protecting consumers from abusive debt collection practices in any rule that it issues.
AFR opposes bills being considered by the House Financial Services Committee that are giveaways to credit bureaus, debt collectors and large banks.
This letter addresses the CFPB’s proposal related to increasing access to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act’s protections for Limited English Proficient (LEP) consumers. …Many of these individuals participate in the consumer credit marketplace, but may have greater difficulty navigating the market, especially when debts go into collection and consumers face the legal implications of unpaid debt.”
On January 9, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action against two law firms, and their president, for lying when collecting medical debts from thousands of patients. The Oklahoma firms (Works & Lentz) attempt collection on approximately 700,000 debts totaling more than $500
AFR joined ten organizations in sending a letter to members of Congress urging them to oppose HR 2892. If enacted, this legislation would bring changes to current law, exempting debt collection attorneys from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”.) This would effectively permit lawyers and law firms engaging in debt collection to evade essential requirements of the FDCPA which prohibit deception, unfair activities, and harassment against consumers.
BACKGROUND MATERIALS Junk Justice: A Statistical Analysis of 4,400 Lawsuits Filed by Debt Buyers (Peter A. Holland, Loyola Consumer Law Review, 2014) Debt Collectors, Debt Complaints: The CFPB’s Consumer Complaint Database Gets Real Results for Consumers (USPIRG, March 2014) No Fresh Start: How States Let