Small Business and Consumer Debt Collection Emergency Relief Act of 2020


In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced Senate Bill No. 3565 entitled “Small Business and Consumer Debt Collection Emergency Relief Act of 2020” (the “Bill”), which proposes several far-reaching amendments to the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. 1692, et. seq. (“FDCPA”).

The Bill’s proposes several far-reaching changes to the FDCPA. It would, among other things:

The FDCPA presently does not apply to small business/commercial accounts or to creditors attempting to collect their own debts. The proposed Bill would extend FDCPA protections to small businesses and would impose a blanket prohibition against all collection activities by lenders, landlords, and utility companies attempting to collect consumer and commercial debts. Concerns already have been raised that the Bill is too broad and could damage small businesses and consumers, since the Bill does not distinguish between who can collect and who cannot and does not distinguish between those persons and businesses who are able to pay and those who are not.

The Bill was referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on March 22, 2020. No action has been published by the Committee to date. It remains to be seen whether – and in what form – the Bill will be released from the Committee to the full Senate for consideration.

The Bill represents a potentially seismic change to the commercial and consumer collections landscape.


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National Law Review, Volume X, Number 99