Editing Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (section)

==Regulatory agencies and the FDCPA==
For its part, the [[Federal Trade Commission]] (FTC) produces an annual report to Congress of its findings with respect to its FDCPA enforcement activities. This report details consumer complaints to the FTC about alleged debt collector violations of the FDCPA. The 2013 report indicated that the FTC received 125,136 consumer complaints about third party debt collectors in 2012, which is a decrease from the 144,451 received in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|title=FTC Letter to Hon. Richard Cordray|url=https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/reports/federal-trade-commission-enforcement-fair-debt-collection-practices-act-report-consumer-financial/140305debtcollectionletter.pdf|website=Federal Trade Commission|access-date=16 June 2017|date=21 February 2014}}</ref> The FTC receives more complaints about debt collectors than about any other specific industry, though the number of complaints represents a small percentage of the overall number of contacts by debt collectors with consumers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201303_cfpb_March_FDCPA_Report1.pdf|title=Federal Trade Commission Annual Report 2013; Fair Debt Collection Practices Act|access-date=2013-11-06|publisher=Federal Trade Commission}}</ref>

The FTC has authority to issue formal opinions regarding debt collectors' conduct under the FDCPA,<ref>See 16 CFR Ch. 1, Subpart A</ref> but the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act transfers authority for rule making to the new [[Consumer Financial Protection Bureau]] (CFPB) effective between January 21, 2011 and July 21, 2011. The FTC will retain FDCPA enforcement authority, but the CFPB will take over the FTC's advisory opinion function. Good faith conformity with a formal opinion of the FTC constitutes a second statutory defense under the FDCPA.<ref>15 U.S.C. 1692k(e)</ref> The FTC has only rarely exercised its authority to issue advisory opinions, however.<ref name="ftc.gov">See {{cite web|title=The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act|url=https://www.ftc.gov/enforcement/rules/rulemaking-regulatory-reform-proceedings/fair-debt-collection-practices-act-text|website=Federal Trade Commission|date=12 August 2013 |access-date=2 January 2018}}</ref> Prior to 2000, the FTC had not issued any advisory opinions regarding the FDCPA, it has issued only four such opinions through 2009.<ref name="ftc.gov"/>

In March 2021, the CFPB issued its annual report to Congress on its implementation of the FDCPA. The bureau had participated in four actions against alleged FDCPA violations. Two of the cases were resolved with over $15 million in redress. The bureau also offered information to assist consumers through the COVID-19 pandemic, data on debt collection activity for student loans, and conducted an 8,000-respondent survey to test disclosures explaining time-barred debt and its rules on debt collection.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Clark |first1=Douglas |title=CFPB report examines Fair Debt Collection Practices Act |url=https://financialregnews.com/cfpb-report-examines-fair-debt-collection-practices-act/ |website=Financial Regulation News |date=24 March 2021 |publisher=Macallan Communications |location=Washington DC}}</ref>