Right Now, 3 Regulatory Questions Are on Every Savvy Receivables Leader’s Mind

This content was written by Rozanne Andersen, Chief Compliance Officer at Ontario Systems and published on Ontario Systems’ website. It can be found here.

Seven straight weeks on the road presenting at industry conferences, meeting with clients, facilitating industry work group discussions, leading roundtables and meeting with regulators has given me a lot to think about these last couple months. Our industry has made its voice heard, reacting to the CFPB’s new debt collection rules, and their impact on operations, business models and verticals that have to date enjoyed “under the radar” status. It’s been a busy quarter. So busy, in fact, that keeping up with the myriad issues playing into your 2017 plans might feel overwhelming, or impossible.

As we close out the year, it’s important that professionals in our industry keep a number of high-priority issues at top-of-mind in preparing strategies and budgets, and in making investments that will provide real value. Ask yourself and your board the following questions:

• How are we handling the CFPB’s new Military Examination Requirements?
• Is there a process in place to handle our right to file a proof of claim on a debt listed in a Chapter 13
• What is our reaction to the ACA’s TCPA case against the FCC, and their challenge to the CFPB’s org structure and retroactive rulemaking via enforcement?

Unfamiliar with one or some of these issues? It’s important that you get yourself up to speed.

Once a rare occurrence for the industry, the U.S. Supreme Court has again accepted another consumer debt collection-related case for review. Great disparity exists among the circuits on whether a creditor or a debt collector, on behalf of its creditor client, may file a proof of claim on a time-barred debt. Soon this issue may be laid to rest.

To follow, ACA’s challenge to the Federal Communications Commission is moving forward. Oral arguments were heard on October 20, and the normal 20-minute time limit allotted for each side to present its argument turned into a three hour Q&A period. Apparently ACA has caught the DC Court of Appeal’s attention. There is no maximum amount of time for the court to publish its opinion but my prediction would be Q1 2017.

And, last but certainly not least, in the case of PHH Corp. v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the U.S. Court of Appeals decidedly took no prisoners in ruling the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is unconstitutional. Like any other party bringing an action against a business, the CFPB is subject to the statutes of limitation in effect for each of the 19 consumer protection laws it is charged to enforce. Specifically, the Court held even the CFPB cannot make stuff up or engage in rulemaking by enforcement that applies retroactively. Businesses have the right to receive notice and an opportunity to comment in advance of rulemaking. They cannot be held accountable to laws and rules not in effect at the time of the alleged violation or for which their due process rights have been stripped.

If you hadn’t considered these issues, you might see why many of your industry peers are buzzing as much as they have been. News about the debt collection industry and its practices may be at an all-time high. And these items directly affect your business.

The coming weeks will be important ones for the ARM and healthcare revenue cycle industries – Review these hot issues if you haven’t already.

Disclaimer: Ontario Systems is a technology company and provides this blog article solely for general informational and marketing purposes. You should not rely on the content of this material for any other purpose or as specific guidance for your company. Ontario Systems’ advice, services, tools and products described herein do not guarantee compliance with any law or industry standard. You are ultimately responsible for your own company’s actions and compliance efforts. Because everyone’s situation is different, you must consult your own attorneys, accountants, and/or other advisors to obtain specific advice on your company’s compliance, legal, tax, regulatory and/or other business needs. Despite Ontario Systems’ efforts to provide current and up-to-date information, you need to recognize that the information contained herein may become outdated quickly and may contain errors and/or other inaccuracies.