Abusive debt collection practices contribute to a number of personal bankruptcies, marital instability, the loss of jobs, and invasions of individual privacy. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) was enacted in 1996 to protect individuals from all debt collectors.

Before the enactment of the FDCPA, there was abundant evidence of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by many debt collectors.

The purpose of the FDCPA is to:

• Eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors.
• Ensure that those debt collectors who refrain from using abusive debt collection practices are not competitively disadvantaged.
• Promote consistent State action to protect consumers against debt collection abuses.

If you'd like to view the full text of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, please visit the Federal Trade Commission’s website.

This article was used with permission from National Foundation for Credit Counseling, a national non-profit network of 1,450 Neighborhood Financial Care Centers^TM designed to provide assistance to people dealing with stressful financial situations. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC)^® is dedicated to budget and credit education and counseling.