In-House collections department considered a debt collector?

[smirn07]

What is the name of your state? KY

According to certain subsections of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, I am being harrassed by a collections department witin a payday loan company. I want to send them a letter to notify them that my employer prohibits them from calling me at work, among other things. However, the FDCPA seems to be written around "third party" debt collectors, not collectors which are a separate department within the creditor's organization. Thus my question is, is an "in-house" collections department considered a debt-collector, as expressed in the FDCPA?

 

[C M Chase]

As you said, "debt collector", according to FDCPA statutes, means anyone who '...attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another.' This would normally only be outside parties.

HOWEVER...it goes on to say "...the term includes any creditor who, in the process of collecting his own debts, uses any name other than his own which would indicate that a third person is collecting or attempting to collect such debts."

So, if they are calling you using any other name, then they ARE considered a debt collector and have to abide by the FDCPA. If they are collecting as the payday loan place only...then they are still the creditor and aren't liable.

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state? KY

According to certain subsections of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, I am being harrassed by a collections department witin a payday loan company. I want to send them a letter to notify them that my employer prohibits them from calling me at work, among other things. However, the FDCPA seems to be written around "third party" debt collectors, not collectors which are a separate department within the creditor's organization. Thus my question is, is an "in-house" collections department considered a debt-collector, as expressed in the FDCPA?

**A: the answer is no since in-house is not considered a third party.

 

[JETX]

is an "in-house" collections department considered a debt-collector, as expressed in the FDCPA?

Unless they are using another name, no.

For example: If they are contacting you as 'Debt Collections, ABC Payday Loan' then they are not subject to the FDCPA.
However, if they are contacting you as 'Debt Collection Associations' (or some other name other than themselves), then they would be subject to FDCPA.

 

[HomeGuru]

The morale of the story is, pay the damn bill.

 

[smirn07]

Maybe I'm getting too technical with this, but if it's a corporate office that is calling on behalf of one of the individual branch offices, do you think that would be considered third party?

 

[HomeGuru]

Maybe I'm getting too technical with this, but if it's a corporate office that is calling on behalf of one of the individual branch offices, do you think that would be considered third party?

**A: NO damn it and stop wasting our time and pay the bill.

 

[JETX]

**A: NO damn it and stop wasting our time and pay the bill.

Ditto!!!!!

 

[C M Chase]

*Yawn* Ignore that yammering.

Unfortunately, unless they're using a different name...they are still considered the creditor and don't have to abide by FDCPA.