Fair Debt Collection Improvement Act

This bill would change debt collection rules so that collectors cannot collect, or try to collect, old debts after the legal time limit has run out. In short, if a debt is “time-barred” because the statute of limitations has expired, the collector must stop going after it. The change would be added to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act as a new section titled “Prohibition on collecting time-barred debt”.

Key points:

• Who is affected: Debt collectors and consumers with old, time-barred debts.
• What changes: Collectors would be prohibited from collecting or attempting to collect debts past the statute of limitations.
• Where this fits: It amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act with a new section on time-barred debts.