DEBT RELIEF 

SERVICES & THE

TELEMARKETING

SALES RULE:

A Guide for Business

Federal Trade Commission | ftc.gov
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Many Americans struggle to pay their credit card bills. Some 

turn to businesses offering “debt relief services” – for-profit 

companies that say they can renegotiate what consumers owe 

or get their interest rates reduced. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer 

protection agency, has amended the Telemarketing Sales Rule

(TSR) to add specific provisions to curb deceptive and abusive 

practices associated with debt relief services. One key change 

is that many more businesses will now be subject to the TSR. 

Debt relief companies that use telemarketing to contact potential customers or hire someone to call people on their behalf 

have always been covered by the TSR. The new Rule expands 

the scope to cover not only outbound calls – calls you place to 

potential customers – but in-bound calls as well – calls they

place to you in response to advertisements and other solicitations. If your business is involved in debt relief services, here 

are three key principles of the new Rule: 

● It’s illegal to charge upfront fees. You can’t collect any 

fees from a customer before you have settled or otherwise resolved the consumer’s debts. If you renegotiate 

a customer’s debts one after the other, you can collect 

a fee for each debt you’ve renegotiated, but you can’t 

front-load payments. You can require customers to set 

aside money in a dedicated account for your fees and for 

payments to creditors and debt collectors, but the new 

Rule places restrictions on those accounts to make sure 

customers are protected.

● You have to disclose certain information before 

signing people up for your services. Before people 

sign up, you must disclose fundamental aspects of your 

services, including how long it will take for them to get 

results, how much it will cost, the negative consequences 

that could result from using debt relief services, and key 

information about dedicated accounts, if you use them.
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● You can’t misrepresent your services. The new Rule 

prohibits you from making false or unsubstantiated 

claims about your services.

Is your business covered by the new Rule? Are you certain of 

your legal obligations? This Guide tells you how to comply 

with the new Rule and is designed to supplement the FTC’s 

publication, Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule. The 

Guide represents the views of FTC staff and is not binding on 

the Commission.

WHO'S COVERED BY THE NEW RULE

The new Rule applies to for-profit sellers of debt relief services 

and telemarketers for debt relief companies. The new Rule 

defines a “debt relief service” as a program that claims directly, 

or implies, that it can renegotiate, settle, or in some way change 

the terms of a person’s debt to an unsecured creditor or debt 

collector. That includes reducing the balance, interest rates or 

fees a person owes. The TSR defines “telemarketing” as a “plan, 

program, or campaign . . . to induce the purchase of goods or 

services” involving more than one interstate telephone call. 

Most of the provisions of the TSR apply to sellers and tele-

marketers, so the terms “company” and “provider” in this Guide 

refer to both. In addition, certain parts of the Rule apply to 

those who provide substantial assistance or support to sellers 

or telemarketers. 

Some examples of debt relief services include: ► Debt settlement – Companies that say they can settle 

customers’ debts for less than the full balance. 

Example 1: Company A advertises a program to help 

people settle their credit card debts for less than what they 

owe. It requires customers to set aside monthly payments 

as savings. Company A waits until there is enough money 

in the account to make an offer to the creditor or debt col-

lector. It negotiates an offer from the creditor or debt col-

lector to settle the debt and gets the customer’s approval. 

The customer pays the reduced amount to settle the debt. 

Company A is covered by the new Rule.

► Debt negotiation – Companies that say they can reduce 

their customers’ monthly payments by getting creditors to 

reduce interest rates or agree to other concessions.

Example 2: Company B says it can reduce customers’ 

credit card debt or monthly payments by negotiating with 

credit card companies to get a lower interest rate. After 

a person signs up for the program, Company B calls the 

credit card company – sometimes with the customer on 

the line – and asks for concessions. Company B is covered 

by the new Rule.

Example 3: Company C says it can reduce customers’ 

credit card debt or monthly payments by negotiating with 

credit card companies to get a lower interest rate. When 

people sign up for the program, Company C gives them a 

payment schedule with accelerated payments, claiming it 

I operate a non-profit organization. Does the new Rule 

apply to us?

