Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that provides additional financial protections for consumers and places restrictions on debt collection activities.

Highlights:

• Defines a “covered member” as an individual who was separated, discharged, or released from duty, but only during the 365-days beginning on the date of separation, discharge, or release (Sec. 202.e.B.i)

• Prohibits anyone from directly or indirectly taking or receiving from another person or seeking to enforce an obligation that constitutes or contains a cognovit or confession of judgment, warrant of attorney, or another waiver of the right to notice and the opportunity to be heard in the event of suit or process, including any advance of funds or sale or assignment of future income or receivables that may or may not be credit (Sec. 102-140B.a).

• Prohibits a debt collector, in connection with the collection of any debt of a covered member, from (Sec. 202-2):

• Threaten to have the covered member reduced in rank;

• Threaten to have the covered member’s security clearance revoked; or

• Threaten to have the covered member prosecuted.

• Requires the holder of a private education loan to, when notified of the death or total and permanent disability of a student obligor (and any cosigner), discharge the liability of the student obligor on the loan and may not, after such notification (Sec. 302-3):

• Attempt to collect on the outstanding liability of the student obligor; and

• In the case of total and permanent disability, monitor the disability status of the student obligor at any point after the date of discharge.

• Specifies engaging in activities to collect or attempting to collect a medical debt before the end of the 2 years beginning on the date that the first payment concerning such medical debt is due (Sec. 402-10).

• Prohibits the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from issuing any rule concerning debt collection that allows a debt collector to send unlimited email, text messages, and direct messages through social media to a consumer (Sec. 502.e).

• Prohibits a federal agency that is a creditor from selling or transferring a debt to a debt collector earlier than 90 days after the date on which the obligation or alleged obligation becomes delinquent or defaults (Sec. 603-812A.a).

• Increases the maximum amount of statutory damages at the time of noncompliance for companies using unfair and deceptive practices (Sec. 702-1.B).

• Requires a debt collector that takes legal action to collect or attempt to collect a debt to comply with the following (Sec. 902.b):

• Provide the consumer written notice of the intent to take legal action, sent to the consumer’s last known address at least 30 days and not later than 60 days in advance of commencing the legal action, that includes:

• All methods that the consumer can use to contact the debt collector; and

• All information contained in the notice required under section 809(a), updated to ensure correctness.

• In the initial pleading filed by a debt collector to commence a legal action to collect a debt, that includes:

• All information contained in the notice required under section 809(a), updated to ensure correctness;

• The last four digits of the account number of the original debt;

• Admissible documentary evidence including the written agreement, contract, or instrument creating the debt, if any, or other documents showing that the consumer agreed to the agreement, contract, or instrument creating the debt and any terms and conditions relevant to the debt; and

• An affidavit stating that the applicable statute of limitations for collecting the debt has not expired and the date on which such statute of limitations expires and that the debt collector personally reviewed all applicable records and documents relating to the debt to be collected.

• Requires the following of a consumer credit reporting agency, including that (Sec. 1001.b):

• It may not make a consumer report containing adverse information relating to the nonpayment of a private education loan by a covered borrower; and

• It must promptly remove from a consumer report any such adverse information reported during the covered period.

• Prohibits a debt collector from collecting, or attempting to collect, any debt of a consumer concerning which the statute of limitations has expired (Sec. 1202.a).

• Requires the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to, in consultation with relevant stakeholders and experts that specialize in consumer financial protection concerning debt collection practices, maintain a webpage on the website of the Bureau that outlines consumer rights, protections, and remedies concerning debt collection practices (Sec. 1301.a).

Full Bill Text

Full Bill Text