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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"Return of the Billionaire Huckster" on Forbes.com (Spoiler: it's Bill Bartmann)

3 November 2011

Compliance with FTC Policy Causes FDCPA Class Action Lawsuit

3 November 2011

FDCPA Lawsuits Fall Back to Normal; Approach 10,000 for the Year

2 November 2011

Setting the Record Straight: Bad Local Press for Collection Agencies

2 November 2011

FTC, U.S. District Court Shutter West Coast Debt Collection Operation

26 October 2011

Judge Rules for Collectors in Unauthorized Charge FDCPA Case

26 October 2011

CFPB Releases First Version of Supervision and Examination Manual

24 October 2011

The Most Overlooked Collection Letter Violation

19 October 2011

FDCPA Lawsuits Soar in Second Half of September

17 October 2011

Former President of Scam Collection Agency Files for Personal Bankruptcy, Pleads Fifth

17 October 2011

Debtors to Get More Protection from Collection Under New Regulator

6 October 2011

Limiting Common Sense Communication One Credit Card Contract at a Time

4 October 2011

FTC Shuts Down Debt Collection Agency

3 October 2011

FDCPA Lawsuits Spike in First Half of September

29 September 2011

Collection Agency Loses FDCPA Case Appeal; "The Truth Can be Misleading:" Judges

26 September 2011

Credit Card Collections: Preparing for the Storm on the Horizon

19 September 2011

Three Strategies for Debt Collectors Defending FDCPA Class Actions

13 September 2011

FDCPA Lawsuits Filed by Consumers Continue to Decline in August

13 September 2011

Industry Compliance Growing Topic at Regional Collections Conferences

12 September 2011

Doing it Wrong with Clip Art

9 September 2011