More than any other complaint, the Federal Trade Commission received those about debt collectors. Specifically, people complained that they were often ignored when requesting validation of debt (VOD) and or refused the right altogether. The Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) demands that consumers be given this basic right but collection agencies often fall short — either not sending out the notice or leaving the important verbage out of the notices. Because there is some variances in the FDCPA verbage it can be open to interpretation. Adding a standard format would make the rules clear to everyone.

The new Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) which will work along side the FTC will have the power to make changes in the debt collection industry including requiring that collection agencies follow standard formats in their letters. By having a system in place that all collection agencies would have to follow, there would be less confusion for consumers and probably less violations by the collection agencies.

According to Credit.com the idea format would be as follows;

Details of the debt

•  Complete contact information for the current collector
• Name and address of original creditor
• The date the original account was opened
• Date of default date (or perhaps last payment) with the original creditor
• Charge-off date
• Amount owed at the time of default or charge-off
• Interest and fees charged since that date
• Amount currently owed
• Clear explanation of right to request verification of the debt, and how to do that
• Chain of title (list of all firms that have attempted to collect the debt after the original creditor)
• Credit reporting information (how long it can be reported)

Summary of Consumer Rights

• Information about the statute of limitations
• Where to get more information about the consumer’s rights and resources
• How and where to file a complaint against the collector if necessary

This type of letter would be clear and concise and also provide details that a VOD would normally include. It would also answer the always almighty SOL question — statute of limitations of when the debt would expire. Makes sense!