The FDCPA is a powerful piece of legislature designed to eliminate abusive debt collection practice. The teeth behind the act are an attorney fees clause and provisions that allow for emotional distress and punitive damages to be awarded.
One distinction between consumer debt collectors and commercial debt collectors is that those practicing consumer debt collections had to be very careful not to violate the FDCPA while commercial debt collectors did not have the same worries. Consumers are not as sophisticated as those engaged in business and so this additional protection makes sense.
That distinction now blurred because the 6th Circuit held that corporations may take advantage of the FDCPA. This is a BIG deal.
You can find the case here.
Hat tip to Professor Dan Schechter, Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and the ABA’s Insolvency Law Committee.