Webinar: Unpacking the CFPB's Proposal to Regulate Debt Collection Industry

Join Prosperity Now and the National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) at 2 pm EST on Thursday, August 8, 2019 to learn more about what is in the Bureau’s proposed rule and what needs to be done to make it better. We will also share some findings from our report on addressing debt in black communities and let you know what you can do to advocate for a strong rule.

The debt collection industry consistently ranks as one of the leading sources of consumer complaints in the country. In 2018 alone, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received more than 550,000 complaints in total about this industry, outpacing complaints about credit cards, student loans, and mortgages. Complaints include being contacted for debt not owed or for the wrong amount, as well as the use of aggressive collections tactics like abusive language or threatening to sue someone to induce repayment.

In the spring of this year, the CFPB released a set of proposed rule s aimed at reining in the more predatory side of this industry, and they are accepting comments from the public about how to improve their proposal until August 19, 2019. Given that more than 71 million Americans have some form of debt in collections, it is extremely important that the Bureau gets this rule right.