On April 15, 2022, the CFPB published an article written by Director Rohit Chopra about protecting families and honest businesses from debt collection abuses. Through the article, CFPB announced that it has submitted its annual report to the Congress on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
According to Chopra, approximately one-third of the 220 million consumers with credit files have collections tradelines on their credit reports where the most common collections tradeline involves allegedly unpaid medical bills. Consumers are far more likely to dispute the accuracy of collections tradelines than of other information contained in their credit reports.
In its annual report, the CFPB noted that other small businesses are also affected by debt collection harms, especially during the pandemic where many small businesses struggled to survive. Unfortunately, small businesses may also face practices similar to what is encountered by consumers. The Federal Trade Commission has taken multiple actions to combat unlawful collections practices that target small businesses.
Read the CFPB’s full article here.