The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ( CFPB ) propose a new set of normal on Tuesday that would change how debt collectors can pester debtors . The adept news show for the money - owers out there is the rules would restrict how often collection agencies can call you . The defective news is the agencies would be able-bodied to send unlimited texts or emails to consumers .
The new formula were presented as amendment to theFair Debt Collection Practices Act , which was passed in 1977 , long before mobile phone phones and emails were commonplace . Theproposed regulationswould preclude debt collectors from calling their targets more than seven times in a week . And if a debitor answers one of those calls , the delegacy would have to wait a week to call back .
However , the proposed rules also “ elucidate ” how debt collector can use e-mail and texts , placing no hard demarcation line on the number of electronic messages they can send to debtors , a CFPB official toldBloomberg . But such messages would have to give debtors the option to prefer out of receiving more messages .
Photo: Gareth Cattermole (Getty)
AsFast Companypoints out , the rules would also allow assemblage means to adjoin debtors via social media so long as it was through a individual canal that is n’t “ viewable by a potentially wide-cut array of the consumer ’s social or professional colleague . ” So basically , they can slue into your diabetes mellitus , but they ca n’t @ you .
According to the press CFPB release , these newfangled rules are supposed to “ cater consumers with clear protection against molestation by debt aggregator , ” and there are offer rules that protect consumers from debt gatherer harassment . For case , under the proposed principle , debt collectors ca n’t contact debtors through their work email , and debtors can request assembling agencies do n’t contact special social medium accounts , email addresses , or headphone number . The regulations would also foreclose collection agency from alert course credit means about debts without also inform the debitor they are doing so .
The amendment does provide some clarity and protection for consumer , but it also reads as a538 - pageguide for all the way that collection agencies could lawfully harass debtors in the modern historic period .
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