New California Debt Collection Laws Take Effect Jan. 1, 2019
Three new CA state laws take effect on 1/1/2019, and these laws all favor debtors, and disfavor debt collectors. The three bills are A.B. 1526, which amends sections 1788.14 and 337 of the California civil code adding requirements for time-barred debts; A.B. 38, which clarifies the definition of a “student loan servicer”; and A.B. 1974, which provides parameters for collecting debts owed to public schools, ACA International’s Compliance Analyst Laura Dadd reports. Just like several other states, the amendments to sections 1788.14 and 337 of the California civil code will require debt collectors to provide consumers with a notice that they cannot be sued for a debt that is time-barred. The new law provides two possible options to use depending on whether the seven-year period for credit reporting debts has run out. The notices are as follows. For debts that may still be credit reported under the FCRA: “The law limits how long you can be sued on a debt. Because of the age of your debt, we will not sue you for it. If you do not pay the debt, [insert name of debt collector] may [continue to] report it to the credit reporting agencies as unpaid for as long as the law permits this reporting.” [reported in credit and collection e-newsletter of 12/20/18]