Appendix A: The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

• Author: Gregory Germain
• Pages: 395-402

395

APPENDIX A: The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq

[Note: bolding has been added to the original text.]

[T]he Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end

thereof the following new title:

§ 801. Short Title [15 USC 1601 note] This title may be cited as the "Fair Debt Collection Practices

Act."

§ 802. Congressional findings and declarations of purpose [15 USC 1692] [omitted]

§ 803. Definitions [15 USC 1692a]. As used in this title --

(1) The term "Commission" means the Federal Trade Commission.

(2) The term "communication" means the conveying of information regarding a debt directly

or indirectly to any person through any medium.

(3) The term "consumer" means any natural person obligated or allegedly obligated to pay

any debt.

(4) The term "creditor" means any person who offers or extends credit creating a debt or to

whom a debt is owed, but such term does not include any person to the extent that he receives

an assignment or transfer of a debt in default solely for the purpose of facilitating collection

of such debt for another.

(5) The term "debt" means any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay money

arising out of a transaction in which the money, property, insurance or services which are the

subject of the transaction are primarily for personal, family, or household purposes,

whether or not such obligation has been reduced to judgment.

(6) The term "debt collector" means any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate

commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any

debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due

or asserted to be owed or due another. Notwithstanding the exclusion provided by clause (F)

of the last sentence of this paragraph, the term includes any creditor who, in the process of

collecting his own debts, uses any name other than his own which would indicate that a third

person is collecting or attempting to collect such debts. For the purpose of section 808(6),

such term also includes any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or

the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the enforcement of security

interests. The term does not include --

(A) any officer or employee of a creditor while, in the name of the creditor, collecting

debts for such creditor;

[Omitted captive debt collectors, government collectors, process servers; credit

counselors, escrow agents and secured parties, and debts assigned when not in default]

(7) The term "location information" means a consumer's place of abode and his telephone

number at such place, or his place of employment.