If Resurgent Capital Services has contacted you about a debt, federal law limits what it can do. When it acts as a debt collector, it must send a written notice showing the amount owed and the creditor's name, unless that information was in its first contact or the debt has been paid. A written dispute made within 30 days of receiving the notice requires it to stop collecting the disputed debt until verification is mailed, and it may not harass or mislead anyone.
A reader with a letter, a call or a new credit-report line from Resurgent Capital Services may want to know whether the contact is real. This page covers what the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Fair Credit Reporting Act require of a company of its type, and the options those laws describe for a consumer.
What Resurgent Capital Services Is
The law's starting point is a single definition.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) turns on that definition. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6), a "debt collector" is any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails "in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another." Whether Resurgent Capital Services, or any company acting for it, meets that definition for a particular account depends on the facts of that account.
The CFPB explains why a debt collector may be contacting someone. A creditor may believe a debt is past due and refer or sell it to an outside collector. A debt buyer may have bought the debt and be collecting it itself or through other collectors. A collector may also be trying to locate someone the person knows.
The clearest record of who Resurgent Capital Services says it is, and whom it collects for, is the written notice itself. The FTC says that notice must include the collector's name and mailing address.
How to Verify a Debt Collector Is Legitimate
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a), within five days after its first communication about a debt, a debt collector must send a written notice. The exception is when the first communication already contains the information or the consumer has paid. The notice must state:
- the amount of the debt;
- the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed;
- that the debt will be assumed valid unless the consumer disputes it within thirty days after receiving the notice;
- that if the consumer disputes in writing within that period, the collector will obtain verification or a copy of a judgment and mail it; and
- that on written request within that period, the collector will provide the original creditor's name and address, if different from the current creditor.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b), a timely written dispute, or a request for the original creditor, requires the collector to stop collecting the disputed debt, or the disputed portion, until it mails the verification, judgment or creditor information.
The FTC's debt collection FAQs mention debt collection scammers. They say that until validation information arrives, or the person already knows the collector, personal and financial details are best not shared.
What the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Requires of Resurgent
The FDCPA addresses repeated calls, calls at work and contacts with other people. Its conduct rules apply to any business that meets the debt collector definition, so they reach Resurgent Capital Services whenever it does. Whether a particular contact breaks one of these rules depends on its facts.
Timing and place. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a), without the consumer's prior consent or a court's permission, a collector may not contact a consumer at an unusual or known-inconvenient time or place. Absent knowledge otherwise, it must assume the convenient time is after 8 a.m. and before 9 p.m., the consumer's local time. Subject to the same consent or permission, it may not contact the consumer directly if it knows the consumer has an attorney for the debt and can learn that attorney's name and address, unless the attorney fails to respond within a reasonable time or consents. It also may not contact the consumer at work if it knows or has reason to know the employer prohibits it.
Other people. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(b), absent the consumer's consent, a court's permission, or a postjudgment need, a collector generally may not discuss the debt with anyone except the consumer and the consumer's attorney. It may also speak with a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted, the creditor, the creditor's attorney or its own attorney. For this section, "consumer" includes the consumer's spouse, a minor's parent, and a guardian, executor or administrator (15 U.S.C. § 1692c(d)). Location-only contacts are separately allowed. See debt collectors calling family.
Stopping contact. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c), if a consumer writes that they refuse to pay or want contact to stop, the collector must stop communicating about that debt. Limited exceptions apply, including a notice that its collection efforts are ending.
Conduct. 15 U.S.C. § 1692d bars conduct whose natural consequence is to harass, oppress or abuse any person. 15 U.S.C. § 1692e bars false, deceptive or misleading representations. 15 U.S.C. § 1692f bars unfair or unconscionable collection means. Each section lists examples, "without limiting" its general rule.
Resurgent Capital Services and Your Credit Report
The CFPB notes that reporting a debt to a credit reporting company "can affect your credit report and credit scores." A separate law, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, governs that report.
