Debt Collectors Move Beyond Robocalls to Text, Email, Social Media

Collection agencies can now reach out to debtors by text, email and social media following new rules enacted by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), according to multiple reports.

Changes to the 1977 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act are the first since its inception and were deemed a necessary update, Kathleen L. Kraninger, the former CFPB director who oversaw the rule changes, said in a blog post on Oct. 30, 2020.

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"We are finally leaving 1977 behind and developing a debt collection system that works for consumers and industries in the modern world," Kraninger said.

Consumer advocates, however, fear that approaching debtors online could lead to people falling for scams or missing important details about the debt. "The rules are really disappointing and concerning in a number of ways," April Kuehnhoff, a staff attorney at the National Consumer Law Center, told NPR.

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Millions of people could be affected by the new rules. A 2017 CFPB survey showed that over 70 million people were contacted about an overdue debt in the previous year, and 25% of respondents said they felt threatened.

While the new rules give debt collectors more avenues to reach out to people who owe, they still must comply with certain requirements, such as identifying themselves as a collections agent. They can send debtors a friend request, but can’t post on a page that’s visible to others. Consumers can opt out of receiving messages no matter how they are sent.

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"Consumers in the collections process deserve to be on a level playing field with others in the financial services marketplace with recognition of their preference to use email and text messaging over other outdated methods, such as faxes, as outlined in the current law," Mark Neeb, CEO of ACA International, a trade association for debt collectors, said in a statement.