Economics: Today and Tomorrow © 2012

Introduction
Students have read of the major federal laws regulating consumer credit. In this lesson, students will get a closer look at the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act from the perspective of the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals.

Lesson Description
Students will use information from the Web site of the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals to learn about the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. They can browse the site to collect information from the "Your Rights Under the FDCPA" category. Students will answer four questions and then use what they have learned to write a paragraph summarizing the presentation of the material.

Previous Knowledge Expected
debtor: an individual who owes money to a creditor

Applied Content Standards (from the Council for Economic Education) Standard 16: There is an economic role for government to play in a market economy whenever the benefits of a government policy outweigh its costs. Governments often provide for national defense, address environmental concerns, define and protect property rights, and attempt to make markets more competitive. Most government policies also redistribute income.

1. Students will understand the protections afforded the debtor under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
2. Students will be able to use their research to write a paragraph about their conclusions regarding the presentation of the information.

1. Within five working days after first contacting the debtor, the collection agency must send a written notification of the amount of the debt, the name of creditor, and the debtor's right to dispute.
2. The FDCPA regulates professional, third-party collection businesses, agents, and attorneys, but not "in-house" collectors or employees of creditors who collect their own debts.
3. The collector may: contact the debtor only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. debtor's time; call at the debtor's work unless otherwise instructed; contact debtor by mail so long as there is no reference to debt on the envelope; contact people who aren't directly involved in the debt to get address and work information; contact the debtor directly unless the collector has been informed to contact the debtor's attorney.
4. Collectors may not: harass the debtor; misrepresent their identities; misrepresent the legal status of debts; threaten to take any action that is illegal or that the collectors do not intend to actually take.
5. Students' paragraphs will vary. Students may note that the Web site recommends that complaints about a collector be referred to the collector's manager or the American Collectors Association. In fact, a consumer may want to contact an attorney and file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission or the Office of the Attorney General if the consumer believes the FDCPA has been violated. The Web site lightly touches on the fact that the consumer must respond in writing within 30 days if he or she disagrees that the debt is owed or with the amount of debt owed. In fact, the collection agency must stop collection of the debt until the collection agency has established proof and sent it to the consumer. The writer of the Web site discourages the debtor from sending written notification requesting all communication with the collection agency cease. This is a right of the consumer under the FDCPA whether the debt is rightfully owed or not.