FTC Releases Annual Debt Collection Report

FTC FDCPA Debt Collection

On March 5, the FTC released a summary of its 2013 debt collection activities, which it submitted to the CFPB on February 21, 2014. The report highlights that one of the FTC’s highest priorities is to continue targeting debt collectors that engage in deceptive, unfair, or abusive conduct. In particular, the FTC is actively pursuing debt collectors that secure payments from consumers by falsely threatening litigation or otherwise falsely implying that they are involved in law enforcement. In 2013, the FTC filed or resolved seven actions alleging deceptive, unfair, or abusive debt collection conduct. The FTC also took action against the continuing rise of so-called “phantom debt collectors.” The report also summarizes the FTC’s amicus program, and education, public outreach, research, and policy activities, including its Life of a Debt Roundtable Event, which examined data integrity in debt collection and the flow of consumer data throughout the debt collection process.