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Section 1006.2 Definitions – Debt Collector
The following perspective was provided by Virginia Bell Flynn of Troutman Pepper.
The CFPB Final Rule indicates that it only applies to “debt collectors” and provides additional clarity as to what this means. Other than specifying an exception for certain bad check enforcement programs, the definition of “debt collector” in § 1006.2(i) essentially mirrors the definition found in the FDCPA. See 15 USCS § 1692a(6). And consistent with the Supreme Court’s decision in Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc., 137 S. Ct. 1718 (2017), the CFPB states that the definition does not to first party creditors. Specifically, Comment 2(i)–1 to the definition provides that a person who collects or attempts to collect defaulted debts that the person has purchased, but who does not collect or attempt to collect debts owed to another, and who does not have a business the principal purpose of which is the collection of debts, does not qualify as a debt collector. But although the CFPB reaffirmed the rule regarding first party creditors, it declined to create blanket exclusions for licensed attorneys or mortgage servicers who otherwise meet the definition of debt collector.
