FDCPA Ruling Has Privacy Implications For Financial Services

Financial Services attorneys Joshua Prever, Eugene Chikowski and Courtney Oakes co-authored an article for Law360 about an Eleventh Circuit ruling that may upend the long-standing business practice of financial services companies using third-party vendors to manage, service and collect on outstanding debt. If left unchecked, the opinion will significantly broaden the scope of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). 

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that when a debt collector provides an outside letter vendor with personal account information relating to the collection of a debt, it rises to the level of an impermissible communication with a third party to which there is no exception if there is no consumer consent. In this article, the authors examine the implications of this ruling on the financial services industry explaining that the court's holding may be weaponized and serve as a new wellspring of litigation related to consumer privacy. They also warn that it is likely courts will continue to be asked to find privacy rights imbedded in other consumer protection laws.

READ: FDCPA Ruling Has Privacy Implications For Financial Services