Leaving messages with third parties.
11/27/2018 9:00
Consumers can often be elusive, and having a third party convey a message to a hard-to-pin down consumer might seem like an easy solution. However, before speaking with any friends, family members or neighbors of the consumer, debt collectors should be mindful of any state or federal issues that may prohibit enlisting a third party as a messenger, according to a report in the November issue of Collector magazine.
While the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not directly address whether a debt collector may request that a third party convey a message to the consumer, the act does have provisions for how collectors should communicate with third parties. Section 805 of the FDCPA prohibits communication with third parties without the consumer’s consent.
One notable exception to this rule is Section 804 of the FDCPA, which allows collectors to contact people other than the consumer to obtain the consumer’s location information. Notably, though Section 804 allows communication to obtain location information, that section does not specifically address whether a collector may request that a third party relay a message to the consumer. That’s why debt collectors should look to case law to determine the permissibility of leaving messages for consumers with a third party.
Aside from FDCPA concerns, state law may specifically prohibit the practice of enlisting neighbors or other third parties to convey a message to the consumer. Other states have more general restrictions on communicating with third parties.
For example, Arizona specifically mandates that a collection agency shall not contact a third party, including the consumer’s friend, relative, neighbor or employer. The statute also lists information that debt collectors are forbidden to discuss with those particular people.
West Virginia, on the other hand, only requires that debt collectors not use any fraudulent, deceptive or misleading representation or means to collect or attempt to collect claims or to obtain information concerning consumers.
For more information on contacting third parties, ACA International members can review the ACA SearchPoint document #2017, Contacting Neighbors and Other Third Parties—State Restrictions, which provides collectors with information about laws concerning whether or not a state permits debt collectors to speak with third parties in a convenient and searchable format. ACA members can also review ACA SearchPoint documents #2067, Third-Party Communications, for information on federal laws concerning contacting third parties, and #2011, State Laws Governing Oral Communication with Consumers, for more information on state laws concerning speaking with consumers and third parties.
Have you checked out the member-only ACA SearchPoint™ library? This valuable resource is filled with documents that put important compliance information related to the FDCPA, FCRA, TCPA, state laws and many other topics at your fingertips. To access it, visit www.acainternational.org/searchpoint.
Also check out Collector magazine for in-depth reports highlighting resources available through the ACA SearchPoint™ library each month.
Subscriptions to the Collector magazine digital edition and email notifications for each new issue are available for ACA International members by logging in to ACA International’s website here. Members and nonmembers can also purchase a print subscription. Nonmembers can create a guest profile on ACA’s website to subscribe to available publications.
If you are interested in sharing articles and analysis on legal cases, industry laws and regulations or other relevant topics for possible publication with ACA International, email our Communications Department at [email protected].