In a recent speech at the National Consumer Law Center/National Association of Consumer Advocates Spring Training, Seth Frotman, General Counsel of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB or Bureau), focused on medical billing and collections and tenant screening and debt, emphasizing the CFPB’s enforcement of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) in these areas.
Medical Collections and Consumer Reporting
According to Frotman, as healthcare costs rise families are being burdened with medical bills that they should not or do not owe. The CFPB has purportedly received over 15,000 complaints about debt collectors pursuing unpaid medical bills in the past two years. Frotman emphasized that debt collectors are strictly liable under the FDCPA for any misrepresentations they make about whether and how much a consumer owes. Additionally, a debt collector violates the FDCPA if they collect an amount that is no longer correct, such as when an insurance company or patient has made a payment on the bill.
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