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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LA Times Looks at the CFPB's New Role Over Larger Collection Agencies

21 February 2012

ACA's Pat Morris Takes on USA Today. Who Won?

17 February 2012

FDCPA Suits Jump in Second Half of January

16 February 2012

Turn Around, Bright Eyes: Chase Bank Slows Down Consumer Lawsuits

15 February 2012

Senator Joins Bill Bartmann in Collection Industry Crusade

15 February 2012

What You Can Do, Right Now, to Help the Collections Industry

9 February 2012

NCO Settles Debt Collection Action with 19 States

7 February 2012

Getting Ready for the DBA Conference

3 February 2012

WebRecon to Transform, Begin Verifying Litigant IDs and Tracking Pre-Litigation Demands

31 January 2012

The Limits on Direct and Vicarious Liability Under the FDCPA

31 January 2012

Asset Acceptance to Pay $2.5 Million in Settlement with FTC Over Time-Barred Debt

30 January 2012

FDCPA Lawsuits Fall Again in First Half of January

27 January 2012

Kiwi Hell's Angel Not Great At Following Rules, Society

27 January 2012

Debt Collection Compliance and State Chain of Title Requirements

25 January 2012

Collection Letter Mass Mailing Errors and Other Crisis Responses

23 January 2012

FDCPA Lawsuits Set Another Record in 2011

12 January 2012

FDCPA Lawsuits Flat in First Half of December

28 December 2011

Davis Wright Tremaine Partner to Speak at FFIEC Authentication Guidance Examination Live Webcast

23 December 2011

FDCPA Ruling in Favor of Collector Defines One Aspect of "Communication"

22 December 2011

Doing it Wrong: Puffy Cheek Bandit Tries to Use the FDCPA in a Non-FDCPA Way, Fails

22 December 2011