FTC Provides Annual Letter to CFPB on Debt Collection Activities

On March 19, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released its annual letter to the CFPB on Debt Collection Activities.  The letter, found in its entirety here, describes the FTC’s efforts regarding debt collection during the past year.

The FTC’s debt collection program focuses primarily on enforcement; however, the letter also describes the FTC’s public outreach and education programs. Among the actions taken to combat unfair, deceptive, and otherwise unlawful debt collection practices in 2020, the FTC:

To highlight its actions under Operation Corrupt Collector, the FTC described actions it filed against several collections agencies, including National Landmark Logistics (National), Absolute Financial Services (Absolute), and Midwest Recovery System (Midwest).  In December 2020,  the FTC reached a settlement agreement with Midwest Recovery Systems. Just last week, National, Absolute, and certain affiliates and individuals were banned permanently from collections.