The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will unveil debt collection rules in a few weeks, the agency’s director said yesterday, potentially unleashing a battle over the industry’s tactics and consumers’ rights, the Washington Post reported. The proposal, which would be the first update to the Federal Debt Collection Practices Act in more than 40 years, will address how often debt collectors can call someone and the industry’s use of emails or text messages, CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger said. The CFPB will “modernize the legal regime for debt collection,” Kraninger said in her first major speech since becoming the bureau’s director in December. The $11 billion industry has been anxiously awaiting the proposal, hopeful the Trump administration would set out clear rules, including allowing debt collectors to email and text consumers. Consumer advocates, meanwhile, have asked the CFPB to stop debt collectors from harassing consumers and collecting on “zombie” debts.
