The “Comprehensive Debt Collection Improvement Act,”in the House Financial Services Commitee includes the following provisions proceeding:

  • Title I, the “Small Business Lending Fairness Act,” would amend the Truth in Lending Act to prohibit the use of a confession of judgment, warrant of attorney, “or other waiver of the right to notice and the opportunity to be heard in the event of suit or process thereon,” in both consumer and business purpose credit transactions, “including any advance of funds or sale or assignment of future income or receivables that may or may not be credit.”
  • Title II, the “Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for Servicemembers Act,” would amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to prohibit debt collectors from threatening a servicemember with a reduction in rank, revocation of a security clearance, or prosecution under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
  • Title III, the “Private Loan Disability Discharge Act of 2021,” would amend the TILA to require the discharge of private student loans in the event of a student borrower’s death or total and permanent disability.
  • Title IV, the “Consumer Protection for Medical Debt Collections Act,” would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act to require a person furnishing information about medical debt to a consumer reporting agency to provide a notice to the consumer before furnishing such information that includes certain specified information, including that information about medical debt cannot be furnished sooner than one year after the notice is sent and that information about a debt arising from a medically necessary procedure may never be furnished to a consumer reporting agency.  It would also amend the FDCPA to provide that it is an unfair practice for a debt collector to attempt to collect a medical debt sooner than 2 years after the date the first payment on such debt is due.
  • Title V, the “Ending Debt Collection Harassment Act of 2021,” would amend the FDCPA to prohibit a debt collector from contacting a consumer by email or text message without a consumer’s consent to be contacted by that method.  (Such consent is not expressly required under the CFPB’s final debt collection rule.)
  • Title VI, the “Stop Debt Collection Abuse Act of 2021,” would amend the FDCPA to expand the obligations included in the definition of “debt” and the activities that fall within the definition of “debt collector.”  To read more click here