On the heels of the October 2020 Debt Collection Final Rule issued by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB), on December 18, 2020, the CFPB issued an additional final rule implementing the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The December 2020 final rule and an executive summary are available here: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/compliance/compliance-resources/other-applicable-requirements/debt-collection/.

The December 2020 final rule primarily addresses the (1) requirements to provide validation information at the outset of collection communications; (2) required actions prior to a debt collector reporting a consumer’s debt to CRAs, including the three major credit reporting agencies, and (3) a prohibition on suing or threatening to sue a consumer to collect a debt for which the applicable statute of limitations has expired (a “time-barred debt”). The CFPB did not finalize time-barred debt disclosures proposed in a March 3, 2020 supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking.

We will be reviewing the December 2020 final rule in greater detail and will provide periodic further updates.