No "silent" credit reporting by debt collectors
12 C.F.R. § 1006.30(a)
In plain words
A debt collector may not report a debt to a credit bureau until it has first spoken with you about the debt, or mailed or electronically sent you a message about it and waited a reasonable time to learn whether it was undeliverable. This stops "passive" collection, where the first you hear of a debt is on your credit report.
Who is protected
Consumers contacted by a third-party debt collector (including most debt buyers and collection law firms) about a personal, family or household debt.
When it applies
- Only if a debt collector is involved.
What you can do
Open the Credit Health tool
Upload your free reports from AnnualCreditReport.com. The tool lists items you may want to check and explains your options. You decide what, if anything, to dispute.
Open the toolDispute a collection you were never told about
Dispute it with the credit bureau and ask the collector for validation information; if it never contacted you, a complaint to the CFPB may also help.
Open the tool
Honest limits
- Does not bar reporting after proper contact, and does not apply to the original creditor.
The law
- Federal regulationRegulation F — communication before furnishing
12 C.F.R. § 1006.30(a)
What it says: Before furnishing, the collector must speak with you, or send a letter or electronic message and wait a reasonable time for undeliverability notices.
Read the official texthttps://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/section-1006.30
Court cases
- Homeowner wonSame topicJerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, L.P.A.
Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, L.P.A., 559 U.S. 573 (2010)
the FDCPA's bona fide error defense does not excuse a debt collector's incorrect interpretation of what the Act requires
- Homeowner wonSame topicKaltenbach v. Richards
Kaltenbach v. Richards, 464 F.3d 524 (5th Cir. 2006)
a person who meets the FDCPA's general definition of debt collector is subject to the whole Act even while enforcing a security interest
- Homeowner wonSame topicHeintz v. Jenkins
Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995)
the FDCPA applies to lawyers who regularly collect consumer debts, even through litigation
- Homeowner lostSame topicObduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP
Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, 586 U.S. 466 (2019)
a business engaged only in non-judicial foreclosure is not a debt collector under the FDCPA, apart from the provision barring threats to take property without a present right
- Homeowner lostSame topicMidland Funding, LLC v. Johnson
Midland Funding, LLC v. Johnson, 581 U.S. 224 (2017)
filing an obviously time-barred proof of claim in bankruptcy does not violate the FDCPA
Related rights
Make a debt collector prove the debt (validation)
15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a)
A debt collector must send you a notice with the amount of the debt, the creditor's name, and your rights — in its first message or within 5 days. You then have 30 days to dispute the debt in writing or ask for the original creditor's name. If you do, the collector must stop collecting until it mails you verification.
Read this rightDispute errors on your credit report
15 U.S.C. § 1681i(a)(1)(A)
If your credit report has something wrong or incomplete — like a payment reported late that you made on time — you can dispute it with the credit bureau for free. The bureau must investigate, usually within 30 days, and fix or delete information it cannot verify.
Read this rightA collection or charge-off must carry its real delinquency date
15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(a)(5)(A)
A company that reports an account placed for collection or charged off must tell the credit bureau the month and year the delinquency began, within 90 days. That date sets when the item must come off your report, and it does not change when the debt is sold.
Read this rightMake the company that reported the error investigate it
15 U.S.C. § 1681s-2(b)(1)
The company that reported the information — such as your servicer — must investigate when a credit bureau passes along your dispute, and fix what is wrong with every bureau. In many cases you can also dispute directly with that company, which must then investigate and report back to you.
Read this rightMost negative items must come off after 7 years
15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(a)(1), (4), (5)
Credit bureaus may not report collection accounts, charge-offs and most other negative items that are more than 7 years old. For a collection or charge-off, the 7 years start 180 days after the delinquency that led to it began — so, about 7½ years from the first missed payment that was never brought current. Paying, settling or re-selling the debt does not restart this clock. Bankruptcies can be reported for 10 years.
Read this rightAfter a discharge, creditors cannot collect the wiped-out debt from you
11 U.S.C. § 524(a)(2)
A bankruptcy discharge wipes out your personal liability for most debts in the case. After that, the law forbids creditors from suing, calling or otherwise trying to collect a discharged debt from you personally. A court can hold a creditor in contempt if there was no fair doubt that its conduct was barred.
Read this right