Don’t Click That Link!
As consumers, we have been taught to NEVER click on the link in an email or text from an unfamiliar party. That is good. It saves many devices from hacks and viruses. But why is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposing debt collectors to be allowed to disclose people’s rights via text or email links – the very links we have been taught to NEVER click?
The CFPB wants to allow debt collectors unlimited contact with you via text or email. Another CFPB proposal is that you may be informed of your debtor rights through links via text or email. Recently, a federal appeals court ruled that this method of disclosure doesn’t comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The links are a “digital pathway to access the required information,” and not an actual disclosure of rights. So why does the CFPB suddenly think it is a good idea?
Apparently, opinion has been running high on the proposed amendment to regulation F. The CFPB has extended the comment period through September 18,2019.
The climate has changed at the CFPB, becoming much more business friendly, but those links need to be reconsidered. After years spent educating consumers not to click on those dangerous links, how is it possible that the CFPB thinks consumers will actual be informed of their rights in fair debt collection practices?
Jo Gardner
Contributor for DebtReliefZone.com