Does the European Union Need a Regulation of Unfair Debt Collection Practices? (Are Nevoie Uniunea Europeană De O Reglementare a Practicilor Abuzive De Colectare a Creanţelor?).


Book Description

The article addresses the issue of abusive non-judicial debt collection practices from a comparative perspective. The analysis is based on the policies that led to enactment of a regulation of unfair debt-collection practices, at the federal level, in the United States (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act - FDCPA) and argues that similar policy considerations should lead to the establishment of a uniform regulation at European Union level, given the inadequacy of the current regulatory framework in the field of consumer protection or unfair commercial practices, the heterogeneous character of sector-specific legislation of certain Member States and the absence of this type of legislation in most Member States.




Regulation of Debt Collection in Europe


Book Description

Due to the absence of due process and other procedural guarantees generally offered by judicial enforcement, informal debt collection practices (IDCPs) can become abusive, harming both consumers and the economy by threatening consumers’ physical, psychological, and economic wellbeing; exposing lawabiding debt collectors to unfair competition; undermining the financial system; and negatively impacting social peace by resorting to criminal activity. The need to control and harmonize IDCPs surfaced in connection with the European Commission’s Action Plan to tackle the high level of non-performing loans caused by the financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic –specifically the Proposal for a Directive on Credit Servicers, Credit Purchasers, and the Recovery of Collateral (CSD). Harmonizing the regulation of abusive IDCPs is vital for several reasons. First, IDCPs have a cross-border dimension due to the freedom of movement, enabling debt collection operations across the internal market. Second, the internal market’s size amounts to over 450 million citizens potentially exposed to abusive IDCPs. The regulatory frameworks addressing IDCPs in the E.U. display divergent characteristics that may be difficult to navigate and require creating a level-playing field for consumers and debt collectors, especially when approaches vary at Member State level. This book addresses this gap by providing a comprehensive guide to regulating informal debt collection practices in eight Member States of the E.U. and the United Kingdom (U.K.). It serves as a comparative law instrument for implementing the recently adopted CSD. It will be important reading for students, academics, and stakeholders with an interest in debt collection practices and the law.




Regulation of Debt Collection in Europe


Book Description

"Due to the absence of due process and other procedural guarantees generally offered by judicial enforcement, informal debt collection practices (IDCPs) can become abusive, harming both consumers and the economy by threatening consumers' physical, psychological, and economic wellbeing; exposing law-abiding debt collectors to unfair competition; undermining the financial system, and negatively impacting social peace by resorting to criminal activity. The need to control and harmonize IDCPs surfaced in connection with the European Commission's Action Plan to tackle the high level of non-performing loans caused by the financial crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic - specifically the Proposal for a Directive on Credit Servicers, Credit Purchasers, and the Recovery of Collateral (CSD). Harmonizing the regulation of abusive IDCPs is vital for several reasons. First, IDCPs have a cross-border dimension due to the freedom of movement, enabling debt collection operations across the internal market. Second, the internal market's size amounts to over 450 million citizens potentially exposed to abusive IDCPs. The regulatory frameworks addressing IDCPs in the EU display divergent characteristics that may be difficult to navigate and require creating a level-playing field for consumers and debt collectors, especially when approaches vary at Member State level. This book addresses this gap by providing a comprehensive guide to regulating informal debt collection practices in eight Member States (MS) of the EU and the United Kingdom (UK). It serves as a comparative law instrument for implementing the recently adopted Credit Servicers Directive (CSD). It will be important reading for students, academics and stakeholders with an interest in debt collection practices and the law"--




Is the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive Fit to Effectively Tackle Abusive Debt Collection? A Critical Evaluation


Book Description

The paper evaluates the adequacy of the existing EU legal framework - the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive - and the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU's in tackling abusive non-judicial debt collection practices. For this purpose, it uses a matrix of analysis consisting of several building blocks required for an efficient regulation of non-judicial debt collection practices. The paper concludes that the current legal framework is insufficient and a harmonized sector-specific regulation is needed at EU level.




