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FAIR DEBT COLLECTION ''' Fair debt collection involves regulation at both the U.S. Federal and state levels of government. At the Federal level, it is primarily governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"). State debt collection laws are those laws that regulate the collection industry and give consumer debtors protection from deceptive practices. Many U.S. states have laws which track the FDCPA, which is enforced by the Federal Trade Commission. Therefore, some people refer to these laws as "mini-FDCPAs". ''' U.S. STATE LAW REGULATION ''' U.S. State laws on Fair Debt Collection generally fall into two categories: laws which require persons who are collecting debts from consumers to be licensed, registered or bonded in order to collect from consumers in their states, and laws that protect consumers from specific unfair practices. Although not all U.S. states have such laws, the unfair practices that are prohibited generally track those that are also prohibited under the FDCPA. Some states have a complete prohibition against collecting from its residents unless the collection agency has complied with licensing or bonding, others exempt out-of-state collectors from those requirements. Examples of prohibitions of unfair practices by collectors include contacting employers after having been given notice not to do so, pretending to be a government agency, pretending to be an attorney or falsely threatening with a lawsuit. Many state laws--unlike the FDCPA--also cover original creditors, not just collection agencies. Consequently, they offer greater protections to consumers than the Federal FDCPA. Most state fair debt collection laws also provide for a private cause of action by consumers against collectors that violate their provisions. ''' REFERENCES ''' The following states have their own fair debt collection laws: Ala. Code Sec. 40-12-80 Alaska Stat. Sec. 08.24.041-08.24.380; Alaska Stat. Sec. 45.50.471-45.50.461 Ariz. Rev. Stat. Ann. sec. 32-1001 - 1057 Ark. Stat. Ann. Sec. 17-24-101 -404 Cal. Civ. Code Sec. 1788-1888.32, 1812.700 - .702 Colo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 5-1-101 - 5-12-105 Colo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 12-04-101 -137 Conn. Gen Stat. Sec. 36a-645 - -647 Del. Code Ann. tit. 30, Sec. 2301(a)(13) D.C. Code Ann. Sec. 22-3401 -3403 D.C.Code Ann. Sec. 28-3814 -3816 D.C. Code. Ann. Sec. 28-3901 -3909 Fla. Stat. Sec. 559.55-.785 Ga. Code. Ann. Sec. 7-3-1 -29 Haw. Rev. Stat. Sec. 443B-1 -20 Haw. rev. Stat. Sec. 480D-1 et seq. Idaho Code Sec. 26-222 -2251 225 Ill. Comp. Stat. 425/1 to /25 Ind. Code Ann.Sec. 25-11-1-1 to -13 Ind. Code. Ann. Code. Sec. 24-4.55-107 Iowa Code Ann. Sec. 537.7101 -.7103 Kan. Stat. Ann. Sec. 16a-5-107 Ky. rev. Stat. ann. Sec. 24A-240 (re: CA in small claims ct) La.rev.Stat. Sec. 9:3576.1 -3576.24 La. rev. Stat. Sec. 9:3557-9:3562 Me.Rev.Stat.Amm. tit.32, Sec. 11,001 - 11,054 Me.Rev.Stat.Ann. tit.9-A, Sec. 5-107, -116, -117, -201 Md.Ann.Code. Bus. Reg. Sec. 7-101 -502 Mass. Gen Laws Ann ch 93, Sec. 49 Mich. Comp. Laws ann. sec. 339.901 -.920 Mich.Comp.Laws Ann. sec. 445.251 -.258 Minn. Stat. ann. Sec. 331.31 -.50 Miss. Code Sec. 97-9-1 Mo. Rev. Stat. Sec. 425.300 N.H. Rev. Stat. Sec. 358-C:1 - C:4 N.J. Stat. Ann. Sec. 45:18 -6.1 N.M. Stat.Ann. Sec. 61-18A-a -33 N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law Sec. 600-603 N.C. Gen.Stat. Sec. 58-70-90 -130 N.C. Gen. Staty. Sec. 75-50 -56 N.D. Cent. Code Sec. 13-05-01 -10 Ohio Rev. Code Ann. Sec. 1319.12 Okla. Stat. tit. 14A, Sec. 5-107 Or. Rev. Stat. Sec. 646.639 -.656 Or.Rev.Stat. Sec, 697.005 -.095 18 Pa. Const. Stat. Ann. Sec. 7311 73 Pa. Cons. Stat. Sec. 2270.1 -.6 S.C. Code Sec. 37-5-108 Tenn. Code. Ann. Sec. 62-20-101 -126 Tex. Fin. Code Sec. 392.001 -.404, 396.001 -.353 Utah Code Ann. Sec. 12-1-1 -10 Utah Code Ann Sec. 70C-7-104 -106 Vt. Stat. Ann. tit 9, Sec. 2451a -2461 Va. Code. 18.1-213 Wash. Rev. Code.Ann. Sec. 19.16.100 -.950 W.Va. Code. Sec. 47-165-1 -5 W. Va. Code. Sec. 46A-2-122 -129a Wis. Stat. Ann. Sec. 218.04 Wis. Stat. Ann. 427.101 -.105 Wyo. Stat. Sec. 33-11-101 -116 Wyo. Stat. Sec. 40-14-507 EXTERNAL LINKS The National Consumer Law Center publishes information about debt collection and other consumer law related topics. Findlaw has links to statutes and administrative codes for most states that have them online. |
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