A consumer rights attorney works on problems people have with companies that collect debts, compile credit and background reports, place calls and send texts, or hold personal information. In the United States, three federal laws are central to these problems: the FDCPA, the FCRA and the TCPA. State law sometimes adds protections of its own.
Some people facing one of these problems did not go looking for it. It might be a collector who keeps calling about an unrecognized account, a credit report that still shows an error after a dispute, a background check that cost a job offer or an apartment, texts that keep coming after a request to stop, or a notice that a Social Security number was exposed. Some of these situations feel private or even embarrassing. Underneath them is one question: whether the law has anything to say about what the company did.
This page explains how federal consumer law answers that question, problem by problem. For each, it covers the company involved, the conduct the law addresses, the options the law gives a consumer, and where California adds its own rule.
What a Consumer Rights Attorney Handles
Consumer-protection work in this sense is built around four kinds of problems. Each has its own law and its own kind of company.
- Debt collection. Calls, letters, texts and contacts with family or employers by a debt collector are governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). So are disputes over debts that are wrong or old.
- Credit reports and background checks. Errors on credit reports, tenant screening reports and employment background checks are governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). That law covers the credit bureaus, the companies that send them information, and the businesses that use the reports.
- Calls and texts. Robocalls, prerecorded messages, autodialed calls and texts, and telemarketing are governed by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
- Identity theft and exposed information. Fraudulent accounts on a credit report, collection attempts on debts a consumer never took on, and personal, financial or medical information exposed in a breach usually draw on the FCRA's dispute rights and on agency resources.
These federal laws apply across the United States. A state can add its own protections, and those additions differ from state to state. This page states California's rule only where the California statute text supports it.
Federal Laws That Protect Consumers
Each of the three core statutes opens with Congress explaining why it was passed. Those findings show what each law is aimed at.
The FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq. Congress found "abundant evidence of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by many debt collectors." It also found that these practices contribute to personal bankruptcies, marital instability, lost jobs and invasions of privacy. The stated purpose is to eliminate those practices, to protect collectors who avoid them from being placed at a competitive disadvantage, and to promote consistent state action, according to 15 U.S.C. § 1692. The law reaches debt collectors as it defines them, not every company a consumer owes money to.
The FCRA, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq. This law requires consumer reporting agencies to adopt reasonable procedures that are "fair and equitable to the consumer." Those procedures must respect the confidentiality, accuracy, relevancy and proper use of the information, under 15 U.S.C. § 1681. The FCRA also places duties on furnishers and on users of reports.
The TCPA, 47 U.S.C. § 227. This law restricts calls made with automated equipment or prerecorded voices. It also directs the Federal Communications Commission to protect residential subscribers from telephone solicitations they object to.
Each statute stays in its own lane. A collector's calls raise FDCPA questions. Whether the dialing equipment was lawful raises TCPA questions. An error a collector reported to a credit bureau raises FCRA questions. One situation can therefore involve more than one law at once.
California's Debt Collection Rule
California adds a rule of its own for debt collection. Under Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.17, every debt collector collecting a consumer debt must comply with the federal FDCPA provisions in 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692b to 1692j and is subject to the remedies in 15 U.S.C. § 1692k, with a limited exception for certain persons as to two provisions. The statute refers to the federal code as it read January 1, 2001.
What Debt Collection Law Requires
Under the FDCPA, a debt collector includes a person whose business has the principal purpose of collecting debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect debts owed or due, or asserted to be owed or due, another. Whether a particular company fits that definition depends on the facts. California's statute applies to the debt collectors it describes.
Contact rules. The FTC's Debt Collection FAQs state that debt collectors:
- can't contact a consumer before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. unless the consumer agrees;
- can't call more than seven times within a seven-day period, or within seven days after talking with the consumer by phone about a particular debt (Regulation F, 12 C.F.R. Part 1006, presumes that a collector going over either limit is violating the rule against repeated or continuous calls made with intent to annoy, abuse or harass, subject to listed exclusions);
- generally can't discuss the debt with anyone but the consumer or the consumer's spouse, apart from a few others the FDCPA lists, such as the consumer's attorney;
- must contact the consumer's attorney once told that an attorney represents the consumer.
