New York City Debt Collection Rule Aims to Tackle Billing Mess

New York City is finalizing a rule that will give consumers more avenues to challenge medical and other debt pursued by collectors, in a bid to clean up a process plagued with mistakes and confusion.

The “Stopping Harassment and Intimidation and Ensuring Lawful Debt Collection” (SHIELD) rule, published Thursday in the City Record and previewed exclusively with Bloomberg Law, will go beyond federal requirements by letting New Yorkers challenge their debt at any point in the collection cycle. It will also cap debt collector contacts at three per week and offer additional dispute rights for medical debt.

The new policy, ...