March 22, 2011 -- On Monday, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued its 33rd annual Fair Debt Collection Practices Report, detailing the agency’s efforts to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive debt collection practices. The report illustrated a nearly 17.1 percent rise in complaints from the previous year. In addition, the report noted: an industry-wide investigation into the debt-buying industry; a review of law enforcement actions, consumer and industry education efforts, and research and policy initiatives; the creation of enforcement policy regarding the collection of debts of the deceased; and an upcoming workshop on the consumer protection impacts of advancing technologies in debt collection. The report also mentioned the transfer of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) administration to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), as it assumes its authority mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act on July 21. From that point forward, both the FTC and the CFPB will have authority to enforce the FDCPA.
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