Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 85.djvu/707

 85

STAT.]

PUBLIC LAW 92-200-DEC. 17, 1971

" (f) No debt collector shall use any fraudulent, deceptive, or misleading representation or means to collect or attempt to collect claims or to obtain information concerning consumers in any of the following ways: "(1) the use of any company name, while engaged in debt collection, other than the debt collector's true company name; " (2) the failure to clearly disclose in all written communications made to collect or attempt to collect a claim or to obtain or attempt to obtain information about a consumer, that the debt collector is attempting to collect a claim and that any information obtained will be used for that purpose; "(3) any false representation that the debt collector has in his possession information or something of value for the consumer, that is made to solicit or discover information about the consumer; " (4) the failure to clearly disclose the name and full business address of the person to whom the claim has been assigned for collection, or to whom the claim is owed, at the time of making any demand for money; "(5) any false representation or implication of the character, extent, or amount of a claim against a consumer, or of its status in any legal proceeding; " (6) any false representation or false implication that any debt collector is vouched for, bonded by, affiliated with or an instrumentality, agent, or official of the District of Columbia or any agency of the Federal or District government; " (7) the use or distribution or sale of any written communication which simulates or is falsely represented to be a document authorized, issued, or approved by a court, an official, or any other legally constituted or authorized authority, or which creates a false impression about its source, authorization, or approval; "(8) any representation that an existing obligation of the consumer may be increased by the addition of attorney's fees, investigation fees, service fees, or any other fees or charges when in fact such fees or charges may not legally be added to the existing obligation; and "(9) any false representation or false impression about the status or true nature of or the services rendered by the debt collector or his business. " (g) No debt collector shall use unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect any claim in any of the following ways: "(1) the seeking or obtaining of any written statement or acknowledgment in any form that specifies that a consumer's obligation is one incurred for necessaries of life where the original obligation was not in fact incurred for such necessaries; "(2) the seeking or obtaining of any written statement or acknowledgment in any form containing an affirmation of any obligation by a consumer who has been declared bankrupt without clearly disclosing the nature and consequences of such affirmation and the fact that the consumer is not legally obligated to make such affirmation; "(3) the collection or the attempt to collect from the consumer all or any part of the debt collector's fee or charge for services rendered; "(4) the collection of or the attempt to collect any interest or other charge, fee, or expense incidental to the principal obligation unless such interest or incidental fee, charge, or expense is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the obligation and legally chargeable to the consumer or unless such interest or incidental fee, charge, or expense is expressly authorized by law; and

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