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lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 128 / Thursday, July 8, 2021 / Notices no longer wanted to proceed with the loan, and the furnisher had removed the loan from its system of record, the furnisher continued to furnish information to CRCs as though the loans had been issued rather than cancelled.
Furnishers attributed the errors to failures by a service provider to follow furnishers procedures. Following identification of these issues furnishers implemented a new process that reconciles loan cancellations and removals of loans from the system of record with responsive corrections to CRCs.

frivolous or irrelevant, or providing any qualifying frivolous or irrelevant notices to consumers. After identification of these issues, furnishers updated their policies and procedures to define circumstances when disputes should reasonably be deemed frivolous because they appear to have originated from credit repair organizations; furnishers also created templates to send to consumers whose disputes they deemed frivolous. Further, furnishers provided training to agents on the new policies and procedures and the new letter templates.

2.2.5 Furnisher Duty To Conduct Reasonable Investigation of Direct Disputes Regulation V requires that, after receiving a direct dispute notice from a consumer, a furnisher must conduct a reasonable investigation with respect to the disputed information. . . .16
Further, Regulation V provides that a furnisher is not required to investigate a direct dispute if the furnisher has reasonably determined that the dispute is frivolous or irrelevant. 17 However, if a furnisher determines that a dispute is frivolous or irrelevant, the furnisher must notify the consumer of the determination not later than five business days after making the determination, by mail or, if authorized by the consumer for that purpose, by any other means available to the furnisher. 18 The notice must include the reasons for such determination and identify any information required to investigate the disputed information, which notice may consist of a standardized form describing the general nature of such information. 19
In reviews of mortgage furnishers, examiners found that furnishers failed to conduct reasonable investigations of direct disputes. Furnishers dispute procedures instructed their direct dispute investigating agents to verify that consumers signatures matched the signature on file and, if they did not match, send a letter to the borrower stating that the information provided in the dispute did not match the furnishers records. Examiners found that furnishers agents had sent such letters to consumers whose dispute letters included only a typed name or electronic image of a signature.
Furnishers agents did so without:
Conducting an investigation of such disputes, otherwise reasonably determining that such disputes were
2.3 Debt Collection The Bureau has the supervisory authority to examine certain entities that engage in consumer debt collection activities, including nonbanks that are larger participants in the consumer debt collection market and nonbanks that are service providers to certain covered persons. Recent examinations of larger participant debt collectors identified violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act FDCPA.
2.3.1 Prohibited Calls to Consumers Workplace Section 805a3 of the FDCPA
prohibits a debt collector from communicating with a consumer in connection with the collection of a debt at the consumers workplace if the debt collector knows or has reason to know that the consumers employer prohibits such communications.20 Examiners determined that debt collectors communicated with consumers at their workplaces after they knew or should have known that the consumers employers prohibit such communications, in violation of section 805a3. In response to these findings, the collectors are improving their training and monitoring.
In addition, section 805a of the FDCPA restricts the circumstances under which a debt collector may contact a consumer.21 Specifically, section 805a1 prohibits a debt collector from communicating with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt at a time or place that the collector knows or should know is inconvenient to the consumer.22
Examiners found that debt collectors communicated with consumers at their places of employment during work hours when the debt collectors knew or should have known that calls during work hours were inconvenient to the consumers, in violation of section
16 12

CFR 1022.43e1.
CFR 1022.43f1.
18 12 CFR 1022.43f2.
19 12 CFR 1022.43f3.

VerDate Sep<11>2014

16:47 Jul 07, 2021

805a1. For example, one debt collector called a consumer during work hours at a time the consumer had previously specified as inconvenient.
Another debt collector called a consumer on a workplace phone number after being informed by the consumer that calls to the workplace number were inconvenient. In response to these findings, the collectors are improving their training and monitoring.
2.3.2 Communication With Third Parties Section 805b of the FDCPA prohibits a debt collector from communicating in connection with the collection of a debt with any person other than the consumer and certain other parties.23
Exceptions to this prohibition are set out in sections 804 and 805b.24
Examiners found that debt collectors communicated with third parties in violation of section 805b. The communications were not within an exception listed in sections 804 or 805b. This violation of the FDCPA
resulted from inadequate compliance controls to verify right-party contact during efforts to locate the consumer. In several instances, the third party had a name similar to the consumers name. In response to this finding, the collectors are improving various aspects of their compliance management systems CMS.
In addition, section 8041 of the FDCPA states that, when communicating with third parties for the purpose of acquiring location information for the consumer, a debt collector may only disclose the name of their employer if expressly requested.25
Examiners observed that debt collectors identified their employers when communicating with third parties who had not expressly requested it, in violation of section 8041. In response to these findings, the collectors are improving their training and monitoring.
2.3.3 Failure To Cease Communication Upon Written Request or Refusal To Pay Section 805c of the FDCPA provides that if a consumer notifies a debt collector in writing that the consumer wishes the collector to cease further communication or that the consumer refuses to pay the debt, the collector must cease further communication with the consumer, with certain exceptions.26 Examiners found that a 23 15

17 12

U.S.C. 1692cb.
U.S.C. 1692b, cb.
25 15 U.S.C. 1692b1.
26 15 U.S.C. 1692cc.

20 15

U.S.C. 1692ca3.
21 15 U.S.C. 1692ca.
22 15 U.S.C. 1692ca1.

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