First Major Regulatory and Legislative Victory of 2005 for Creditors and Consumers
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, collectors are not allowed to disclose a consumers past due debt to anyone other than the debtor and in some cases a spouse. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act would have required collectors to identify the registered name of their business in any pre-recorded messages to consumers or debtors. Since the name of many collection agencies indicates that they are a debt collection agency or that they are calling for the purpose of collecting a debt, this would have caused them to violate the FDCPA. The TCPA creates unworkable contradictions with collectors and creditors who are following the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991 was created in response to consumer concerns about the growing number of unsolicited telemarketing calls to their homes and the increasing use of automated and prerecorded messages. The FCC has rules to aid consumers who wish to limit these uninvited calls. On June 26, 2003, the FCC revised its rules implementing the TCPA and established, in coordination with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), a national do-not-call registry.
The term "telephone solicitation" does not include calls or messages placed with the receiver's prior expressed permission, by or on behalf of a tax-exempt non-profit organization, or from a person or organization with which the receiver has an established business relationship, such as a creditor or a collection agency. An established business relationship exists if you have made an inquiry, application, purchase, or transaction regarding products or services offered by the person or entity involved. Consumers, who add their number to the Do Not Call list, will not stop collection calls. This will only stop unsolicited telemarketing calls.
Congress and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will be reducing the abuse of the legal system through frivolous lawsuits. Also, the U.S. Senate approved a bill to reform class litigation. ACA International has been instrumental in getting these changes made. ACA International has used its over 5,300 members to help build support for this bill in order to reduce the number of frivolous lawsuits filed against companies and collection agencies including ACA members.
Michelle Dunn is the Author of the FREE e-book How to Help You Get Paid, Credit & Collection Forms and Letters. She has also written and published How to Make Money Collecting Money, Starting a Collection Agency that is available from http://www.michelledunn.com and all major bookstores. For more information on Starting a Collection Agency, order her book for immediate delivery or sign up for her consulting services to start your own agency. Michelle opened and ran her own very successful collection agency for 8 years. She has over 17 years experience in debt collection. To sign up for Michelle's FREE online networking group visit http://www.credit-and-collections.com. Get FREE forms and tips for starting your own agency.
Please visit http://www.michelledunn.com for information on her consulting packages for Starting a Collection Agency or Starting a Home Based Business.
MORE RESOURCES:
 CTV.ca | Fallout From TJX Credit Card ... InternetNews.com - By Andy Patrizio: More stories by this author: The indictment of 11 criminals involved in the TJX credit card theft incident shows that cybercrime is indeed ... Video: Feds Charge 11 in Massive Retail Hacking Case Credit card thieves ran a polite, professional help desk Simple steps to protect yourself from ID theft |
 Sabah | US Consumer Credit Increases $14.3 Billion in June (Update2) Bloomberg - Consumer credit rose by $14.3 billion, the most since November, to $2.59 trillion, the Federal Reserve said today in Washington. In May, credit rose by $8.1 ... Consumer credit rose $14.33 bln in June US consumer credit rose at double the pace forecast in June Consumers release their credit cards from musty wallets |
Credit Crunch Videos Sky News, UK - Equity, bond, and money markets were reluctant to accept that this was going to be a global banking problem, leading to a massive credit crisis. ... Credit crunch and banks: from the Rock to a hard place Many happy returns, credit crunch Credit crunch: Around the world |
 Washington Post | Here comes the credit crackdown Independent, UK - One year into the credit crisis, regulators are hard at work on new laws they hope will prevent history repeating itself. Leading investment banks fear a ... Industry group to address credit risk Panel Calls for New Risk Standards Banking Group Proposes Wide Range of Reforms |
The End of Credit Card Consumerism U.S. News & World Report, DC - For more than four decades, our shopaholic nation has shown an insatiable desire to spend until our credit cards melt. And throughout this era, ... |
 Reuters | Credit Suisse auction-rate debt suit may start frenzy Reuters - ST Micro alleges in the August 6 complaint filed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, that by late 2006 Credit Suisse knew that collateralized debt ... Fannie Mae expects smaller credit losses in 2009 Credit crunch cripples European insurers' profits UPDATE 1-CS reinitiates IT hardware sector with "market weight" |
Credit Suisse Sued Over Auction-Rate Securities (Update3) Bloomberg - 7 (Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group, Switzerland's second-biggest bank, was sued by Swiss semiconductor company STMicroelectronics NV for allegedly placing ... STMicro sues Credit Suisse over auction-rate debt Credit Suisse sued by semiconductor firm Credit Suisse sued over 'auction' debt |
 ABC News | Credit expenses lead to $2.3 billion loss for Fannie MarketWatch - The company reported credit-related expenses of $5.3 billion in the quarter, which more than offset revenue of $4 billion. Fannie Mae also took a charge of ... Fannie Mae posts $2.3 billion loss as credit costs rise Fannie: Sun will come out tomorrow Fannie Mae Posts Fourth Straight Loss, Cuts Dividend (Update2) |
Settling the credit score CNNMoney.com - Having a good credit rating is more important now than ever, but determining exactly what yours is gets complicated. By Jessica Dickler, CNNMoney.com staff ... The FICO Score- Unregulated Discrimination? Back-to-school shopping tips |
 Sydney Morning Herald | Barclays' Profits Hit by Credit Crunch BusinessWeek - by Kerry Capell The credit crunch continues to take its toll on British banks. On Aug. 7, Barclays (BCS) revealed its first-half pretax profits fell by ... Barclays: credit and credibility Barclays hit by £2bn profits slump as credit crunch takes hold Income at Barclays declines less than analysts expected |
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