A bill has been introduced in Congress that would seek to amend the definition of debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
H.R. 5001 was introduced by Rep. William Lacy Clay [D-Missouri], on Friday. It has been referred to the House Financial Services Committee for consideration.
Rep. Lacy Clay is a member of the House Financial Services Committee and is a member of the committee’s Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions and the Subcommittee on Diversity and Financial Inclusion.
This appears to be the first time that Rep. Lacy Clay has introduced a bill related to debt collection. He has previously sponsored a number of bills aimed at the financial services industry and consumer protection, such as H.R. 4749 which would provide debt relief to individuals with student loans, and H.R. 4750, which would make some student loans dischargeable during bankruptcy proceedings.
H.R. 5001 would amend the definition of debt collector under the FDCPA to include, “a person in a business the principal purpose of which is the enforcement of security interests.” Currently a debt collector is defined as “any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another. Notwithstanding the exclusion provided by clause (F) of the last sentence of this paragraph, the term includes any creditor who, in the process of collecting his own debts, uses any name other than his own which would indicate that a third person is collecting or attempting to collect such debts. For the purpose of section 1692f(6) of this title, such term also includes any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the enforcement of security interests.”
