Description
Find out what you can and can’t say in a collections letter to remain compliant with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.Collection letters form the heart of any collection process. What can be included in these letters is intensely regulated under the FDCPA and interpretive case law. Poorly drafted, confusing, ambiguous, or misleading collection letters may create liability under the FDCPA, even if written with the best intentions. The FDCPA is a strict liability statute and is interpreted in favor of the consumerdebtor.This presentation addresses many of the most problematic issues arising in collection letter practice that lead to claims, including the new rules promulgated in 2021 under Regulation F by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Date: 2023-01-31 Start Time: End Time:
Learning Objectives
Introduction and Overview
• Collection Letters as the Source of FDCPA Claims
• The Magnitude of the Issue
• Class Action Claims Based on Letter Violations – Sections of the FDCPA Most Often Pled
Relevant FDCPA Provisions
• The Basis for FDCPA Letter Claims – 15 U.S.C. § 1692E
• The Basis for FDCPA Letter Claims – 15 U.S.C. § 1692F
Add-on Charges
• What Are Add-on Charges
• Why They Give Rise to Claims
Collection Letter Dos and Donts
• Validation of Debt Letters – 15 U.S.C. § 1692
• Language in Letters
• Safe Harbor
• Non-Threatening
• Settlement Offers
• Regulation F (12 CFR Part 1006)
• Subsequent Letters
• The Importance of the Current Debt Balance and How Delineated
• Out of Statute Debt
State Law and Time-Barred Debt
• Threatening Suit on Time-Barred Debt – a Violation of the FDCPA
• Interaction of State Law and the FDCPA
• Interpretation of Regulation F
CLE (Please check the Detailed Credit Information page for states that have already been approved) ,Additional credit may be available upon request. Contact Lorman at 866-352-9540 for further information.
Mark E. Ellis-Ellis Law Group, LLP
