Should Violations of the FDCPA be Raised When Settling a Debt?

Full question:

I have been served on an old credit card debt (last payment in February of 2008) and would like to offer a settlement to a 3rd party collector - offering up to $8,000 on $26,000 debt. This collector and several others that were assigned to it before repeatedly violated FDCPA. The suit, in fact, was served at my in-law's home, a place in another parish where we have never lived or listed as our address. We have repeatedly given them our correct mailing and physical address. A collector also called my father's home and told disclosed specific details regarding the debt - amount, creditor, etc. Should I mention these violations in my settlement letter or let it go?

• Category: Debts and Credit
• Subcategory: Fair Debt Collection Act
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Louisiana

Answer:

Whether or not to mention FDCPA violations will be a matter of personal judgment. We are prohibited from giving legal advice, as this service provides information of a general legal nature. It probably can't hurt to mention it, depending on the emphasis, wording, and the overall tone between the parties. Except as provided in section 804, without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector, or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, or as reasonably necessary to effectuate a postjudgment judicial remedy, a debt collector may not communicate, in connection with the collection of any debt, with any person other than a consumer, his attorney, a consumer reporting agency if otherwise permitted by law, the creditor, the attorney of the creditor, or the attorney of the debt collector.

Please see section 804 of the FDCPA below:

FDCPA - 804 15 USC 1692b

804. Acquisition of location information Any debt collector communicating with any person other than the consumer for the purpose of acquiring location information about the consumer shall-
(1) Identify himself, state that he is confirming or correcting location information concerning the consumer, and, only if expressly requested, identify his employer;

(2) Not state that such consumer owes any debt;

(3) not communicate with any such person more than once unless requested to do so by such person or unless the debt collector reasonably believes that the earlier response of such person is erroneous or incomplete and that such person now has correct or complete location information;

(4) Not communicate by post card;

(5) Not use any language or symbol on any envelope or in the contents of any communication effected by the mails or telegram that indicates that the debt collector is in the debt collection business or that the communication relates to the collection of a debt; and

(6) After the debt collector knows the consumer is represented by an attorney with regard to the subject debt and has knowledge of, or can readily ascertain, such attorney's name and address, not communicate with any person other than that attorney, unless the attorney fails to respond within a reasonable period of time to the communication from the debt collector.