Repairing a Broken System: Protecting Consumers in Debt Collection Litigation and Arbitration

摘要

Creditors and collectors seek to recover on consumer debts through the use of litigation and arbitration. Based on its extensive analysis, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC or Commission), the nation's consumer protection agency, concludes that neither litigation nor arbitration currently provides adequate protection for consumers. The system for resolving disputes about consumer debts is broken. To fix the system, the FTC believes that federal and state governments, the debt collection industry, and other stakeholders should make a variety of significant reforms in litigation and arbitration so that the system is both efficient and fair.