Fair Debt Collection Practices Act


Book Description

THIS CASEBOOK contains a selection of U. S. Court of Appeals decisions that analyze, discuss and apply provisions of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The selection of decisions spans from 2014 to the date of publication. FDCPA generally bars the use of "false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt." 15 U.S.C. § 1692e. Section 1692e sets forth a non-exhaustive list of sixteen practices specifically prohibited, including a catch-all provision that bars "[t]he use of any false representation or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect any debt or to obtain information concerning a consumer." 15 U.S.C. § 1692e(10). A single violation of § 1692e is sufficient to hold a debt collector liable pursuant to FDCPA. See 15 U.S.C. § 1692k (establishing civil liability for "any debt collector who fails to comply with any provision of this subchapter"). Altman v. JC Christensen & Associates, Inc., 786 F. 3d 191 (2nd Cir. 2015). The FDCPA was enacted in the context of existing Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulation of unfair and deceptive debt-collection practices. Jeter v. Credit Bureau, Inc., 760 F.2d 1168, 1172-75 (11th Cir. 1985). Despite existing regulation, Congress found "abundant evidence of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by many debt collectors." 15 U.S.C. § 1692(a). "Existing laws and procedures for redressing these injuries [were] inadequate to protect consumers." Id. § 1692(b). Bishop v. Ross Earle & Bonan, PA, (11th Cir. 2016). Congress set out to correct these problems by supplementing and expanding upon existing debt-collection regulations. Jeter, 760 F.2d at 1174. The declared purpose of the FDCPA is "to eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors, to insure 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." 15 U.S.C. § 1692(e). To advance these goals, the FDCPA codified several specific consumer-protective rights. Most significantly, the FDCPA gave consumers a private right of action to enforce its provisions against debt collectors. Id. Bishop v. Ross Earle & Bonan, PA, ibid.




EU Consumer Law and Policy


Book Description

Acclaim for the first edition: As a whole, Stephen Weatherill crafts a detailed and wonderfully rich consideration of this dynamic issue and is a resource which practitioners in this area could ill do without. Weatherills thorough and thoughtful insights with regard to these issues provide an important basis for understanding the complexities and vagaries of market integration in the EU Community. Peter G. Fitzgerald, Canadian Law Library Review Steve Weatherill provides an excellent thought-provoking account of EU consumer law and policy. It will be required reading for all those interested in this important subject. Paul Craig, St Johns College, Oxford, UK This is a characteristically excellent book by Steve Weatherill, combining incisive legal analysis of an important policy field with an authoritative and up-to-date account of the underlying legal and constitutional framework. Grainne de Burca, European University Institute, Italy This new edition of Stephen Weatherills acclaimed book provides a comprehensive introduction to all facets of the EUs involvement in consumer law and policy. Consumers are expected to benefit from the EUs project of economic integration, enjoying wider choice and improved quality, and yet they need protection from the dangers that flow from malfunctioning and unfair markets. The EUs consumer law and policy is an attempt to have the best of both worlds a liberalised yet properly regulated trading space for Europe This highly esteemed book, now in a brand new edition, provides a comprehensive and up-to-date introduction to the subject, explaining the evolution of consumer law and policy in the EU in terms of both legislative and judicial activity. The book also situates EU consumer law and policy within its broader social, political and economic context, providing a window to a range of wider issues (and tensions) relating to Union regulatory strategies and their effect on the member states. It concludes with a newly written examination of the relationship between EU and national initiatives of market regulation symbiosis or disruption? A readable yet critically sound textbook, this fully updated edition will be indispensable for both postgraduate and undergraduate students of EU law. It will also appeal strongly to all academics, regulators and practising lawyers with an interest in EU trade law or indeed European law more generally.




