As a part of its plans to modernize regulation of the debt collection industry, the CFPB announced on February 26, 2014, that it will begin the process of soliciting consumer input to “learn about their experiences interacting with the debt collection industry” – specifically their most recent contact with debt collectors and whether they recognized the debt that was being collected.

As industry participants begin the process of refining their compliance management systems, both the actual survey and the CFPB’s reporting on the consumer survey will be useful tools for firms as they start the process of revisiting the consumer experience associated with their collections activities.

The comment period will end on May 6, 2014, and the industry should anticipate that comments obtained from the survey will be used to inform the Bureau’s FDCPA rulemaking as well as its supervision and enforcement activity.