Bona fide non-profit organizations aren’t covered because 

the TSR applies only to for-profit companies. However, the 

Rule covers companies that falsely claim nonprofit status.
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● helping a debt relief company with its back-room opera-

tions, for example, by reviewing customer files, process-

ing customers’ payments or contacting customers’ credi-

tors once they’ve signed up; or

● offering dedicated accounts to customers where they set 

aside the debt relief provider’s fees and funds for pay-

ments to creditors or debt collectors (more about that on 

page 16). 

If you work with debt relief companies, review their policies, 

procedures and operations to make sure they’re complying with 

the Rule. Willful ignorance isn’t a defense.

TYPES OF TELEMARKETING CALLS COVERED

BY THE NEW RULE

The Telemarketing Sales Rule has covered a wide variety of 

telemarketing transactions since it was enacted in 1995, includ-

ing the sale of credit repair services, products with a negative 

option feature, prize promotions and advance fee loans. Debt 

only promised to “show” customers how they could save 

money. Company C is covered by the new Rule.

► Credit counseling – Companies that work as a liaison 

between customers and their creditors to negotiate and 

administer a monthly payment plan (often called a “debt 

management plan”) that makes it more manageable for 

a customer to repay the debt – for example, by lowering 

interest rates or forgiving late fees

Example 4: Company D says it can consolidate custom-

ers’ multiple credit card payments into a lower single 

monthly payment. When a person signs up for the 

program, Company D works with creditors and secures 

an agreement to a debt management plan on behalf of 

the customer. As part of that plan, the customer agrees to 

make monthly payments to each creditor, and the credi-

tors agree to reduce the customer’s interest rates or make 

other concessions so that the payment is more manageable. 

Company D administers the customer’s monthly pay-

ments. The customer sends the payment to Company D, 

which then sends the payments to each of the customer’s 

credit card companies. Company D is covered by the new 

Rule.

Even if you don’t directly sell or provide debt relief services, you 

may have obligations under the new Rule. Specifically, it’s 

illegal to provide “substantial assistance” to another company if 

you know they’re violating the Rule or if you remain deliber-

ately ignorant of their actions. What amounts to substantial 

assistance depends on the facts. In the context of debt relief 

services, substantial assistance may include: ● obtaining and selling leads – the contact information of 

potential customers – to other companies;

I'm an attorney and I provide debt relief services. Am I 

covered by the new Rule?

There’s no general exemption from the TSR for attorneys 

who engage in telemarketing. However, most attorneys are 

likely to fall outside the Rule for at least two reasons. First, 

the TSR applies only to providers who use interstate tele-

marketing. Second, providers – including attorneys – who 

meet face-to-face with their customers before signing them 

up are likely exempt from most of the Rule’s provisions. 

Read Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule to see if 

the face-to-face exemption applies to you.
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relief companies that initiate calls to potential customers or 

hire others to call people for them have always been covered 

by the TSR. The new Rule expands the scope of the TSR to 

cover many debt relief services in-bound calls (calls potential 

customers place to you or someone working on your behalf ), 

in addition to outbound calls (calls you or someone who works 

for you place to potential customers). Here are some examples 

of the kinds of calls covered by the new Rule: ► Calls to you in response to advertising

– consumer calls 

in response to TV or radio commercials; infomercials; 

home shopping programs; ads in magazines, newspapers 

or the phone book; online ads; billboards; or ads in other 

media .

► Calls to you in response to most direct mail promotions

– consumer calls in response to postcards, flyers, door 

hangers, brochures, “certificates,” letters, email, faxes, etc., 

urging people to call about debt relief services.

Example 5: Company E runs ads on TV, radio, websites 

and billboards to market its program to settle consum-

ers’ credit card debt for less than what they owe. The ads 

feature a number to call for more information. The new 

Rule covers those calls and any transactions resulting from 

them.

