Legal League 100 [1], a professional association of financial services law firms in the U.S. established to drive progress in the mortgage servicing industry, has issued its latest White Paper titled “Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (Regulation F) [2].” In the White Paper, four LL 100 members and subject matter experts review the 2021 amendments to the federal debt collection rule (Regulation F), and provide insight for the mortgage servicing industry.
Regulation F of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) covers several important aspects related to debt collection, including:
- Communications in connection with debt collection
- Prohibitions on certain conduct in connection with debt collection
- Validation information
- Time-barred debts
- Debt disputes
- State exemption programs
- Record retention
Authors of the White Paper include Brooke E. Sanchez, Esq. of Kent McPhail & Associates LLC [3], Chair of LL 100; Ryan Bourgeois, Esq. of Barrett Daffin Frappier Turner & Engel LLP [4], a member of LL 100’s Special Initiative Working Group (SIWG); Michelle Garcia Gilbert, Esq. of Gilbert Garcia Law Group [5], a member of the SIWG; and Jennifer Rogers, Esq. of Idea Law Group LLC [6], a member of the SIWG.
As a Partner at Kent McPhail & Associates, Sanchez currently manages the firm’s bankruptcy practice. She focuses on serving creditors in all aspects of bankruptcy law, as well as collections and defending creditors in claims under the FDCPA, FCRA, TILA, and RESPA. She is admitted to practice law in Alabama and Florida.
Bourgeois manages the Texas, Colorado, and Georgia foreclosure groups and serves as the BDF Law Group’s Compliance Officer. He attended Texas Christian University, earning a finance degree in 2002. He received a Juris Doctor from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in 2005. He is currently a member of the Legal League 100 Advisory Council and LL 100’s SIWG. Bourgeois is also a member of the USFN Publications Committee and Advocacy Task Force.
As President/CEO of Gilbert Garcia Group, Garcia Gilbert handles a variety of legal matters for the firm and has substantial litigation experience in both default and non-default cases, including jury and non-jury trials, motion practice, and appellate oral argument, throughout the state of Florida. She has managed the firm’s expansion into probate, estate planning, business transactional, and corporate law. She practiced real estate and business law since 1989, specializing in default servicing legal work, including litigated foreclosures, real estate closings, evictions, and commercial litigation.
For 20 years, Rogers’ practice has primarily focused on representing mortgage lenders and services in real estate, title curative matters, routine and complex civil litigation, bankruptcy, creditor’s rights, residential and commercial foreclosures, and evictions. Rogers is a founding member of the Colorado Creditor’s Bar Association. She is licensed to practice law in Colorado.
After a brief intro to Regulation F and the FDCPA, the White Paper details the specific changes/requirements to Regulation F, including:
- The Validation Notice
- Required Actions Before Credit Reporting
- Time-Barred Debt
- Contact, Outreach, and Communication
In addition to the implications of the rule on mortgage servicers, the authors cite questions unanswered by the CFPB’s guidance, including:
- Can a mortgage servicer use a non-periodic statement to satisfy the requirements of the Mortgage Special Rule?
- Can a mortgage servicer use another date, for example, the origination date, with the Mortgage Special Rule in lieu of using the date of the last periodic statement?
- Why does the CFPB seem to require that a mortgage servicer use the date of the most recent periodic statement under the special rule, even if provided by a debt collector, in contrast with other validation requirements?
Click here [2] for more information or to access the LL 100’s latest White Paper, “Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (Regulation F).”