FTC Provides Annual Letter on Debt Collection Activities

The Federal Trade Commission has provided the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) with its annual summary of activities to protect consumers in the debt collection arena.

The summary is used by CFPB in its annual report to Congress, released today, on the activities of both agencies, who share law enforcement responsibility in this area.

In the summary, the Commission highlights its multi-faceted work covering the debt collection market to protect consumers and small businesses, including:

• litigating two cases against debt collection operations who, the FTC charged, used a variety of illegal tactics to target small businesses with threats about supposed debts;
• issuing more than $1.27 million refunds to consumers harmed by unlawful debt collection practices;
• halting collections of millions of dollars in debt that originated from illegal financing and sales practices;
• providing tens of millions of people educational materials, in both English and Spanish, informing them about their rights, and educating debt collectors about their responsibilities, under the FDCPA and FTC Act.

The lead staff attorney on this matter for the FTC is Naomi Takagi in the Bureau of Consumer Protection.