Degroot v. Client Services, Incorporated
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) generally requires a debt collector to send the consumer a written notice within five days after the collector’s initial communication with the consumer about the debt. Among other things, this notice must disclose the amount of the debt. In this case, the debt collector’s notice accurately disclosed the total amount of the debt and correctly specified that $0.00 in interest and other charges had been added to the debt since it was charged off. The debt collector’s notice also truthfully disclosed that interest would not be added to the debt while the collector serviced the debt. The Bureau filed a brief arguing that the debt collector’s notice did not violate the FDCPA because the notice would not mislead a consumer into thinking that interest or fees might be assessed in the future.