Example 6: Company F mails a letter saying it can get 

people lower interest rates from their credit card compa-

nies. The letter encourages recipients to call to learn more 

about the service. The new Rule covers those calls and any 

transactions resulting from them.

Companies selling debt relief services and people working on 

their behalf are subject to all of the existing restrictions of the 

TSR – including, for example, the Do Not Call provisions of 

the Rule. Additionally, all of the existing exemptions from the 

TSR apply. For example, businesses – including debt relief 

service companies – that meet with their customers face-toface before signing them up for their services are exempt from 

the TSR. Read Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule

to find out more. 

My company helps customers settle debts that aren’t nec-

essarily credit card debts. Does the new Rule apply to us?

The definition of “debt relief service” covers all types of 

unsecured debts. If the other debts you settle are unsecured 

– for example, medical debts – you’re covered by the new 

Rule. Services promising relief from mortgage debt are not 

covered under the TSR. They’re the subject of a separate 

FTC Rulemaking on Mortgage Assistance Relief Services 

(MARS). Visit www.ftc.gov.

INFORMATION YOU MUST DISCLOSE

TO CUSTOMERS

If you provide debt relief services, the new Rule lays out several 

key pieces of information you must disclose both truthfully and 

clearly and conspicuously – either orally or in writing – before 

people sign up for your services. The “clear and conspicuous” 

standard means that information must be presented in a way 

that average consumers would notice and understand. Burying 

required disclosures in a lengthy fine-print contract, disclos-

ing them in a hard-to-read block of text, or including them in 

a rapid-fire oral presentation isn’t sufficient to meet the stan-

dard. The Rule isn’t specific about type sizes, and it gives some 

flexibility on how to convey the information, but it’s very clear 

that you must communicate certain disclosures as effectively as 
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you communicate your sales message. Read Complying with 

the Telemarketing Sales Rule for more on how to make your 

disclosures clear and conspicuous.

Under the existing disclosure requirements of the TSR – 

which now apply to your in-bound calls – and a new provi-

sion of the Rule, you must disclose key facts to consumers, 

including:

1. How much your service costs and other important 

terms. Before someone signs up for your service, you 

must disclose all fees. If you charge a specific dollar 

amount, you must disclose that amount. If you charge 

a percentage of the amount a customer would save as a 

result of your program, you have to disclose both the per-

centage and the estimated dollar amount it represents for 

that customer. In addition, before someone signs up, you 

must disclose any material restrictions, limitations, or con-

ditions on your services. If the sales presentation includes 

a statement about your company’s refund policy, you must 

also include a clear and conspicuous disclosure of all terms 

and conditions of the policy. If you don’t give refunds, the 

Rule requires you to tell people that before they sign up 

for your service. 

Example 7: A debt settlement company, Company G, 

charges a service fee of 10% of any debt reduction it gets 

for its customers. Adam signs up for the program with a 

single credit card debt of $5,000. Based on its experience 

with that credit card company, Company G estimates it 

can settle Adam’s debt for $3,000 – a reduction of $2,000. 

Under the new Rule, before Adam signs up for the pro-

gram, Company G must disclose that it will charge him 

10% of the amount of debt reduction, or an estimated 

$200 (10% of $2,000).

2. How long it will take to get the advertised results. You 

must tell your customers how long it will take for them to 

get the results you represent. For example, if your service 

includes debt settlement, you must give a good faith esti-

mate of how many months or years the customer will have 

to wait before you’ll make an offer to each creditor that’s 

likely to result in a settlement. You have to have a reason-

able basis for any statements you make – for example, you 

can base your estimates on your experience with previous 

customers. Be precise: If you have experience with certain 

creditors, your estimate must reflect that experience. Your 

estimate should take into account the circumstances of 

each customer, and the results achieved by customers in 

similar circumstances.

3. How much money a customer must save before you’ll 

make a settlement offer to creditors. You must tell 

potential customers how much money or what percent-

age of each outstanding debt they must accumulate before 

you’ll make an offer to each creditor that’s likely to result 

in a settlement. If you’re estimating, you must have a rea-

sonable basis for your estimate. For example, if someone 

owes $10,000 to a creditor and your data shows that this 

creditor is likely to settle the debt for $6,000, you must 

tell the potential customer before he or she signs for your 

program that he or she will have to save about $6,000 to 

settle the debt. 

