I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1671 

To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to safeguard access to 

information for consumers and to stop abusive debt litigation, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 9, 2021 

Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. COHEN, Ms. CHU, Ms. NORTON, 

Mr. LYNCH, and Mr. MCGOVERN) introduced the following bill; which 

was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 

A BILL 

To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to safeguard access to information for consumers and to stop 

abusive debt litigation, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing Consumers 

5 Against Misrepresented Debt Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘SCAM 

6 Debt Act’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 1671 IH

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 Section 803 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 

3 (15 U.S.C. 1692a) is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(9) The term ‘legal action’ means any lawsuit 

6 or legal proceeding (including litigation, arbitration, 

7 enforcement of security interests, post-judgment ac8 tions, and mediation) pursued, taken, threatened, of9 fered, or requested by debt collectors.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. FALSE OR MISLEADING REPRESENTATIONS. 

11 Section 807(11) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices 

12 Act (15 U.S.C. 1692e(11)) is amended by striking ‘‘legal 

13 action’’ and inserting ‘‘lawsuit’’. 

14 SEC. 4. VALIDATION OF DEBTS. 

15 Section 809(a) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices 

16 Act (15 U.S.C. 1692g(a)) is amended— 

17 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

18 striking ‘‘the following information is contained in 

19 the initial communication or’’; 

20 (2) by amending paragraph (1) to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(1) an itemization of the amount of the debt 

23 that includes— 

24 ‘‘(A) the total amount of the debt owed on 

25 the date of the notice; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 1671 IH

1 ‘‘(B) the most recent date of default on the 

2 debt; and 

3 ‘‘(C) the amount owed on the most recent 

4 date of default, the amount of any payments 

5 made since such date, and the amount of any 

6 interest or fees accrued on the debt since such 

7 date;’’; 

8 (3) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol9 lows: 

10 ‘‘(2) the name of the original creditor and, if 

11 different, the name of the creditor on the most re12 cent date of default and the name of the current 

13 creditor to whom the debt is owed;’’. 

14 (4) in paragraph (4)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘in writing’’; and 

16 (B) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

17 (5) in paragraph (5)— 

18 (A) by striking ‘‘written’’; and 

19 (B) by striking the period at the end and 

20 inserting a semicolon; and 

21 (6) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(6) the account number of the debt on the 

23 most recent date of default; and 

24 ‘‘(7) all methods that the consumer can use to 

25 contact the debt collector.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 1671 IH

1 SEC. 5. LEGAL ACTIONS BY DEBT COLLECTORS. 

2 Section 811 of the Fair Debt Collections Practices 

3 Act (15 U.S.C. 1692i) is amended— 

4 (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as sub5 section (c); and 

6 (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol7 lowing new subsection: 

8 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS FOR DEBT COLLECTORS.—A 

9 debt collector that takes legal action to collect or attempt 

10 to collect a debt shall comply with the following require11 ments: 

12 ‘‘(1) Provide the consumer written notice of the 

13 intent to take legal action, sent to the consumer’s 

14 last known address at least 30 days and not later 

15 than 60 days in advance of commencing the legal ac16 tion, that shall include— 

17 ‘‘(A) all methods that the consumer can 

18 use to contact the debt collector; and 

19 ‘‘(B) all information contained in the no20 tice required under section 809(a) (excluding 

21 the information described in paragraphs (3), 

22 (4), and (5) of such section), updated to ensure 

23 correctness. 

24 ‘‘(2) In the initial pleading filed by a debt col25 lector to commence a legal action to collect a debt, 

26 include— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 1671 IH

1 ‘‘(A) all information contained in the no2 tice required under section 809(a) (excluding 

3 the information described in paragraphs (3), 

4 (4), and (5) of such section), except any ac5 count numbers and any personally identifiable 

6 information, updated to ensure correctness; 

7 ‘‘(B) the last four digits of the account 

8 number of the original debt; 

9 ‘‘(C) admissible documentary evidence of— 

10 ‘‘(i) the written agreement, contract, 

11 or instrument creating the debt, if any, or 

12 other documents showing that the con13 sumer agreed to the agreement, contract, 

14 or instrument creating the debt; 

15 ‘‘(ii) any terms and conditions rel16 evant to the debt; 

17 ‘‘(iii) that the consumer incurred the 

18 debt and the amount owed; and 

19 ‘‘(iv) that there is a chain of title of 

20 the ownership of debt and the right to col21 lect the debt, including documents showing 

22 the date of each transfer of ownership of 

23 the debt and the identity of each owner of 

24 the debt; and 

25 ‘‘(D) a sworn affidavit stating— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 1671 IH

1 ‘‘(i) that the applicable statute of limi2 tations for collecting the debt has not ex3 pired and the date on which such statute 

4 of limitations expires; and 

5 ‘‘(ii) that the debt collector personally 

6 reviewed all applicable records and docu7 ments relating to the debt to be collected.’’. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS