Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Flashcards
When may a debt collector communicate with third parties about the consumer?
a. If the consumer has defaulted on the credit obligation
b. To determine the consumer’s employment
c. If the collector identifies himself or herself as a debt collector
d. To determine the consumer’s location
d. To determine the consumer’s location
The debt collector may only identify himself and should not identify his employer unless expressly requested to do so.
Which of the following activities of First National Bank would most likely be covered by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?
a. Collection of consumer credit accounts that the bank originated in its
consumer lending department
b. Servicing of mortgage loans originated by First National and sold to investors
c. Servicing of a consumer loan portfolio under contract to an investor who
purchased an entire portfolio of consumer loans from a failed bank
d. Collection of consumer credit contracts purchased from automobile dealers
c. Servicing of a consumer loan portfolio under contract to an investor who
purchased an entire portfolio of consumer loans from a failed bank
Which of the following actions is allowed under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?
a. Sending a communication that looks like a telegram to a consumer by regular mail
b. Sending a postcard to a consumer asking for payment of the past due balance
c. Accepting certain postdated checks
d. Requiring consumers to pay collection fees not authorized by the contract when they pay the balance of their accounts
c. Accepting certain postdated checks
A collector may accept postdated checks but if the check is postdated more than five days, the collector must give the consumer at lease three days but no more than 10 days notice before depositing.
Which of the following is the correct response to consumer written requests that they not be contacted again by debt collectors?
a. Collectors may send final demand letters.
b. Collectors may send letters explaining that defaulted obligations are being turned over to attorneys for legal action.
C. Collectors may call and ask for verification of requests to cease communications.
d. Collectors may send letters that remind debtors of their legal obligations under the credit contracts.
b. Collectors may send letters explaining that defaulted obligations are being turned over to attorneys for legal action.
A collector for First Collection Company, located in Chicago, makes calls to consumers all over the country. He is responsible for 50 past-due accounts. Each day he begins calling all his accounts on a rotating basis. What time constraints should he follow?
a. He should not call consumers anywhere in the country before 8:00 A.M. Chicago time.
b. He should not call any consumer before 8:00 A.M. at the consumer’s location.
C. He should not call any consumer before 9:00 A.M. at the consumer’s location.
d. He can use any time zone in the continental United States as the basis for the time restrictions, and he should not call any consumer before it is 8:00 A.M. in the chosen time zone.
b. He should not call any consumer before 8:00 A.M. at the consumer’s location.
The collector may contact a consumer between the hours of 8 AM and 9 PM local time
A collector at First Collection Company has not been able to reach John, a consumer, at home. The collector obtains John’s work telephone number and calls him at work. John tells the collector not to call him at work again because personal calls are prohibited by his employer. What should the collector do?
a. Tell John that he must provide such a prohibition in writing before it will be effective
b. Refrain from calling John at work
C. Tell John that calls to him at work will cease if he can be reached at another place
d. Ask John to have his employer’s representative call the collector to verify the statement
b. Refrain from calling John at work
A clear statement from the consumer would give the collector the necessary knowledge that such communications are prohibited.
Which of the following actions is most likely to be prohibited under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?
a. Pursuant to a corporate policy, individual collectors using an alias when contacting consumers
b. Calling a consumer’s neighbors to leave messages when the consumer has a telephone
c. Telling a consumer that a lawsuit would cause the consumer inconvenience and embarrassment
d. Referring to the fact that a consumer could be subjected to criminal prosecution for issuing bad checks
b. Calling a consumer’s neighbors to leave messages when the consumer has a telephone
A collector cannot make unnecessary calls to third parties.
Which of the following communications would NOT be considered a deceptive communication under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?
a. Reporting a disputed debt to a credit bureau without reporting it as disputed
b. Giving the consumer a disclosure that this is an attempt to collect a debt and any information used will be used for that purpose
c. Sending the consumer a letter that appears to be a telegram from a debt collection service regarding his or her thirty-day-past-due account that requests payment
d. Sending the consumer a letter stating that the account will be sent to an attorney for legal action within 10 days, when no such action is actually intended
b. Giving the consumer a disclosure that this is an attempt to collect a debt and any information used will be used for that purpose
First Collection Company is collecting a debt from Loretta Pierce. Ms. Pierce informs the company that she has hired an attorney to represent her. She gives the collector the attorney’s name and address. The collector calls the attorney and leaves three messages with the attorney’s secretary over a two-day time period. Each time the secretary states that the attorney will call that day. He also sends a letter requesting that the attorney call him. Four days pass and he hears nothing. What can the collector do?
a. He can call Ms. Pierce directly about the debt.
b. He must make at least one more attempt to contact the attorney by phone; three phone calls over a two-day time period are not enough.
c. He should send a registered letter to the attorney stating that if the attorney does not contact the company, the collector will call Ms. Pierce directly.
d. He should visit the attorney in person if the attorney is in the same city.
a. He can call Ms. Pierce directly about the debt.
The act provides that the collector may contact the debtor if the attorney does not respond within a reasonable time period.
Which of the following actions is NOT considered abuse or harassment under the Fair Debt Collections Practice Act?
a. Publishing a list of consumers who allegedly refuse to pay debts
b. Using obscene, profane, or abusive language when calling a consumer
c. Providing a toll-free number for the consumer to call to inquire about the debt
d. Calling a consumer every hour on the hour
c. Providing a toll-free number for the consumer to call to inquire about the debt
When is a bank NOT required to comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?
a. When it uses a name other than its own in the collection of its debts
b. When it uses the U.S. mail to contact defaulted loan customers of its correspondent banks
c. When it uses its own name to collect its debts and those of affiliated institutions
d. When it collects debts regularly for other institutions under a reciprocity agreement
c. When it uses its own name to collect its debts and those of affiliated institutions
