Debt Collectors Allowed to Text, Email Under New CFPB Rules (1)

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau issued new rules that limit the number of times debt collectors can communicate with consumers but allow them, for the first time, to use email and text messages for collections.

The final rules, released Friday, allow debt collectors to use modern communications to contact consumers, while giving consumers the right to easily opt out of email and texts and designate their preferred method of contact.

The rules are the first set of federal regulations interpreting the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a 1977 law which includes references to contacting consumers via telegram.

“With this modernized ...