Section § 1812.700

Explanation

This law requires third-party debt collectors in California to inform debtors of their rights under both state and federal laws. Collectors must send a notice detailing these rights with their first written communication to a debtor in California. This notice explains that collectors generally can't call before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., harass you, or share your debt information improperly. If they talked to you in a language other than English at first, they need to send the notice in that language within five working days.

(a)CA Civil Law Code § 1812.700(a) In addition to the requirements imposed by Article 2 (commencing with Section 1788.10) of Title 1.6C, third-party debt collectors subject to the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1692 et seq.) shall provide a notice to debtors that shall include the following description of debtor rights:
“The state Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act require that, except under unusual circumstances, collectors may not contact you before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. They may not harass you by using threats of violence or arrest or by using obscene language. Collectors may not use false or misleading statements or call you at work if they know or have reason to know that you may not receive personal calls at work. For the most part, collectors may not tell another person, other than your attorney or spouse, about your debt. Collectors may contact another person to confirm your location or enforce a judgment. For more information about debt collection activities, you may contact the Federal Trade Commission at 1-877-FTC-HELP or www.ftc.gov.”
(b)CA Civil Law Code § 1812.700(b) The notice shall be included with the first written notice initially addressed to a California address of a debtor in connection with collecting the debt by the third-party debt collector.
(c)CA Civil Law Code § 1812.700(c) If a language other than English is principally used by the third-party debt collector in the initial oral contact with the debtor, a notice shall be provided to the debtor in that language within five working days.

Section § 1812.701

Explanation

This section of the law says that notices about debt collection practices can only be modified to stay accurate with updates to the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Additionally, the text size for these notices should be no smaller than the size used when detailing the debtor's specific debt, without exceeding 12-point type.

(a)CA Civil Law Code § 1812.701(a) The notice required in this title may be changed only as necessary to reflect changes under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1692 et seq.) that would otherwise make the disclosure inaccurate.
(b)CA Civil Law Code § 1812.701(b) The type-size used in the disclosure shall be at least the same type-size as that used to inform the debtor of his or her specific debt, but is not required to be larger than 12-point type.

Section § 1812.702

Explanation

If someone breaks the rules in this act, it's treated the same as breaking the rules of the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which deals with how debts are collected in a fair way.

Any violation of this act shall be considered a violation of the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (Title 1.6C (commencing with Section 1788)).