4. The consequences if the customer fails to make timely 

payments. If you ask your customers to stop making 

timely payments to their creditors – or if your program 

relies on that practice – you must tell them about the pos-

sible consequences of doing so, including: ● damage to their credit report and credit score; ● that creditors may sue them or continue with the 

collections process; and
10 11 ● that they may accrue new fees and interest, which 

will increase the amount they owe.

5. The customer’s rights regarding dedicated accounts. If 

you ask or require your customers to set aside funds, first 

you must make sure the funds are in an account at an 

insured financial institution. Next, you must disclose that: ● the customer owns the funds held in the account; ● the customer may withdraw from your service at any 

time without penalty; and 

● if the customer decides to withdraw from your 

service, he or she will get back all the money in the 

account other than fees you earned in compliance 

with the TSR.

MAKING TRUTHFUL AND SUBSTANTIATED 

CLAIMS

If you provide debt relief services, it’s illegal to misrepresent any 

material aspect of your services, either explicitly or by implica-

tion. A material aspect of a debt relief service includes any 

information that is likely to affect someone’s decision to sign 

up for your program or to choose one program over another. 

Some examples of claims that would be material: ● the amount of money or the percentage of the debt 

someone may save by using your service;

● the amount of time necessary to get the results you 

represent; 

● the amount of money or the percentage of each out-

standing debt the customer must accumulate before 

you’ll begin your attempts to negotiate, settle, or modify 

the terms with creditors;

● the amount of money or the percentage of each out-

standing debt the customer must accumulate before 

you’ll make a bona fide offer to negotiate, settle, or 

modify the terms with creditors; 

● the effect of your service on the customer’s 

creditworthiness; 

● the effect of your service on the collection efforts of any 

creditors or debt collectors; 

● the percentage or number of customers who have gotten 

the results you represent; and 

● whether your business is a bona fide nonprofit entity.

If you advertise or represent that your customers will save a 

certain amount of money or reduce their debt by a certain 

percentage – for example, “We can settle your debts for 40% to 

60%” – your statements must be truthful, and you must have 

objective proof to back them up. Your claims must accurately 

reflect the results you’ve achieved for previous customers. It’s 

important to consider the message your claims convey. Under 

the law, the FTC looks at claims from the point of view of 

reasonable consumers. Therefore, what matters isn’t the literal 

accuracy of the words you use, but rather your proof to support 

May I base my advertising claims on the experiences of 

some previous customers? 

Yes, but your sample must be representative of the entire 

relevant population of your past customers. To accomplish 

this you must, among other things, use appropriate sampling 

techniques, proper statistical analysis, and safeguards for 

reducing bias and random error. You can’t cherry-pick the 

most successful examples to inflate your results.
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deceptive for Company J to claim to have saved Betty 

$5,000 – or 50% of her debt – because Betty also had to 

pay $1,000 in fees. Instead, Company J may truthfully 

state Betty’s savings as $4,000 ($5,000 minus $1,000) or 

40% of Betty’s debt.

3. In calculating the results you’ve achieved over time, you 

must include customers who dropped out or otherwise 

failed to complete the program. Don’t base your savings 

claims only on customers who successfully completed your 

program.

Example 10: Company K had 10 customers signed up 

for its service. Each one had $10,000 in unpaid credit 

card debt for a total of $100,000. Five of the custom-

ers completed the program, and each saved $5,000 – for 

a total savings of $25,000. The remaining five custom-

ers dropped out of the program, each one still owing the 

$10,000 they owed when they signed up with the pro-

gram. Taken together, Company K has saved its custom-

ers $25,000 – or 25% – of the total $100,000 debt they 

had when they signed up with the program. It would be 

deceptive for Company K to exclude the drop-outs and 

claim that it saved its customers 50% of their debt.