Two terms matter here. A "consumer reporting agency" is a company that compiles and maintains files on consumers and sells credit reports. A "furnisher" is a business that sends account information to those agencies. A debt collector or debt buyer can be a furnisher.
The FTC says a collector must take one of two actions before reporting a debt to a credit reporting company: talk to the consumer by phone or in person about the debt, or mail a letter or send an electronic communication about it. If it sends one, it waits a reasonable time, usually 14 days, for a non-delivery notice before reporting the debt.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a), when a consumer disputes the accuracy or completeness of an item, the agency must, free of charge, conduct a reasonable reinvestigation. A reinvestigation is a fresh check of the disputed item. The agency must record the item's current status or delete it before the end of the 30-day period that begins when it receives the dispute. That period may stretch up to 15 more days if the consumer sends relevant information during the 30 days. The extension does not apply if the item is found inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable. An agency may end a reinvestigation if it reasonably determines that the dispute is frivolous or irrelevant (15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(3)). Within five business days of receiving the dispute, the agency must notify any person who provided an item of information in dispute.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b), a furnisher that receives that notice must:
- investigate;
- review the information the agency sent;
- report its results;
- report errors to the other nationwide agencies it reports to; and
- modify, delete or block inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable items.
The CFPB notes that a consumer can dispute a debt with both the collector and the credit reporting company, if the debt appears on the consumer's credit report. For the Experian process, see Experian credit report disputes.
Will Resurgent Capital Services Take a Consumer to Court?
Whether any collector sues on a given account depends on that account's facts, and no general page can predict it. The CFPB notes that asking a collector to stop contact will not necessarily stop it from suing or reporting the debt.
Where a suit can be filed is limited. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692i, a debt collector suing to enforce an interest in real property must file where the property is located. Any other debt suit may be filed only in the judicial district where the consumer signed the contract, or where the consumer lives when the suit begins. The same section says the FDCPA itself does not authorize collectors to sue.
The FTC's page says a lawsuit is answered by the date in the court papers, either personally or through an attorney. It also says the time period for collectors to sue is called the statute of limitations, and that the length depends on the debt and state law. A consumer lawsuit overview describes the federal laws involved.
What Federal Law Makes Available to Consumers
When a collector or a credit reporting company does not follow these rules, each statute sets its own remedies. Whether any situation involves a violation depends on its facts.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a), except as that section otherwise provides, a debt collector that fails to comply with any provision of the FDCPA is liable to the person affected for the sum of:
- actual damages caused by the failure;
- in an individual action, additional damages the court may allow, up to $1,000; and
- in a successful action, costs and a reasonable attorney's fee.
Class actions follow separate limits. The court weighs factors including how frequent, persistent and intentional the noncompliance was. A suit generally must be filed within one year of the violation. The FTC adds that a consumer may still owe the debt even if a violation is found.
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681n, a person who willfully fails to comply with a requirement of the FCRA is liable to the consumer for actual damages or damages of not less than $100 and not more than $1,000, plus any punitive damages the court may allow and, in a successful action, costs and reasonable attorney's fees. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681n(a)(1)(B), a different amount applies to a natural person who obtains a consumer report under false pretenses or knowingly without a permissible purpose. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681o, negligent noncompliance makes the person liable for actual damages and, in a successful action, costs and fees. A consumer rights attorney overview covers how these laws fit together.
How to Submit a Complaint or Request a Case Review
Not every problem calls for a lawsuit, and official channels exist apart from one. The CFPB's page on what a debt collector is says a consumer having debt collection issues can submit a complaint with the CFPB. The FTC's debt collection FAQs say problems with a debt collector may be reported to the state attorney general's office, the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. That page also notes many states have their own debt collection laws that differ from federal law.
Federal Consumer Rights is a website that provides information and facilitates inquiries concerning consumer-protection matters. It is not a law firm. A case-review request sent through this site may be passed to attorneys who decide for themselves whether to respond.
This page does not cover bankruptcy, debt settlement, student-loan disputes or matters outside federal consumer-protection law.
A reader may request a consumer rights case review through Federal Consumer Rights.
