FTC Reports to CFPB on 2015 Activities to Combat Illegal Debt Collection Practices

CFPB FTC Dodd-Frank FDCPA Debt Collection Enforcement

On February 17, the FTC sent the CFPB a letter summarizing its 2015 efforts to stop allegedly illegal debt collection practices. According to the letter, in 2015, the FTC’s FDCPA activities included “aggressive law enforcement activities and public outreach to address new and troubling issues in debt collection,” such as (i) coordinating the first federal-state-local enforcement initiative, Operation Collection Protection, that targets deceptive and abusive debt collection practices; (ii) prosecuting various cases involving the use of purportedly unlawful text messages to collect debts; (iii) publishing a list of every company and individual that has been banned from engaging in debt collection activities because of the FTC’s work; and (iv) hosting three Debt Collection Dialogues “to promote a more robust exchange of information between the debt collection industry and the state and federal governmental agencies that regulate their conduct.” The letter highlights various actions against debt collectors taken jointly by the FTC and the CFPB, and the offices of the New York and Illinois Attorneys General. Under the FDCPA, the FTC shares enforcement responsibilities with the CFPB. The FTC’s recent letter is intended to assist the CFPB in preparing its annual report to Congress about its administration of the FDCPA, as required by Dodd-Frank.