PCS for HB 147 (2025): An act relating to prohibited practices in consumer debt collection
Summary
PCS for HB 147 2025 is a bill to be entitled an act relating to prohibited practices in consumer debt collection. Section 1 amends section 559.72 of the Florida Statutes, which lists practices prohibited to a person collecting consumer debts, including simulating a law enforcement officer, using or threatening force or violence, and communicating with a debtor's employer before obtaining final judgment unless the debtor gives written permission. Other sections reenact statutes on enforcement action against out-of-state consumer debt collectors, civil remedies and related provisions to incorporate the amendment. Section 7 provides that the act takes effect upon becoming law.
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“PCS for HB 147 (2025): An act relating to prohibited practices in consumer debt collection.”
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
PCS for HB 147 2025
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to prohibited practices in consumer
3 debt collection; amending s. 559.72, F.S.; revising
4 prohibited practices for a person attempting to
5 collect consumer debt; making a technical change;
6 reenacting ss. 559.565(2), 559.725(2), 559.77(1) and
7 (2), 648.44(1)(o), and 817.7001(2)(b), F.S., relating
8 to enforcement action against out-of-state consumer
9 debt collector, consumer complaints and administrative
10 duties, civil remedies, prohibitions and penalties,
11 and definitions, respectively, to incorporate the
12 amendment made to s. 559.72, F.S., in references
13 thereto; providing an effective date.
14
15 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17 Section 1. Section 559.72, Florida Statutes, is amended to
18 read:
19 559.72 Prohibited practices generally.—Unless otherwise
20 authorized by law, in collecting consumer debts, a no person may
21 not shall:
22 (1) Simulate in any manner a law enforcement officer or a
23 representative of any governmental agency.
24 (2) Use or threaten force or violence.
25 (3) Tell a debtor who disputes a consumer debt that she or
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PCS for HB 147 2025
26 he or any person employing her or him will disclose to another,
27 orally or in writing, directly or indirectly, information
28 affecting the debtor's reputation for credit worthiness without
29 also informing the debtor that the existence of the dispute will
30 also be disclosed as required by subsection (6).
31 (4) Communicate or threaten to communicate with a debtor's
32 employer before obtaining final judgment against the debtor,
33 unless the debtor gives her or his permission in writing to
34 contact her or his employer or acknowledges in writing the
35 existence of the debt after the debt has been placed for
36 collection. However, this does not prohibit a person from
37 telling the debtor that her or his employer will be contacted if
38 a final judgment is obtained.
39 (5) Disclose to a person other than the debtor or her or
40 his family information affecting the debtor's reputation,
41 whether or not for credit worthiness, with knowledge or reason
42 to know that the other person does not have a legitimate
43 business need for the information or that the information is
44 false.
45 (6) Disclose information concerning the existence of a
46 debt known to be reasonably disputed by the debtor without
47 disclosing that fact. If a disclosure is made before such
48 dispute has been asserted and written notice is received from
49 the debtor that any part of the debt is disputed, and if such
50 dispute is reasonable, the person who made the original
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51 disclosure must reveal upon the request of the debtor within 30
52 days the details of the dispute to each person to whom
53 disclosure of the debt without notice of the dispute was made
54 within the preceding 90 days.
55 (7) Willfully communicate with the debtor or any member of
56 her or his family with such frequency as can reasonably be
57 expected to harass the debtor or her or his family, or willfully
58 engage in other conduct which can reasonably be expected to
59 abuse or harass the debtor or any member of her or his family.
60 (8) Use profane, obscene, vulgar, or willfully abusive
61 language in communicating with the debtor or any member of her
62 or his family.
63 (9) Claim, attempt, or threaten to enforce a debt when
64 such person knows that the debt is not legitimate, or assert the
65 existence of some other legal right when such person knows that
66 the right does not exist.
67 (10) Use a communication that simulates in any manner
68 legal or judicial process or that gives the appearance of being
69 authorized, issued, or approved by a government, governmental
70 agency, or attorney at law, when it is not.
71 (11) Communicate with a debtor under the guise of an
72 attorney by using the stationery of an attorney or forms or
73 instruments that only attorneys are authorized to prepare.
74 (12) Orally communicate with a debtor in a manner that
75 gives the false impression or appearance that such person is or
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76 is associated with an attorney.
