[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5934 Introduced in House (IH)]
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116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5934
To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to safeguard access to
information for consumers and to stop abusive debt litigation, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 21, 2020
Ms. Bonamici (for herself, Mr. Cohen, and Mr. Foster) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial
Services
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to safeguard access to
information for consumers and to stop abusive debt litigation, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Securing Consumers Against
Misrepresented Debt Act of 2020'' or the ``SCAM Debt Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
Section 803 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C.
1692a) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``(9) The term `legal action' means any lawsuit or legal
proceeding (including litigation, arbitration, enforcement of
security interests, post-judgment actions, and mediation)
pursued, taken, threatened, offered, or requested by debt
collectors.''.
SEC. 3. FALSE OR MISLEADING REPRESENTATIONS.
Section 807(11) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15
U.S.C. 1692e(11)) is amended by striking ``legal action'' and inserting
``lawsuit''.
SEC. 4. VALIDATION OF DEBTS.
Section 809(a) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C.
1692g(a)) is amended--
(1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking
``the following information is contained in the initial
communication or'';
(2) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
``(1) an itemization of the amount of the debt that
includes--
``(A) the total amount of the debt owed on the date
of the notice;
``(B) the most recent date of default on the debt;
and
``(C) the amount owed on the most recent date of
default, the amount of any payments made since such
date, and the amount of any interest or fees accrued on
the debt since such date;'';
(3) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows:
``(2) the name of the original creditor and, if different,
the name of the creditor on the most recent date of default and
the name of the current creditor to whom the debt is owed;''.
(4) in paragraph (4)--
(A) by striking ``in writing''; and
(B) by striking ``and'' at the end;
(5) in paragraph (5)--
(A) by striking ``written''; and
(B) by striking the period at the end and inserting
a semicolon; and
(6) by adding at the end the following:
``(6) the account number of the debt on the most recent
date of default; and
``(7) all methods that the consumer can use to contact the
debt collector.''.
SEC. 5. LEGAL ACTIONS BY DEBT COLLECTORS.
Section 811 of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (15 U.S.C.
1692i) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new
subsection:
``(b) Requirements for Debt Collectors.--A debt collector that
takes legal action to collect or attempt to collect a debt shall comply
with the following requirements:
``(1) Provide the consumer written notice of the intent to
take legal action, sent to the consumer's last known address at
least 30 days and not later than 60 days in advance of
commencing the legal action, that shall include--
``(A) all methods that the consumer can use to
contact the debt collector; and
``(B) all information contained in the notice
required under section 809(a) (excluding the
information described in paragraphs (3), (4), and (5)
of such section), updated to ensure correctness.
``(2) In the initial pleading filed by a debt collector to
commence a legal action to collect a debt, include--
``(A) all information contained in the notice
required under section 809(a) (excluding the
information described in paragraphs (3), (4), and (5)
of such section), except any account numbers and any
personally identifiable information, updated to ensure
correctness;
``(B) the last four digits of the account number of
the original debt;
``(C) admissible documentary evidence of--
``(i) the written agreement, contract, or
instrument creating the debt, if any, or other
documents showing that the consumer agreed to
the agreement, contract, or instrument creating
the debt;
``(ii) any terms and conditions relevant to
the debt;
``(iii) that the consumer incurred the debt
and the amount owed; and
``(iv) that there is a chain of title of
the ownership of debt and the right to collect
the debt, including documents showing the date
of each transfer of ownership of the debt and
the identity of each owner of the debt; and
``(D) a sworn affidavit stating--
``(i) that the applicable statute of
limitations for collecting the debt has not
expired and the date on which such statute of
limitations expires; and
``(ii) that the debt collector personally
reviewed all applicable records and documents
relating to the debt to be collected.''.
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