The same page says a collector can contact other people to find a consumer's address, home phone number and workplace, but usually only once, and can never tell them the consumer owes a debt. This site covers debt collectors calling family in more detail.
Validation and dispute. A consumer may dispute a debt and ask for verification. The FTC page says to send the dispute letter within 30 days; the FDCPA counts the 30 days from the consumer's receipt of the collector's written notice of the debt. Once the collector receives it, the collector must stop trying to collect until it sends written verification, such as a copy of the original bill.
Stopping contact. A consumer may also notify a collector in writing that the consumer wishes it to cease further communication about the debt, with limited exceptions. The CFPB offers sample letters for setting limits on or stopping communication.
Prohibited conduct. Some conduct may violate the FDCPA, according to the CFPB's page on debt collector harassment. That includes, among other things:
- repeated calls or electronic messages intended to harass, oppress or abuse;
- obscene or profane language;
- threats of violence or harm;
- calls in which the collector does not give its name;
- misrepresentations about the debt, such as the amount owed;
- false claims that the collector is an attorney;
- false threats of arrest.
Whether particular conduct crosses the line depends on its facts.
Remedies. The FTC page says a consumer may sue a collector in state or federal court within one year of when the collector broke the law. Damages such as lost wages or medical bills may be sought. If damages can't be proved, a judge can still award up to $1,000, plus attorney's fees and court costs. Even if a court finds a violation, the consumer may still owe the debt.
Credit Reports, Background Checks, and the Right to Accurate Information
A denial letter from a lender, a landlord or an employer can feel like a verdict on a person's character. Federal law treats the report behind that letter as something the consumer has the right to examine and challenge.
Key terms.
- A consumer report is information a company compiles about a person and provides to others. Credit reports, tenant screening reports and employment background checks are all consumer reports.
- A consumer reporting agency is a company that assembles and sells consumer reports. The credit bureaus and background-screening companies are consumer reporting agencies.
- A furnisher is a company that sends information about a consumer to a consumer reporting agency, such as a lender or a collector.
- A mixed file is a report that combines one person's information with another person's.
- Adverse action is a decision that goes against the consumer, such as a denial of credit, insurance or employment.
Adverse action notices. Anyone who uses a consumer report to take adverse action against a consumer must say so. They must also give the name, address and phone number of the agency that supplied the report, according to the CFPB's summary of FCRA rights.
Disputes and reinvestigation. A reinvestigation is the agency's investigation of an item a consumer disputes. When a consumer disputes incomplete or inaccurate information, the agency must investigate unless the dispute is frivolous. Inaccurate, incomplete or unverifiable information must be removed or corrected, usually within 30 days. The agency may continue to report information it has verified as accurate. In most cases, negative information more than seven years old may not be reported.
Employer reports. A consumer reporting agency generally needs the consumer's written consent, given to the employer, before it provides a report to an employer or potential employer. That written consent generally is not required in the trucking industry.
This site's pages on Experian credit report disputes and on Portfolio Recovery Associates explain what the law requires of companies of those types.
When a Dispute Does Not Fix the Problem
A dispute that comes back "verified" when the information is plainly wrong is a common source of frustration in this area. The CFPB's page on disagreeing with dispute results describes several rights.
A statement of dispute. A consumer may ask that a brief statement of an unresolved dispute be included in the file and in future reports. That right applies only to disputes submitted to a credit reporting company, not to disputes sent directly to a furnisher.
A lawsuit. Credit reporting companies that break the law can be held liable for damages and attorney fees. For a willful failure to comply, the CFPB says, a company can be liable for actual or statutory damages and punitive damages. Time limits apply. The CFPB's summary adds that a consumer may be able to sue a consumer reporting agency, and in some cases a user or a furnisher, in state or federal court.
Complaints. A consumer may submit a complaint to the CFPB online or to the state attorney general.
