Submitted by the Bond & Botes Law Offices - Monday, August 18, 2014
A recent audit discovered that debt collectors hired by the US Department of Education were not complying with federal collection laws.
Though not common knowledge, all third-party student loan debt collectors fall under the fair debt collection practices act (FDCPA). As a result, when these debt collectors are collecting student loan debt, they must comply with this federal law. The report found that officials at the department did not “effectively” make sure that the 22 companies that the department hired were collecting debt in accordance with federal law and the terms of their contract. The inspector general also said that the department did not do enough to make sure that borrowers' complaints against debt collectors were properly received and resolved. The audit can be found here.
Our lawyers handle cases under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Please see our previous blog posts below. If you would like to discuss your situation, please contact our office nearest to you.