4. Include all debts enrolled by your customers, not only 

those that have been settled successfully. In calculat-

ing your savings claim, you may not exclude accounts you 

failed to settle, even if the failure was due to customers 

dropping out of your service.

Example 11: Company L has 10 customers, and each of 

them enrolls two $1,000 debts in the program – total-

ing 20 debts or $20,000. Company L is able to settle 10 

of the 20 debts, each for $500. However, it was unable 

to settle the remaining 10 debts before those customers 

the “net impression” your message conveys. For example, claim-

ing that your past customers have achieved “up to 60% savings” 

is likely to convey to new customers that they, too, will get sav-

ings of around 60%. If you don’t have solid proof to back that 

up, the claim is deceptive.

Here are several important requirements for making sure your 

savings claims are truthful and not deceptive:

1. State the savings based on the customer’s debt when he 

or she signs up for the program. You may not inflate sav-

ings figures or percentages by including interest and fees 

the credit card company adds after a customer signs up for 

your program.

Example 8: Andy signs up with a debt relief service 

offered by Company H, owing $10,000 on his credit card. 

One year later, following negotiations with the credit card 

company, Company H negotiates a settlement allowing 

Andy to pay $6,000 to resolve the debt. However, since 

Andy enrolled, the credit card company has charged 

him interest and late fees totaling $2,000, so that Andy 

now owes $12,000. By getting a settlement for $6,000, 

Company H has saved Andy $4,000 ($10,000 minus 

$6,000) or 40% of the debt at the time of enrollment. It 

would be deceptive for Company H to claim to have saved 

Andy $6,000 ($12,000 minus $6,000) or 50% of his debt.

2. Include the impact of your fees on the claimed savings. 

You may not inflate your savings claims by excluding the 

fees your customers paid you.

Example 9: Betty owes $10,000 on her credit card, and 

signs up with Company J’s debt relief service. Company J 

gets a settlement allowing Betty to pay $5,000 to resolve 

the debt. However, at the time of settlement, Company 

J charges Betty a $1,000 fee for its work. It would be 
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either completed or dropped out of the program. Thus, 

Company L has saved its 10 customers $5,000 or 25% 

of their debts in the program. It would be deceptive for 

Company L to exclude the 10 accounts that weren’t settled 

and claim a savings rate of 50%.

COLLECTING FEES

If you provide debt relief services, the new Rule says you can’t 

collect any fee from a customer until you meet these three 

requirements:

1. You must have reached a successful result for your 

customer. You must have renegotiated, settled, reduced, 

or otherwise changed the terms of at least one of the cus-

tomer’s debts.

2. There must be an agreement between your customer 

and the creditor. Your customer must agree to the settle-

ment agreement, debt management plan, or other result 

reached with the creditor due to your service. According 

to the Rule, the agreement from the creditor must be in 

writing, although your customer may agree to it orally. 

You can’t take your fee in advance by getting your cus-

tomer to agree to a blanket “pre-approval” of any settle-

ment you might be able to negotiate in the future.

3. Your customer must have made a payment to the credi-

tor. Your customer must have made at least one payment 

to the creditor or debt collector as a result of the agree-

ment you negotiated.

It is illegal to front-load your fees. If your customer has mul-

tiple debts enrolled in your program and you’ve settled one of 

them, you may collect a portion of your full fee – as long as you 

also have completed the three required steps in connection with 

that debt. The new Rule gives you two options for calculating 

your fee if your customer has enrolled multiple debts: ► Alternative 1: Proportional fee. According to the Rule, 

your fee must “bear[] the same proportional relationship 

to the total fee for renegotiating, settling, reducing, or 

altering the terms of the entire debt balance as the indi-

vidual debt amount bears to the entire debt amount.” The 

“individual debt amount” and the “entire debt amount” 

refer to what your customer owed at the time her or she 

enrolled the debt in the service. So if you settle a propor-

tion of a customer’s total debt enrolled with you, you may 

get that same proportion of your total fee.

