How ‘Reg F’ Changes Debt Collection and What You Need to Know

If your business is involved in debt collection, you’ve no doubt heard a lot about Regulation F, frequently referred to as ‘Reg F.’  

Effective November 30, 2021, Reg F is the first comprehensive federal debt collection regulation to interpret the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). 

Regulation F is in fact the biggest change in consumer debt collection since the introduction of the FDCPA itself in 1977.

It affects the number of calls debt collectors can make per week, enables consumers to stop some types of communications, limits voicemail messages to consumers, prohibits debt collectors threatening legal action to collect statute-barred debt and requires debt collectors to take specific steps before reporting debt to credit bureaus. 

For businesses owed debt by consumers and for consumer collection agencies, Reg F will have a substantial impact, and the best way through it is a combination of education and deliberate compliance. 

It’s something we’ve been preparing for at MetCredit USA for many months. For some of our clients, Regulation F will mean we need more information from you about customer accounts.

This is based on a federal mandate from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and is not optional.  We’re not able to collect for our clients without the Reg F required information. When we need more information, we will ask you for it directly.

On the consumer side, we will modify our practices to ensure we are compliant in everything we do, particularly when acting on your behalf to collect from consumers, including healthcare clients and individual customers.

At MetCredit USA we’ve been working hard and investing in new technologies and AI to minimize the impacts of Reg F to our clients, and most of the ground work is now complete. Changes we’re rolling out will include:

• Database augmentation for detailed itemization of debts
• Automated tracking of Right Party Contacts (RPCs)
• Enhanced management of inconvenient consumer call times
• Automated tracking, management and enforcement of consumer contact preferences
• 2-way compliant SMS text messaging

These changes to ensure Reg F compliance will be applied in everything we do, and are ready and fully tested ahead of schedule. 

Regulation F is a massive change, and we’re here to help by answering your questions and doing everything necessary to ensure full compliance for our clients and for consumers.

Please reach out with concerns or questions—about Reg F or anything else!