UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C.
20580
Division of Credit Practices
Bureau of Consumer Protection
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March 22, 1994
Mark Halverson
President
General Financial Collections Corp.
7040 W. Palmetto Park Road
Suite 454
Boca Raton, Florida 33433
Dear Mr. Halverson:
This is in response to your letter of February 3, 1994 concerning
several issues under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (Act)
about which you are concerned.
You first ask whether Section 813 of the Act, which addresses
private actions, covers actions by a state attorney general's
office or other state agency against a debt collector and, if
so, whether the one-year statute of limitations described in Section
813(d) would apply to such actions. Section 813 imposes liability
on debt collectors for violations ". . . with respect to
any person . . .." The word "person" is not defined
in the Act but is used fairly consistently in other sections to
refer either to individuals or corporations. See Sections 803(6)(B)
and (F), 804, 805(b) and 812. To my knowledge, however, the word
"person" has not been used in the Act to refer to a
government agency, whether federal or state. Neither has the federal
Act ever been interpreted by this office to confer enforcement
authority on a state (without a comparable state Act), and there
appears to be no basis for doing so now. Since we have no basis
for assuming that the scope of the word "person" covers
government agencies, the question of whether there is a one-year
statute of limitations for Section 813 actions by government agencies
appears to be moot.
Second, the term "debt collector' is defined in Section
803(6) of the Act as any "person who uses any instrumentality
of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal
purpose of which is the collection of any debts or who regularly
collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts
owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another." The president
of a collection agency or a collection manager would be covered;
shareholders probably would not be covered.
Third, you ask whether the limitation of $500,000 or 1% in Section
813(2)(B) of the Act covers state entities. Our answer is that
since we do not believe Section 813 confers authority on states
to enforce the federal Act, the limitation would not apply.
I trust this has been helpful.
Sincerely,
John F. LeFevre
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