The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection is still on track to issue a proposed debt collection rule by next March, according to a blog posted to the bureau’s website by the agency’s assistant director of regulation.
The update was part of the Fall rule making agenda, published yesterday by Kelly Cochran.
Whether this matters or not, the update about the proposed debt collection rule was the third of three updates under the heading of “Continuation of Existing Rulemaking,” which also include updates about the reconsideration of a rule related to payday loans and title loans that it expects to issue in August 2019, and the reconsideration of a rule related to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act that it expects to issue next Spring. Does this mean that the debt collection rule is the third-highest priority? It’s impossible to say.
“Finally, the Bureau has continued to engage in research and pre-rulemaking activities regarding the debt collection market, which remains a top source of complaints to the Bureau,” Cochran wrote. “The Bureau has also received encouragement from industry and consumer groups to engage in rulemaking to address how to apply the 40-year old Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) to modern collection practices. By March 2019, the Bureau expects to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking addressing such issues as communication practices and consumer disclosures.”
The bureau has been working on a proposed debt collection rule for several years, having issued a framework for a rule more than two years ago. Following that, the Bureau changed strategy and decided to narrow the focus of a proposed rule related to third-party collection, with the plan of addressing first-party collections separately.
If you think you can guess what day the proposed rule will be issued, feel free to participate in the AccountsRecovery.net Debt Collection Rulemaking pool. First prize is $500.
