Massachusetts Temporarily Suspends Debt Collection Calls
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey has filed an emergency addendum that prohibits calls from debt collectors for "ninety (90) days following the effective date of this regulation or until the State of Emergency Period expires, whichever occurs first." The addendum reads:
35.04: Prohibition on Debt Collection Telephone Calls with Regard to Debt Collectors Only
(1) For the ninety (90) days following the effective date of this regulation or until the State of Emergency Period expires, whichever occurs first, it shall be an unfair or deceptive act or practice for any debt collector to initiate a communication with any debtor via telephone, either in person or by recorded audio message to the debtor’s residence, cellular telephone, or other telephone number provided by the debtor as his or her personal telephone number, provided that a debt collector shall not be deemed to have initiated a communication with a debtor if the communication by the debt collector is in response to a request made by the debtor for said communication.
Massachusetts joins Nevada in temporarily suspending debt collection activity. On March 18, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser released a statement urging student loan servicers, debt collection agencies, and creditors to act responsibly toward Colorado borrowers, but at the time of this writing he has not passed measures to prohibit debt collection. New York, North Carolina, and the City of Chicago have all temporarily suspended collections on debt that originated in their own jurisdiction and is owed to those jurisdictions. New York, North Carolina, and the City of Chicago have not suspended collection activity on other forms of debt.
Check back often for a consolidated, real-time update on the impact to debt collections from the Covid-19 crisis. We are tracking collection suspensions, state office closures, and renewal license deadline changes in real time.
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