Recently, courts have held that debt collectors can escape 1692i's venue provisions entirely by pursuing debt collection through arbitration instead. As the NAF studies reflect, arbitration has not proven a satisfactory alternative. I urge the CFPB to include in a rule language interpreting 1692i as requiring debt collectors to proceed in court, not through largely-unregulated arbitral forums.
When alleged debtors are served with state court summonses, they are not always comprehensible to laypersons. I suggest that the CFPB encourage or mandate the use of a standard-form, plain English letter advising defendants in collection lawsuits of the following:
- Any requirements to file papers to avoid default judgment
- The date of any scheduled hearing and procedures for changing the date
- Local and online sources of information for pro se defendants, and possibly local non-profit advice organizations.
- That the debtor may wish to consider bankruptcy if they cannot pay their debts.
There is currently a split between the Ninth and First Circuits as to whether 1692i and other FDCPA provisions apply in garnishment proceedings. In many states, the nominal defendant is the judgment debtor's employer, but the judgment debtor is the real party in interest. To allow consumers to better assert the defenses to and exemptions from garnishment available under state law, the CFPB should issue a rule applying 1692i to garnishment proceedings.
josephusmyer
1
Recently, courts have held that debt collectors can escape 1692i's venue provisions entirely by pursuing debt collection through arbitration instead. As the NAF studies reflect, arbitration has not proven a satisfactory alternative. I urge the CFPB to include in a rule language interpreting 1692i as requiring debt collectors to proceed in court, not through largely-unregulated arbitral forums.
View this comment in the discussion thread
josephusmyer
2When alleged debtors are served with state court summonses, they are not always comprehensible to laypersons. I suggest that the CFPB encourage or mandate the use of a standard-form, plain English letter advising defendants in collection lawsuits of the following: - Any requirements to file papers to avoid default judgment - The date of any scheduled hearing and procedures for changing the date - Local and online sources of information for pro se defendants, and possibly local non-profit advice organizations. - That the debtor may wish to consider bankruptcy if they cannot pay their debts.
View this comment in the discussion thread
josephusmyer
3
There is currently a split between the Ninth and First Circuits as to whether 1692i and other FDCPA provisions apply in garnishment proceedings. In many states, the nominal defendant is the judgment debtor's employer, but the judgment debtor is the real party in interest. To allow consumers to better assert the defenses to and exemptions from garnishment available under state law, the CFPB should issue a rule applying 1692i to garnishment proceedings.
View this comment in the discussion thread