Example 12: Company M enters a contract with Alex to 

settle his debts. When Alex enrolls, he owes three sepa-

rate $1,000 debts in the program for a total of $3,000. 

The contract states that Company M will charge Alex a 

total fee of $600. Six months after Alex enters the pro-

gram, Company M settles one of his debts. Alex signs 

an agreement with the creditor and pays the settlement 

amount. In this example, Company M now may charge 

Alex a $200 fee – one-third of its total fee – because the 

company settled one-third of his total debt.

► Alternative 2: Percentage of Savings. If you base your 

fee on a percentage of what your customer saved as a result 

of your service (often called a contingency fee), the per-

centage you charge must be the same for each of a cus-

tomer’s debts. Further, the amount saved must be based 

on the difference between the amount of debt enrolled in 

the program and the amount of money required to satisfy 

the debt.

Example 13: Company N enters a contract with Barbara 

to settle her debts. She enrolls three separate $1,000 debts 
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in the program for a total of $3,000. Company N clearly 

and conspicuously discloses to Barbara that its fee will 

be 25% of the savings achieved by using its service. Six 

months after entering the program, Company N settles 

one of Barbara’s debts for $600 – saving her $400 of the 

$1,000 she owed on that account. Barbara signs an agree-

ment with the creditor and pays the settlement amount. 

Company N may collect a fee of $100 – 25% of the $400 

Barbara saved.

REQUIRING A DEDICATED ACCOUNT

Under the new Rule, you may require your customers to set 

aside your fee and funds to pay debts in a dedicated account as 

long as: ● the account is held at an insured financial institution; ● the customer owns the funds (including any interest 

accrued), controls them, and can withdraw them at any 

time; 

● you don’t own or control the company administering the 

account or have any affiliation with it;

● you don’t split fees with the company administering the 

account; and

● the customer can stop working with you at any time 

without penalty. If the customer decides to end the 

relationship with you, you must return the money in 

the account to the customer within seven business days 

(minus any fees you’ve earned from the account in com-

pliance with the TSR).

The independent company that administers the account may 

charge the customer a reasonable fee, but it may not transfer 

any of the customer’s funds to you – directly or indirectly 

– until you have renegotiated, settled, reduced, or otherwise 

changed the terms of at least one of your customer’s debts and 

met all the related requirements in the Rule.

It’s illegal to provide “substantial assistance” to another com-

pany if you know they’re violating the Rule or if you remain 

deliberately ignorant of their actions. To avoid liability for 

facilitating violations of the new Rule, companies that admin-

ister dedicated accounts should review the policies, procedures, 

and operations of the debt relief providers to ensure they’re 

complying with the advance fee ban provision of the Rule, 

including the provision relating to dedicated accounts. As they 

continue to administer dedicated accounts, companies also 

should investigate consumer complaints and disputed pay-

ments. Some companies administering dedicated accounts may 

not be subject to the FTC’s jurisdiction, but laws enforced by 

other government agencies may apply to them.

KEEPING RECORDS

Under the new Rule, any debt settlement, debt management 

plan or other debt resolution plan from a creditor must be in 

writing. You must keep these documents for at least two years. 

The type of documentation depends on the services you pro-

vide. Examples of acceptable documentation include: ► For credit counseling – a debt management plan contain

-

ing the new terms binding on all applicable creditors and 

debt collectors, with evidence that the customer has made 

the first payment.

► For debt settlement – a letter or receipt from the creditor 

or debt collector stating that the debt has been satisfied 

and the amount of the payment received, or other docu-

mentation that contains a specific settlement offer from 

the creditor or debt collector and evidence of a corre-

sponding payment to the creditor or debt collector.
18 19 ► For debt negotiation – a written document from a creditor or debt collector stating that it has agreed to a concession – for example, a lower interest rate for a credit card 

– with evidence that the customer has made at least one 

payment under the new terms.

You have to retain documentation of all fees you collected from 

each customer. It’s a good practice to give them copies of all 

paperwork as well.

