Figures from the New York Fed are balances outstanding, not sale prices. Bands cited from DebtMarket’s pricing study are conversation ranges, not offers. This note is education for operating companies and creditors. It is not legal advice.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692–1692p, governs how debt collectors treat consumers. It is a federal statute. It is not a suggestion from a trade group. CFPB Regulation F, 12 C.F.R. Part 1006, is the rule that fills in validation notices, limited-content messages, and several communication limits. Regulation F took effect on November 30, 2021.
Who counts as a debt collector
The Act defines a debt collector in more than one way. One definition covers a firm whose principal purpose is the collection of debts. Another covers a firm that regularly collects debts owed to someone else. In Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc., 582 U.S. 79 (2017), the Supreme Court held that a company collecting debts it purchased, for its own account, is not a debt collector merely because those debts were in default when bought. That decision answers the “owed or due another” question. It does not erase the principal-purpose definition, and it does not erase state law or the contracts a buyer signs.
A company that buys paper and then hires a collector is still responsible for choosing a collector who can follow the Act. The collector, not the seller who already funded and stepped away, is the one placing the calls.
Rules that show up in operations
| Rule | Where it sits |
|---|---|
| Calls generally between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. local time of the consumer | 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(1) |
| Validation information after the initial communication | 15 U.S.C. § 1692g and Regulation F |
| No harassment, false statements, or unfair practices | 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692d, 1692e, 1692f |
Read the current text on the CFPB’s Regulation F page and the statute before you design letters or dialer rules. This desk does not collect from consumers and does not give legal advice.
What associations add, and what they do not
ACA International is the trade association for the credit and collection industry. RMAI, the Receivables Management Association International, runs a receivables management certification program. Either credential can help a desk understand how a firm trains its people. Neither one is a federal safe harbor, and neither one is required before this desk will talk about a file.
The longer compliance map on the site is FDCPA compliance for portfolio buyers and the Regulation F page.
The statute uses two definitions
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act defines a debt collector in 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). One definition covers a business whose principal purpose is the collection of debts. The other covers a person who regularly collects, or attempts to collect, debts owed or due another. A company can be examined under either definition. Buying accounts and owning them answers the second question. It leaves the first question open, because that question is about the company’s principal business.
What the Supreme Court decided in Henson
In Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc., 582 U.S. 79 (2017), the Supreme Court held that a company collecting debts it owns is outside the “owed or due another” definition. Santander had purchased defaulted auto loans and was collecting them for itself. The Court read “owed” in the present tense: the debts were owed to Santander. The opinion did not decide whether a buyer whose principal purpose is collection is a debt collector under the first definition. Santander described its business as loan origination, and that description was not the question the Court decided.
Later courts have used the principal-purpose definition on buyers. In 2019 the Third Circuit, in Barbato v. Greystone Alliance, held that a buyer engaged in collection as its principal purpose remained a debt collector when another firm placed the calls. That is one circuit’s holding. Other facts can come out differently. A buyer reads both definitions against its own business, and it reads state rules on top of the federal statute. This page is education for operating companies. It is not a coverage opinion.
Regulation F is the CFPB’s rule under that statute
Regulation F, 12 C.F.R. Part 1006, took effect on November 30, 2021. It applies to debt collectors as the FDCPA defines them. Several operating rules show up on every file this desk moves:
- Call window. 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(1) limits calls to the hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time at the consumer’s location, unless the person agrees to another time.
- Call frequency, where the firm is a debt collector. 12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b) sets presumptions. More than seven telephone calls in seven consecutive days about a particular debt, or a call within seven days after a telephone conversation about that debt, is presumed to violate the harassment rule. Staying inside both limits is presumed to comply. The presumption can be rebutted. Texts and emails are outside that telephone count and remain subject to the rest of the statute.
- Validation. 15 U.S.C. § 1692g and 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34 cover the validation notice and the dispute window.
- Consumer debt. Section 1692a(5) defines debt as an obligation of a consumer for personal, family, or household purposes. Commercial receivables are a different file and a different statute analysis.
ACA International and RMAI
ACA International is the association for credit and collection professionals. Receivables Management Association International runs a certification program for receivables firms. A creditor may ask whether a buyer is a member or is certified. On this desk those credentials are additional. A bid starts from the buyer’s product box, its ability to fund, and the sample of the file. Membership is not a substitute for the media pull or the chain of title.