When enacting the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) statute, the U.S. Congress made a number of observations regarding abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices that it sought to address in this federal law:

• There is abundant evidence of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by many debt collectors. Abusive debt collection practices contribute to the number of personal bankruptcies, to marital instability, to the loss of jobs, and to invasions of individual privacy.

• Existing laws and procedures for redressing these injuries are inadequate to protect consumers.

• Means other than misrepresentation or other abusive debt collection practices are available for the effective collection of debts.

• Abusive debt collection practices are carried on to a substantial extent in interstate commerce and through means and instrumentalities of such commerce. Even where abusive debt collection practices are purely intrastate in character, they nevertheless directly affect interstate commerce.

• It is the purpose of the FDCPA to eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors, to ensure that those debt collectors who refrain from using abusive debt collection practices are not competitively disadvantaged, and to promote consistent state action to protect consumers against debt collection abuses.

In addition to the FDCPA—which applies in all 50 states—many states have consumer protection laws that prohibit and penalize abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices. These laws are usually located in a state’s statutes.

In Montana, as in all other U.S. states, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law that governs the practices of debt collectors. The FDCPA aims to eliminate abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices, and it applies to personal, family, and household debts. This includes debts related to credit card accounts, auto loans, medical bills, and mortgages. The FDCPA prohibits a variety of practices, such as the use of threats of violence, obscene language, publicizing your debts, and calling at unreasonable hours. It also requires debt collectors to identify themselves and give notice of the right to dispute the debt. In Montana, consumers are also protected under the Montana Consumer Protection Act, which further prohibits deceptive and unfair trade practices, including those related to debt collection. These state-level protections work in tandem with the FDCPA to provide Montana residents with a means to report and seek remedy for unlawful debt collection activities.