Published: January 2018

Bill would set back consumer rights in debt collection

Advocates wrote to the House Financial Services Committee to oppose a bill (formerly HR 4550, now HR 5082) that would exempt attorneys and law firms engaged in litigation from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

Justice and consumer groups wrote to oppose HR 5082 (formerly HR 4550), which would exempt attorneys and law firms engaged in litigation from the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and eliminate Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) authority over them. The signers agree that passage of this bill ("Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2017") would hurt consumers, especially people who have recently lost jobs, had a death in the family, or suffered another type of devastating personal loss, by eliminating critical protections against abusive practices by collection attorneys.

Other Organizations

Alliance for Justice
American | Association for Justice | Americans for Financial Reform (AFR) | Arizona Community Action Association | Arkansans Against Abusive Payday Lending | Arkansas Community Organizations
 | Center for Justice and Democracy | 
Center for Responsible Lending | Civil Justice, Inc.
 | Connecticut Legal Services, Inc.
 | Connecticut Veterans Legal Center | 
Consumer Action | 
Consumer Federation of America | 
Consumers League of New Jersey
 | Consumers Union
 | Florida Alliance for Consumer Protection | Georgia Watch | 
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc.
 | Kentucky Equal Justice Center | 
Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia | Legal Services of New Jersey | 
Michigan Consumer Law | Michigan Poverty Law Program
 | Mobilization for Justice, Inc. | Mountain State Justice, Inc.
 | NAACP | National Association of Consumer Advocates
 | National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys (NACBA) | National Center for Law and Economic Justice
 | National Consumer Law Center (on behalf of its low-income clients) | National Legal Aid & Defenders Association
 | National Veterans Legal Services Program | 
New Economy Project | 
New Leaf’s Mesa Community Action Network | North Carolina Justice Center
 | Prosperity Now
 | Protecting Arizona's Family Coalition
 | Public Citizen | 
Public Good Law Center
 | Public Interest Law Center | 
Public Justice | 
Public Law Center
 | South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center | Texas Appleseed
 | Tzedek DC
 | U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) | Volunteers of Legal Service, Inc.
 | West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy | Woodstock Institute

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Bill would set back consumer rights in debt collection   (opposition-ltr-hr4550.pdf)