In 1977, Congress enacted the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), an amendment of the Consumer Credit Protection Act, in order to address the “abundant evidence of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by many debt collectors.”1 Thereafter, in an attempt to address apparent gaps left in the FDCPA, New York City followed suit and enacted its own legislation regulating the licensing and activities of debt collection agencies, as defined in the New York City Code, practicing in New York City.2 Overseen by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs, the stated purpose for the New York City legislation was to protect consumers from “a minority of unscrupulous collection agencies in operation that practice abusive tactics such as threatening delinquent debtors, or calling such people at outrageous times of the night.”3 Thus, in addition to following federal statutory requirements, debt collectors in New York City have been required to follow somewhat more stringent rules with respect to the collection of consumer debt.

Now, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) has joined in and enacted a regulation titled, “Debt Collection By Third-Party Debt Collectors And Debt Buyers.”4 According to a press release issued by the DFS, the regulation “will provide consumers with important disclosures to help combat aggressive and deceptive practices that take advantage of confusion or fear, help stop attempts to sue to collect ‘zombie debts,’ establish a new debt “substantiation” requirement so that consumers can request information to avoid paying what they do not owe, and address other widespread abuses in the debt collection industry.”5

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