Tag Archive for federal trade commission

Federal Trade Commission: Bill Collector Workshop

March 11, 2011 Credit Manager Credit Repair Articles & Resources

For immediate release from the Federal Trade Comission.

FTC To Host Consumer Debt Collection Technology Workshop

On April 28, 2011, the Federal Trade Commission will host a public workshop to examine how debt collectors are using new technologies and how this affects consumers. The workshop, titled “Debt Collection 2.0: Protecting Consumers as Technologies Change,” will feature consumer advocates, industry representatives, technologists, academics, and government officials.

As noted in the FTC’s Federal Register notice, these new technologies available to debt collectors include mobile telephones, e-mail, social media, information gathering tools, and the software platforms that collectors use, such as dialers, databases, and payment portals. The discussion will focus on how collectors use these technologies, consumer protection concerns that arise, and how policymakers should respond to those concerns.

The workshop is free and open to the public and will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in the FTC’s Satellite Building Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. Those who attend must present government-issued photo identification. More information, including an agenda and panelist biographies, will be posted on the FTC’s website at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/workshops/debtcollectiontech/index.shtml.

The FTC will identify and invite persons with relevant expertise to serve as panelists. Those who would like to be panelists should submit a request in response to the Federal Register notice. Requests should be sent to dctech@ftc.gov and must be received on or before 5 p.m. EST, Tuesday, March 22, 2011.

Interested parties are welcomed to submit relevant written comments or data, which will be placed on the public record. The Commission strongly encourages submissions in electronic format. Comments in electronic form should be submitted by using the following Web link: https://ftcpublic.commentworks.com/ftc/debtcollecttechworkshop (and following the instructions on the Web-based form). Please consult the Federal Register notice for further information, including details on topics to be covered and instructions for submitting comments. To be considered in preparation for the workshop, comments must be received by April 7, 2011, although the Commission will accept comments through May 27, 2011.

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The Red Flags Rule for Fraud & Identity Theft

June 1, 2010 Credit Manager FTC Updates

Because of changes to the Fair Credit Reporting Act -FCRA and the enactment of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACTA), more businesses are being held responsible for the safety of your financial information. Identity theft and fraud are two of the biggest financial crimes that we consumers face. The Federal Trade Commission and Congress have demanded that business who deal with our personal information follow more stringent guidelines to protect us from fraud and identity theft.

The Federal Trade Commission is making the act of businesses complying as simple as possible and have created a Red Flag Resource Web Site to help businesses comply and educate its employees.

Some of the tools provided by the FTC are DIY workbooks for small risk businesses which walks you through complying and articles that businesses can publish for clients, colleagues and future customers.

Six of those resources to help businesses protect and manage customer information in the Red Flag Program are;

The Red Flags Rule: Are You Complying with New Requirements for Fighting Identity Theft?

The Red Flags Rule: Compliance Tips for Companies Offering Services In and Around the Home

Franchisors: Are You Complying with the Red Flags Rule’s New Requirements for Fighting Identity Theft?

The Red Flags Rule: What Health Care Providers Need to Know About Complying with New Requirements for Fighting Identity Theft

The Red Flags Rule: What Telecom Companies Need to Know About Complying with New Requirements for Fighting Identity Theft [PDF]

The Red Flags Rule: What Utility Companies Need to Know About Complying with New Requirements for Fighting Identity Theft

If you deal with businesses who have your personal information (and who doesn’t, really) then you should familiarize yourself with the FTCs Red Flag Rules. These rules aim at helping to minimize your risk and hold your creditors, hospitals, cable companies and financial institutions to a higher privacy standard.

The FTC has extended its deadline for businesses to comply with Red Flag until December 2010.

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FTC & Senator to push Free Credit Report Offers for clearer disclosures

November 11, 2009 Credit Manager Credit Repair Articles & Resources, FTC Updates

freecreditreportThe Internet is littered with free credit report offers and most of them want to give you a free credit report but they don’t blatantly disclose that you are paying for a monthly service along with the free credit report.

The search term “Free Credit Report” is an expensive one on Google, with advertisers paying upwards of $14.00 per click to be number one in the advertisers section of  the search results. It’s big business and everyone wants a piece.

The Federal Trade Commission has long wanted these types of sites to provide more blatant disclosures to consumers as to exactly what they are paying for, but resistance stands forward and the consumers often don’t realize they are being charged after they get the free credit report.

senatorSenator Schumer has a very simple fix for this. He says give the consumer the free credit report first- without asking for their credit card. After they receive it completely free (as advertised) they can then opt in for the monitoring service at a monthly fee. 

