PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Sep 10, 2003
Clarifications to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act - Amends the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to state that formal pleadings in a civil action shall not be considered the kind of communication (initial or otherwise) required for a validation of debt notice.
Prescribes an alternative version of the initial communication debt collectors are required to give consumers, incorporating the three statements currently specified.
States that collection activities and communications may continue during the 30 days following a debt collector's initial notice to the debtor.
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States that, if the consumer's attorney at law fails to respond to a communication from a debt collector within 30 days (currently, a reasonable period of time) after receiving a communication from the collector, such collector may communicate directly with the consumer.
Limits to one the number of additional communications a debt collector may make to a consumer after the consumer has notified the collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay the debt or wishes the collector to cease further communication. Limits the content of any such additional communication to one of the three purposes already specified by the Act.
Revises notice of debt guidelines to require one of the debt collector's mandatory statements to specify that a consumer's dispute of the validity of a debt be submitted in writing in order to preclude an assumption by the collector that the debt is valid.
People & committees
Rep. Garrett, Scott [R-NJ-5] · R–NJ
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.
Referred to the House Committee on Financial Services.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Aug 18, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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