Paul Moriarty

In early March, a state legislator in New Jersey introduced a measure in the General Assembly that would require debt collectors operating in the Garden State to send additional information to debtors in their communications. For the most part, the proposal mirrored the recommendations laid out by the FTC earlier in the year.

But one specific provision caught the ARM industry off-guard. Moriarty’s bill would require collectors to send a copy of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in “written notice, in 10 point font, when trying to collect any debt.”

Needless to say, that provision sparked quite a bit of conversation on insideARM. The comment thread on the original article (“NJ Bill Would Require Collectors to Send Copies of FDCPA to Debtors,” April 20) raised some interesting points. For one, the FDCPA clocks in at around 20 pages. The additional postage cost alone would cause collectors to reevaluate their New Jersey strategy. Another person pointed out that the “least sophisticated debtor” is highly unlikely to understand the wording of the FDCPA, since it’s a Federal Law written in lawyer speak.

The bill also spawned a discussion thread on insideARM’s message board.

If there is a saving grace behind this story, it’s that the bill has been referred to a committee in the New Jersey General Assembly. So the bill will be debated in committee, with amendments likely, before going to a vote. This should give ARM industry members with ties to the state a chance to voice their concerns on the bill, A3839.