Sponsors
The bill protects consumers from harassment over legally unenforceable old debts and reduces related costs and stress, but it reduces recoveries for creditors and risks consumer confusion about which debts remain legally collectible unless paired with clear notice rules.
Consumers with time‑barred (legally unenforceable) debts are protected from being contacted for collection, reducing harassment and preserving their legal rights.
Consumers — especially low-income individuals — face less confusing or unfair collection activity, lowering stress and reducing the likelihood of credit-report disputes.
Courts and consumers save time and money because litigation and enforcement over old, time‑barred debts is discouraged.
Debt collectors and some creditors will lose recoverable revenue from older debts, which could lead to higher costs for other customers or reduced profitability for those firms.
Low‑income consumers might mistakenly rely on the prohibition and ignore valid, in‑statute debts if the law is not paired with clear notice requirements, leading to avoidable defaults or credit harm.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits debt collectors from collecting or attempting to collect consumer debts after the statute of limitations has expired, added to the FDCPA.
Introduced April 8, 2025 by Stephen Cohen · Last progress April 8, 2025
Prohibits debt collectors from collecting or attempting to collect any consumer debt after the applicable statute of limitations has expired by adding a new prohibition to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Also updates the FDCPA table of contents to reflect the new provision. The change directly limits what debt collectors may lawfully seek to collect, creates a clear statutory bar on attempting to collect time‑barred debts, and does not create new funding or deadlines.