State Senate Panel Debates Bill Allowing Collectors to be Recorded

After passing Nevada’s Assembly with a vote of 28-14, AB 127, a bill that would allow consumers to secretly record phone conversations with collection agencies, is now being debated in Nevada’s Senate.

The law would change a 1998 Nevada Supreme Court ruling that recording telephone conversations without the consent of both parties is barred under state law.

In support of AB 127, that “69,000 complaints to the FTC” data is being trotted out – again, without any corroborating evidence, or any acknowledgement that the 69,000 figure is all complaints lodged and not the number of valid complaints.  The ACA, working with PriceWaterhouse Cooper, is preparing an analysis of the 69,000 complaints.

"I realize this is a departure from the way business is conducted in Nevada," Debbie Smith, D-Sparks, a sponsor of the bill, told the Senate Judiciary Committee. "After becoming aware of the amount of abuse is taking place, I have come to the conclusion that additional consumer protection measures in this area are warranted."  However, when Smith mentions “becoming aware of the amount of abuse,” she’s only referencing the FTC’s data which has not been analyzed in any meaningful way.  What she’s aware of is growing consumer dissent with collection agencies; that shouldn’t necessarily be the basis for an unfair new law.

John Sande IV, a lobbyist for an association of Nevada debt collectors, pointed out that the industry is tightly regulated by federal law. If Nevada wants to change the law regarding recording phone conversations, it should regulate all conversations equally, he added.