Should Debt Collectors Email Consumers?

The issue of whether debt collectors may email consumers is finally being given serious consideration by regulators. A prescient article written by Rozanne Andersen in 2011 is the most comprehensive document on the topic of debt collection emails.  New York regulators took the next step toward opening up email to debt collection communication with the rules it published in 2015.  Earlier this year, the CFPB addressed the use of email for debt collection communications in several places in its Outline of Proposed Rules. In the most recent episode of the Debt Collection Drill podcast, attorneys John Rossman and Mike Poncin discuss the current legal landscape regarding the use of email for debt collection communication and provide specific steps for collection agencies to begin the use of email to contact consumers.