Debt Collection Rule

The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection issued a new debt collection rule effective November 30, 2021. The final rule revises Regulation F, which implements the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (12 CFR Part 1006). The new rule requires a validation notice which must include information like:

Name and mailing information of the debt collector
Name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed
Account number (if any) associated with the debt
An itemization of the current amount of the debt that reflects interest, fees, payments, and credits since a particular date that you may be able to recognize or verify with records
The current amount of the debt as of when the validation notice is provided
Information about your debt collection rights including how to dispute the debt

This notice is meant to help you identify whether you owe the debt and whether the collector’s information about the debt is accurate. The notice must include a “tear-off” form that you can send back to the debt collector to dispute the debt or take other actions.

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) prohibits debt collectors from repeatedly or continuously calling you with the intent to harass, oppress, or abuse you.

Under the Debt Collection Rule, collectors are presumed to violate the law if they place a telephone call to you about a particular debt:

More than seven times within a seven-day period, or
Within seven days after engaging in a phone conversation with you about a particular debt

These call frequency presumptions only apply to calls placed by the collector to you. They don’t apply to text messages, emails, and other types of media. Those media have other limitations.

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