Unwanted Calls, Texts, and the TCPA
Calls and texts are where people most often say "I told them to stop." The statute's answer turns on how the call was made and whether the consumer agreed to it.
Key terms.
- Prior express consent means permission the called party gave before the call.
- Revocation means withdrawing that permission.
- An automatic telephone dialing system is, under the statute, equipment with the capacity to store or produce numbers using a random or sequential number generator, and to dial them.
Federal rules and interpretations in this area have changed in recent years. Those changes affect how consent and its revocation are treated, and how the dialing-system definition is read and applied to particular equipment. Whether a given dialer falls within the statutory definition depends on how the equipment works. This page states only what the statute itself provides.
Automated and prerecorded calls. Under 47 U.S.C. § 227(b), it is generally unlawful to call a cell phone number using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice. The exceptions include calls made for emergency purposes and calls made with the called party's prior express consent. Because the prohibition covers both dialing-system calls and artificial or prerecorded voice calls, a prerecorded message can raise a TCPA question even where the dialing equipment is disputed.
Residential lines. Prerecorded-voice calls to a residential line generally need prior express consent. The exceptions include emergencies and calls the FCC has exempted by rule.
Texts. In its information-sharing provision, 47 U.S.C. § 227(i)(1)(A), the statute refers to "a text message sent in violation of subsection (b)."
Telephone solicitations. A telephone solicitation is a call or message encouraging a purchase, rental or investment. It does not include calls made with the person's prior express invitation or permission, calls to a person with whom the caller has an established business relationship, or calls by tax-exempt nonprofits. The statute authorizes a national database of residential subscribers who object to such calls.
Remedies for do-not-call violations. A person who received more than one call within any 12-month period by or on behalf of the same entity, in violation of the FCC's regulations protecting subscriber privacy rights under 47 U.S.C. § 227(c), may sue where state court rules permit. The action may seek an order to stop the calls, actual monetary loss or up to $500 per violation (whichever is greater), or both. A court may increase the award up to three times for willful or knowing violations. A caller has a defense if it established and implemented reasonable procedures, with due care, to prevent such calls.
Identity theft is the use of someone's personal information, such as a name, Social Security number or account number, to open accounts, borrow money or run up debts in that person's name. It often surfaces as an unfamiliar account on a credit report or a collector calling about a debt the consumer never took on. A breach notice is a different starting point: it says information was exposed, not that it has been misused.
The FCRA's dispute rights apply to fraudulent accounts the same way they apply to other inaccurate information. A consumer may dispute such an account with each consumer reporting agency that reports it. The CFPB's summary of FCRA rights states that identity theft victims have additional rights. For information about federal rights, it lists the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Response Center as contacts.
When a collector pursues a debt that came from identity theft, the debt collection rules described above still apply to the collector's conduct. A dispute and a request for verification are among the options. Whether a breach or a fraudulent account leads to any legal claim depends on its facts, and nothing here suggests that it does.
What This Site Does and Does Not Cover
Federal Consumer Rights is a website that provides information about consumer-protection matters and facilitates inquiries. It is not a law firm. Its subjects are:
- debt collection under the FDCPA;
- credit reports and background checks under the FCRA;
- calls and texts under the TCPA;
- identity theft and exposed personal information;
- the debt collectors, debt buyers and credit bureaus involved in these matters.
The site does not cover bankruptcy, debt settlement or credit repair services. It also does not cover personal injury, family law, criminal defense or employment disputes beyond background-check reports. This page does not say whether any debt should be paid. It does not state any state's rules beyond the California statute described above.
A request for a consumer rights case review sent through this site may be passed to attorneys, who decide for themselves whether to respond.
Requesting a Consumer Rights Case Review
Consumer problems tend to overlap. A single wrong debt can involve a collector's calls, a credit bureau's report and a robocall, each governed by a different law. Records that can matter in these problems include:
- the company involved;
- what it said, sent or reported, and when;
- any dispute already made and the answer that came back;
- the letters, call logs and reports on hand.
This page does not cover bankruptcy or whether a debt should be paid. A consumer may request a consumer rights case review through Federal Consumer Rights.
