The Colorado legislature has enacted a new law that changes the disclosure that needs to be made when sending collection letters to individuals living in the state.
The bill — House Bill 20-1402 — which was signed into law on June 30 by Gov. Jared Polis, was sponsored in the state’s General Assembly by Rep. Kevin Van Winkle and Rep. Mike Weissman and in the Senate by Sen. Bob Gardner and Sen. Pete Lee. Weissman and Lee are Democrats while Van Winkle and Gardner are Republicans.
In initial written communications, collectors are now required to include the following disclosure:
FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE COLORADO FAIR DEBT COLLECTION PRACTICES ACT, SEE HTTPS://COAG.GOV/OFFICE-SECTIONS/CONSUMER-PROTECTION/CONSUMER-CREDIT-UNIT/COLLECTION-AGENCY-REGULA
TION/
While it may look the same as what was required previously, the website address has been updated and that needs to be reflected in initial communications sent to individuals in Colorado.
A number of agencies failed to update their letters the last time the state changed the website address that needed to be included in the disclosure, which resulted in a number of administrative actions.
The law also requires collectors to update the website address if it is changed by the state’s attorney general. As well, if the disclosure is included on the back of a letter, the collector must include a statement on the front “notifying the consumer of that fact.”
The website links to a number of different resources, including a copy of the state’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, details about what is and what is not allowed when collectors are attempting to collect from individuals in Colorado, contact information for the appropriate department in the state attorney general’s office, and reports from the administrator of the statute, including a report to the state legislature that was published earlier this month.