Savvy businesses know that it’s best to get a customer’s writ-

ten approval for all debt settlements. The new Rule recognizes 

there might be an exceptional case when a customer’s oral 

agreement will have to suffice – for example, if a creditor offers 

a very favorable settlement available only for a limited time. 

But oral agreements should rarely be used. Indeed, members 

of the debt settlement industry should be careful not to pres-

sure customers to act without taking time to think over their 

decision. Keep in mind that it’s risky to rely solely on oral 

communications. If you get a customer’s oral agreement, it’s 

wise to write a note to that effect, keep it on file with the credi-

tor’s written agreement, and follow up in writing with your 

customer.

BEST PRACTICES

In addition to adhering to the basic compliance requirements 

of the new Rule, providers of debt relief services may want to 

incorporate other practices to help their customers: ► Screen prospective customers for suitability. Debt relief 

programs aren’t right for everyone. For example, some 

people may have so many debts and so few assets that fil-

ing for bankruptcy is their best option. Set up reasonable 

written procedures to ensure that each customer is suitable 

for your program. What’s reasonable may depend on the 

type of service you offer and the results you promise. The 

bottom line is that you should have good reason to believe 

that the people you sign up are capable of making the 

payments associated with your program and are likely to 

complete it successfully, based on their situation when they 

sign up with you. Train and supervise your employees to 

make sure they’re following your procedures. Particularly 

if you pay your sales staff a commission based on how 

many people they sign up for your program, monitor them 

carefully to make sure they don’t misrepresent the service 

to potential customers. Review and update your proce-

dures periodically. 

► Keep your customers in the loop. Update your cus-

tomers on the status of your negotiations and progress 

– including any important communications from their 

creditors. Tell them about any changes in their creditors’ 

policies that may affect how long the process will take or 

how much money it will take to settle their debts.

► Let customers communicate with creditors. You should 

allow your customers to contact – and be contacted by – 

their creditors.

► Tell customers about the tax consequences of the pro-

gram. For some people, using debt relief services could 

have tax consequences. Depending on the customer’s 

financial condition, the amount of savings can be consid-

ered income. Make sure your customers are aware of the 

possible tax ramifications of using your services. 

► Make sure your employees are complying with the Rule. 

Be sure to train and monitor them carefully to ensure they 

do not misrepresent your services to consumers. This is 

especially important if you pay your sales people on com-

mission, based on how many customers they sign up.
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LOOKING FOR MORE INFORMATION ON DEBT 

RELIEF SERVICES AND THE TSR?

● Telemarketing Sales Rule

(www.ftc.gov/os/2010/07/R411001finalrule.pdf )

● Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse 

Prevention Act

(www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/15/ch87.html)

● Settling Your Credit Card Debts

(www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/

cre02.shtm)

● Credit Card Interest Rate Reduction Scams

(www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/

alt178.shtm)

● Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule

(www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/marketing/

bus27.shtm)

● Knee Deep in Debt

(www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/credit/

cre19.shtm)

● Questions about debt relief services and the TSR? 

Contact:

Division of Financial Practices

Bureau of Consumer Protection

Federal Trade Commission

Washington, DC 20580

(202) 326-3224

About the FTC

The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, 

deceptive, and unfair practices in the marketplace and to provide information to businesses to help them comply with the 

law. To file a complaint or to get free information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP 

(1-877-382-4357); TTY: 1-866-653-4261. Watch a new 

video, How to File a Complaint, at www.ftc.gov/video to 

learn more. The FTC enters consumer complaints into the 

Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database and 

investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law 

enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. 

Opportunity to Comment

The National Small Business Ombudsman and 10 Regional 

Fairness Boards collect comments from small businesses 

about federal compliance and enforcement activities. Each 

year, the Ombudsman evaluates the conduct of these activities and rates each agency’s responsiveness to small businesses. 

Small businesses can comment to the Ombudsman without 

fear of reprisal. To comment, call toll-free 1-888-REGFAIR 

(1-888-734-3247) or go to www.sba.gov/ombudsman.
Federal Trade Commission | ftc.gov