Friend,

When I got sick six years ago and was unemployed because of my illness, I
was afraid to answer the phone or open my mail because of debt collectors
trying to collect on medical debt I couldn’t pay. That’s why I was upset
when I heard about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB)
proposed debt collection rule.^1

The new rule would let debt collectors call you 7 times per week, per
debt -- meaning if you have 8 medical debts, as many people do, you could
receive 56 calls a week. And not just you -- debt collectors can call your
friends and family as well.^2

Trump’s plan also allows debt collectors to contact you by text, email, or
direct message without your consent, meaning many people would have to pay
a text message fee every time a debt collector contacts them.

There’s still time to stop this -- the CFPB is taking public comments on
this rule now. 

[ [link removed] ]Tell the CFPB to strengthen the new debt collection rule to protect
consumers from debt collector harassment.

If, like me, you’ve been unlucky enough to deal with a debt collector,
you’ll have seen first-hand the abusive practices of the debt collection
industry. Debt collectors lie, threaten, and harass people for debt they
may not even owe or for the wrong amount.

Instead of reining in this industry, the new CFPB rule is better for debt
collectors than consumers like us.

If the CFPB rule is enacted, debt collectors could:

* Call you 7 times per week, per debt (meaning consumers with 8 medical
debts could receive 56 calls a week!)
* Contact you by text, email or direct message without your consent and
puts the burden on you to opt out of such communications you never
gave permission to accept. This puts consumers at risk of missing
important information, receiving information in an inaccessible format
(not having easy access to computer or internet), imposing burdensome
costs (paying per text message), and making them vulnerable to hackers
(the rule allows for important notices to be sent by hyperlink).
* Sue you without their attorneys reviewing original account documents
to make sure you are the right person and the debt is the right amount
* Collect “zombie debt” that is so old that the deadline for a lawsuit
has passed and there are no reliable records of who owes the debt and
for how much.^3

The CFPB was proposed by Elizabeth Warren under the Obama
administration with the goal of helping working families deal with
predatory lenders and debt collectors in the fallout from the 2008
financial crisis. But under Trump, the CFPB is letting lenders and debt
collectors get away with anything.

[ [link removed] ]Tell the CFPB to strengthen the new debt collection rule so the rule
protects consumers instead of debt collectors’ right to harass us.

Thanks for taking action to protect consumer rights,

Salma and the team at Demand Progress

 

[ [link removed] ]DONATE

 

Sources:
1. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, "Consumer Financial Protection
Bureau Proposes Regulations to Implement the Fair Debt Collection
Practices Act," [ [link removed] ]May 7th, 2019.
2. National Consumer Law Center, "CFPB Debt Collection Rule Must Protect
Consumers, Not Abusive Collectors," [ [link removed] ]May 2019.
3. Ibid.
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