Debt Collection & Settlement

More than 4 million Americans are subject to wage garnishments for outstanding consumer debts and over 64 million people are being pursued by debt collectors, making them vulnerable to being sued for the wrong debt or the wrong amount of debt, among other predatory debt collection practices. People of color are more likely to be contacted by collectors and to be impacted by lawsuits resulting in wage garnishment and bank levies. CRL advocates for the protection of $1,000 per week in take home pay from wage garnishment and works to expose abusive debt collection and settlement practices. 

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Letter to the CFPB Regarding Ongoing Rulemaking on Debt Collection

Letter to the CFPB Regarding Ongoing Rulemaking on Debt Collection

One of the most prevalent problems with debt collection is harassing communications from debt collectors that violate consumers’ privacy and can cause serious harm to individuals and their families. In the Consumer Bureau’s survey on debt collection experiences, 42% of consumers who had been contacted by a collector in the past year reported that they had asked the collector to...
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Comment Letter
Debt Collection & Settlement

Undue Burden: The Impact of Abusive Debt Collection Practices in Oregon

Undue Burden: The Impact of Abusive Debt Collection Practices in Oregon

In recent decades, an increase in consumer debt has led to substantial growth in the debt collection industry as Americans struggled to pay down their debts. A subset of the debt collection industry, debt buyers, emerged in the wake of this growth in consumer debt. Debt buyers purchase debts from lenders and other creditors at a steep discount and then...
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Research
Debt Collection & Settlement

Testimony on Legislative Proposals Before The House Financial Services Committee's Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee

Testimony on Legislative Proposals Before The House Financial Services Committee's Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee

CRL Director of Federal Advocacy, Scott Astrada, appeared before the HFSC's Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit Subcommittee on January 9th, 2018 to deliver testimony for a hearing tittled "Legislative Proposals for a More Efficient Federal Financial Regulatory Regime: Part III." He spoke on the following bills: H.R. 2683, a bill to prevent veterans' credit scores from unfairly being hurt by...
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Testimony
Debt Collection & Settlement Mortgage Lending

Colorado Voters Overwhelmingly Favor Requiring Debt Buyers to Provide Proper Documentation

Colorado Voters Overwhelmingly Favor Requiring Debt Buyers to Provide Proper Documentation

With little difference across party lines, Coloradoans expressed their strong support for a proposal requiring debt buyers, companies that buy old debts and attempt to collect on them, provide appropriate documentation for the debts they collect and sue on. Survey respondents were asked this question: Would you support or oppose a law requiring debt buyers to provide documentation to the...
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Research
Debt Collection & Settlement

Debt Buyers Hound Coloradans in Court for Debts They May Not Owe

Debt Buyers Hound Coloradans in Court for Debts They May Not Owe

Six years after the Great Recession, American households continue to struggle with consumer debt. According to data reported by the Urban Institute, approximately 77 million Americans – 35 percent of adults with credit files – have debt in collections reported on their credit files. These Americans carry about $1,349 in debt. About 31 percent of Colorado residents have debt in...
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Research
Debt Collection & Settlement

Initial Analysis of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Proposed Outline to Address Debt Collection Abuses

Initial Analysis of Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s Proposed Outline to Address Debt Collection Abuses

This analysis provides a summary of the outline of proposals that the CFPB is considering to address debt collection and CRL’s initial reactions to it. As we review the proposal more closely, our reactions may evolve.
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Research
Debt Collection & Settlement

Fundamentally Improving Protections for Consumers Victimized by Predatory Debt Collection Practices

Fundamentally Improving Protections for Consumers Victimized by Predatory Debt Collection Practices

The undersigned consumer protection, civil rights, and legal services groups write to express our significant concerns with the outline of proposed regulations on debt collection issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau on July 28, 2016. The proposal represents a missed opportunity to fundamentally improve protections for consumers victimized by predatory debt collection practices. Some of the proposed changes will...
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Letters to Congress
Debt Collection & Settlement

Prepared Remarks of Graciela Aponte-Diaz Before the CFPB Field Hearing on Debt Collection, July 2016

Prepared Remarks of Graciela Aponte-Diaz Before the CFPB Field Hearing on Debt Collection, July 2016

Read Graciela Aponte-Diaz's remarks before the July 2016 CFPB Field Hearing on Debt Collection. The unfair and abusive practices of debt collection in the market can take advantage of financially-distressed consumers or unfairly strip families of wealth. The Great Recession made this financial distress inevitable for many U.S. households. Each year, tens of millions of Americans are pursued by creditors...
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Testimony
Debt Collection & Settlement

Past Due: Debt-collection Reforms That Protect Consumers Not Found to Restrict Credit Availability

Past Due: Debt-collection Reforms That Protect Consumers Not Found to Restrict Credit Availability

Debt buyers, specialized debt-collection companies, purchase defaulted consumer debt from creditors such as credit card companies for pennies on the dollar. Debt buyers then attempt to collect the debt, often by suing borrowers in court. Unfortunately, because debts are typically sold to debt buyers without fully verifying the accuracy of the borrower's identity, amount of the debt, or status of...
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Research
Debt Collection & Settlement

Comments to the Missouri Attorney General to Strengthen Proposed Reforms Aimed to Curb Predatory Debt-Collection Practices

Comments to the Missouri Attorney General to Strengthen Proposed Reforms Aimed to Curb Predatory Debt-Collection Practices

Unfair debt collection practices, particularly those of debt buyers, undermine individuals' financial security, especially among low-income households and households of color. When people are pursued or sued for debt they do not owe, these unfair collection attempts not only threaten the unnecessary extraction of money from individuals, but also hinder opportunities to build assets for the future. Towards this end...
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Comment Letter
Debt Collection & Settlement
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