What a concept!  This would certainly help with all the confusion and reduce the number of chargebacks the credit providers must deal with, however it will certainly decrease sales.

According to the New York Times the senator said;

If these companies want to say — or sing for that matter — that they are giving people free credit reports, then they can’t charge people $15 a month, simple as that,” Mr. Schumer said in the release. “For years, these companies have said with a smile that they will provide a free credit report -– even though the government already requires a credit report be provided for free every year -– and then suddenly, months later, consumers get a bill in the mail for their credit-monitoring services. My plan would finally bust up this scam and give consumers some honest choices.”

Annualcreditreport.com offers consumers a free credit report from all three bureaus once a year and yes, its really free. The FTC and the Senator think that should also be more obvious on the websites of credit providers so that consumers may make a wise choice. Perhaps more disclosures in bigger bolder font and obvious words like “with trial” should also be implemented.

If a person can use AnnualCreditreport.com for their free credit reports and a monitoring service like Lifelock if they so choose to, its much cheaper. The bottom line is you are paying for continual monitoring with most of these services and you may not need it. At least with Lifelock, you know exactly what you are paying for and there is no smoke and mirrors.

The senator is looking to introduce legislation to force these changes if the FTC is unable to get cooperation from the credit report providers.

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Paying the Debts of a Deceased Relative: Who Is Responsible?

October 25, 2009 Credit Manager Credit Repair Articles & Resources, FTC Updates

After a relative dies, the last thing grieving family members may expect are calls from debt collectors asking them to pay their loved one’s outstanding debts. 

According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, a surviving relative usually has no legal obligation to pay the debts of a family member who has died. In fact, the rights of surviving relatives are covered by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from you.

Under the FDCPA, which is enforced by the FTC, a debt collector is someone who regularly collects debts owed to others. This includes collection agencies, lawyers who collect debts on a regular basis, and companies that buy delinquent debts and then try to collect them.

Here’s what the law has to say about who has responsibility for a dead relative’s debts.

Who is responsible for paying the debts of a relative who has died?
Generally, someone’s estate is responsible for paying their debts. But if there isn’t enough in the estate to cover the debts, they typically go unpaid.

Am I legally obligated to pay the debts of a deceased relative?
You usually don’t have a legal obligation to pay the debts of a deceased relative who was not your spouse. Even a spouse’s obligation to pay may be limited under state probate law. To determine whether you’re legally obligated to pay, talk to an attorney who is knowledgeable about this area of the law

What should I do if a debt collector contacts me about a debt of a relative who has died?
Give the debt collector the contact information of the decedent’s personal representative. That’s the person responsible for settling their affairs, including paying any outstanding debts from the estate. If there is a will, the personal representative is known as the executor; if there is no will, the personal representative is known as the administrator.  Don’t give any of your personal information, like your Social Security number, birth date, or financial account numbers to anyone unless you know who you’re dealing with. Some con artists may check obituaries and other legal notices, and then contact relatives of a deceased posing as debt collectors. These scam artists can use your personal information to help them commit identity theft or other types of fraud.

Do I have to speak with a debt collector who contacts me about the debts of a deceased relative?
No. But if you’re a decedent’s personal representative, or otherwise legally obligated to pay the debt, you may want to talk with the debt collector to see if you can resolve the matter.

Can I stop a debt collector from contacting me about the debts of a deceased relative?
Yes. If you decide that you don’t want a debt collector to contact you again, write a letter to the collector saying so. Then, make a copy of your letter, send the original by certified mail, and pay for a “return receipt” so you will be able to document what the collector received and when. Once the collector receives your letter, they may not contact you again, with two exceptions: a collector can contact you to tell you there will be no further contact and to let you know that they or the creditor plan to take a specific action, like filing a lawsuit. Remember that even though the collector is prohibited from contacting you again, they still may sue the estate of your relative or the legally responsible person to collect the debt.  (cease and desist letter information can be found here)

Can debt collectors tell anyone else about my dead relative’s debt?
Other than to get the personal representative’s location, a debt collector generally is not allowed to disclose your relative’s debt to anyone other than the deceased’s spouse, parent (if your relative is a minor child), or guardian.

We recommend that you visit the FTCs website for more information on filing a complaint if you feel you have been harassed or abused by a collection agency. On the home page simply click, file complaint.

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