Topic archive
Research and practical notes filed under this topic.
December 9, 2025
An original creditor collecting its own consumer accounts is not automatically a debt collector under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). This guide distinguishes federal rules for statutory debt collectors from the state-law and operational questions that original creditors should evaluate before running a collection program.
Read the analysisDecember 9, 2025
Debt collection call scripts should guide accurate, respectful conversations and direct agents to pause when a consumer raises a dispute, contact restriction, attorney representation, or other issue requiring review. This framework explains a federal baseline for debt collectors, safer conversation modules, and the limits that require state-specific and counsel-approved controls.
Read the analysisJanuary 23, 2025
The January 2025 federal regulatory-freeze memorandum affected certain pending agency actions, but it did not displace the federal debt-collection rules already in force. Accounts receivable management (ARM) organizations should maintain documented FDCPA and Regulation F controls while separately assessing state-law and account-specific requirements.
Read the analysisJanuary 18, 2025
FDCPA, TCPA, FCRA, and UDAAP govern different parts of consumer-debt operations: collection communications, certain calling and texting practices, credit reporting, and broader consumer-protection conduct. This federal overview explains the scope of each framework, the operational questions to ask, and why state-law and fact-specific legal review still matter.
Read the analysisJanuary 28, 2023
Consumer debt sales and collection activity require more than a signed purchase agreement. A sound framework identifies the account type, ownership record, collection role, credit-reporting role, and applicable federal and state requirements before contact or reporting begins. This article explains the federal baseline and the operational questions that require jurisdiction-specific review.
Read the analysisApril 14, 2019
If you are contacted about an unfamiliar or older account, identify the party seeking payment before making a decision. Compare your records, the original creditor's response, any validation notice, and the account information on your credit reports, while keeping state-law and timing issues in view.
Read the analysisApril 6, 2018
Federal debt-collection rules now address email, text messages, and private electronic communications, but those tools do not displace core limits on harassment, third-party disclosure, validation information, or consumer requests to stop a channel. This overview explains the current federal baseline under the FDCPA and Regulation F, along with the safeguards any future reform should preserve.
Read the analysis