The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today proposed extending the effective date of two debt-collection rules that were finalized in 2020 and currently go into effect in November 2021. The CFPB proposes the delay to give affected parties more time to comply due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The proposal is here.
One of the two rules that would be delayed addresses communications in connection with debt collection and prohibitions on harassment or abuse, false or misleading representations, and unfair practices in debt collection. It also addresses the use of newer communication technologies in debt collection and establishes record retention requirements.
The other rule addresses the information that debt collectors must disclose to consumers at the outset of collections communications. It also prohibits debt collectors from bringing or threatening to bring a legal action against a consumer to collect a time-barred debt and prohibits debt collectors from furnishing information about a debt to a consumer reporting agency before the debt collector takes certain actions to contact the consumer about the debt.