European Fair Trading Law


Book Description

The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive is the most important directive in the field of trade practices to have emerged from the EC but it builds upon European activity which has sought to regulate trade practices on both a sectoral and horizontal level. It is an umbrella provision, which uses general clauses to protect consumers. How effective this approach is and how it relates the existing acquis are fundamental issues for debate. This work provides a critical appraisal of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive linking discussion of it to general debates about how fair trading should be regulated. It explains how the Directive fits into the existing acquis. It also examines national traditions where these are necessary to explain the European approach, as in the case of general clauses. The book will be a valuable tool for any student of consumer law seeking to understand the thinking behind the directive and how it will affect national laws. It will also influence policy makers by suggesting how the directive should be interpreted and what policy lies behind its formulation. Businesses and their advisers will use the book as a means of understanding the new regulatory climate post-the directive.




The European Unfair Commercial Practices Directive


Book Description

One of the most important EU consumer protection directives of the past decade, the 2005 Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, or UCPD, is brought under examination in this stimulating volume. Bringing together leading experts in the comparative law and consumer law domain, the book discusses the impact of the Directive and whether the many possible issues identified at its inception have been borne out in practice. Divided into four parts of 'Implementation, Approximation and Harmonization', 'Vulnerability', 'The UCP Directive and Other Regimes', and finally 'Enforcement', the volume examines the various policy developments, the growing body of case law, the decisions of relevant national enforcement authorities, as well as the legislative debates which have surrounded the implementation of the UCPD in Member States. This book provides a valuable assessment of the impact of a major EU directive almost ten years after its adoption, and as such will be of interest to academics, legal practitioners and the judiciary working in the areas of European and Consumer law.




The Law of Security and Title-Based Financing


Book Description

Personal property security is an important subject in commercial practice, as it is the key to much of the law of banking and sale. This second edition has been fully updated and expanded to cover all important issues and changes within this highly complex area of law. It explains traditional methods of securing debts (such as mortgages, charges, and pledges) on property other than land, describing how these are created, how they must be registered (or otherwise 'perfected') if they are to be valid, the rights and duties of the parties, and how the security is enforced if the debt is not paid. The new edition includes an expanded section on priorities in which it explains how 'priority' disputes between competing interests over the same property are resolved. In addition the book covers the law governing other transactions that perform a similar economic function (such as finance leases, retention of title clauses, and sales of a company's book debts). These are not currently treated by the law as security and are therefore subject to different rules on perfection, priority, and enforcement. There is much expansion of the discussion relating to enforcement including the issue of 'right of use' following Lehman, more analysis on administration and all forms of non-possessory security and quasi-security, and a new chapter on enforcement of security addressing the right of appropriation under FC/FCAR and the Cukurova case. The conflict of laws section includes developments under the Rome I Regulation affecting assignment issues, the UNIDROIT Convention 2009 in relation to tiered holdings and the Cape Town Convention's extensions made to coverage of asset-backed security over equipment. It also addresses the changes brought about by the abolition of Slavenburg registration. This edition contains relevant points from the Banking Act 2009 concerning its impact on security, such as the power to protect certain interests on a transfer of property, and also considers amendments regarding liquidators' expenses under the Insolvency Rules. The authors additionally deal with the role of step-in rights and why they are part of the statutory definition of project finance in the Enterprise Act. Previously published as The Law of Personal Property Security, this new edition brings together all of the law on this complex area, providing guidance in the context of commercial practice, especially with increased coverage of conflict of laws, priority, insolvency, and enforcement.




Principles, Definitions and Model Rules of European Private Law


Book Description

In this volume, the Study Group and the Acquis Group present the first academic Draft of a Common Frame of Reference (DCFR). The Draft is based in part on a revised version of the Principles of European Contract Law (PECL) and contains Principles, Definitions and Model Rules of European Private Law in an interim outline edition. It covers the books on contracts and other juridical acts, obligations and corresponding rights, certain specific contracts, and non-contractual obligations. One purpose of the text is to provide material for a possible "political" Common Frame of Reference (CFR) which was called for by the European Commission's Action Plan on a More Coherent European Contract Law of January 2003.