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The GAO is requesting changes within the FDCPA, these changes are going to Congress. See how these changes will help protect consumers even more!

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to examine the federal and state consumer protections and enforcement responsibilities related to credit card debt collection, the processes and practices involved in collecting and selling delinquent credit card debt, and any issues that may exist related to these processes.

After this examination, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) just released a report on credit card debt and credit card debt collection practices. This report comes complete with specific recommendations directly to Congress to try and reform and make necessary modifications to the FDCPA. Of course, these recommendations to modify have to go through the formal lawmaking process.

Awaiting the long drawn out course of the lawmaking process is in fact one of the GAO’s recommendations. A recommendation that the debt collection industry’s current regulator, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), should have the authority to make changes to the law when it sees fit. In other words, the FTC would be able to take input from the industry and consumers and alter the law without going through Congress. But, most importantly, the collection agencies would not need to rely on FTC opinions and case law to interpret some of the gray areas of the FDCPA. If you know anything about the FTC opinions, you would know these opinions are very rare.

Another aspect of the FDCPA for Congress to consider modifying is to help ensure that debt collectors and debt buyers have adequate information about the debt that is transferred to them and to have adequate documentation to verify the debts and the consumer owning the debt.

Currently when debt buyers purchase debt from creditors or other debt collection agencies the information they are purchasing about these debts are not adequate. Most of the time, the documentation acquired at the purchase/sale of the debt does not even include sufficient information for the debt collector to even confirm who and what they are collecting on. This obviously leads to debt collectors trying to collect from consumers who have already settled the debt, or trying to collect from consumers who never even owed the debt.

Finally, the GAO is requesting Congress to consider modifying the FDCPA to reflect current technologies that were not around in 1977 when the Act was written. This would include the use of mobile phones (debt collectors calling your cell phone), emails and voice mails. Currently there are significant uncertainties about how to use these technologies in compliance with the statute. For example, a debt collector may violate the FDCPA if someone other than the debtor overhears a voice mail message revealing to another person about the debt. This is one of the many gray areas of the FDCPA.

The GAO is concluding that the rise in credit card delinquencies accompanied by the current economic recession has focused new attention on the practices of creditors and more so, the third-party companies (sleazy debt collectors). The GAO believes that the above modifications within the FDCPA would provide the needed clarity for this industry and would enhance consumer protections.

These changes would enhance consumer protection greatly!!! And may help end some or maybe even the majority of debt collection harassment and problems. If you have time, read the report linked above. It is quite interesting to say the least!


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