77 (13) Advertise or threaten to advertise for sale any debt
78 as a means to enforce payment except under court order or when
79 acting as an assignee for the benefit of a creditor.
80 (14) Publish or post, threaten to publish or post, or
81 cause to be published or posted before the general public
82 individual names or any list of names of debtors, commonly known
83 as a deadbeat list, for the purpose of enforcing or attempting
84 to enforce collection of consumer debts.
85 (15) Refuse to provide adequate identification of herself
86 or himself or her or his employer or other entity whom she or he
87 represents if requested to do so by a debtor from whom she or he
88 is collecting or attempting to collect a consumer debt.
89 (16) Mail any communication to a debtor in an envelope or
90 postcard with words typed, written, or printed on the outside of
91 the envelope or postcard calculated to embarrass the debtor. An
92 example of this would be an envelope addressed to "Deadbeat,
93 Jane Doe" or "Deadbeat, John Doe."
94 (17) Communicate with the debtor, except by email, via a
95 communication sent and received, as provided in s. 668.50(15),
96 between the hours of 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. in the debtor's time zone
97 without the prior consent of the debtor.
98 (a) The person may presume that the time a telephone call
99 communication is received conforms to the local time zone
100 assigned to the record address area code of the debtor number
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101 called, unless the person reasonably believes that the debtor's
102 telephone is located in a different time zone.
103 (b) If, such as with toll-free numbers, an area code is
104 not assigned to a specific geographic area, the person may
105 presume that the time a telephone call is received conforms to
106 the local time zone of the debtor's last known place of
107 residence, unless the person reasonably believes that the
108 debtor's telephone is located in a different time zone.
109 (18) Communicate with a debtor if the person knows that
110 the debtor is represented by an attorney with respect to such
111 debt and has knowledge of, or can readily ascertain, such
112 attorney's name and address, unless the debtor's attorney fails
113 to respond within 30 days to a communication from the person,
114 unless the debtor's attorney consents to a direct communication
115 with the debtor, or unless the debtor initiates the
116 communication.
117 (19) Cause a debtor to be charged for communications by
118 concealing the true purpose of the communication, including
119 collect telephone calls and telegram fees.
120 Section 2. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
121 made by this act to section 559.72, Florida Statutes, in a
122 reference thereto, subsection (2) of section 559.565, Florida
123 Statutes, is reenacted to read:
124 559.565 Enforcement action against out-of-state consumer
125 debt collector.—The remedies of this section are cumulative to
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126 other sanctions and enforcement provisions of this part for any
127 violation by an out-of-state consumer debt collector, as defined
128 in s. 559.55(11).
129 (2) A person, whether or not exempt from registration
130 under this part, who violates s. 559.72 is subject to sanctions
131 the same as any other consumer debt collector, including
132 imposition of an administrative fine. The registration of a duly
133 registered out-of-state consumer debt collector is subject to
134 revocation or suspension in the same manner as the registration
135 of any other registrant under this part.
136 Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
137 made by this act to section 559.72, Florida Statutes, in a
138 reference thereto, subsection (2) of section 559.725, Florida
139 Statutes, is reenacted to read:
140 559.725 Consumer complaints; administrative duties.—
141 (2) The office shall inform and furnish relevant
142 information to the appropriate regulatory body of the state or
143 the Federal Government, or The Florida Bar in the case of
144 attorneys, if a person has been named in a consumer complaint
145 pursuant to subsection (3) alleging violations of s. 559.72. The
146 Attorney General may take action against any person in violation
147 of this part.
148 Section 4. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
149 made by this act to section 559.72, Florida Statutes, in
150 references thereto, subsections (1) and (2) of section 559.77,
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151 Florida Statutes, are reenacted to read:
152 559.77 Civil remedies.—
153 (1) A debtor may bring a civil action against a person
154 violating the provisions of s. 559.72 in the county in which the
155 alleged violator resides or has his or her principal place of
156 business or in the county where the alleged violation occurred.
157 (2) Any person who fails to comply with any provision of
158 s. 559.72 is liable for actual damages and for additional
159 statutory damages as the court may allow, but not exceeding
160 $1,000, together with court costs and reasonable attorney's fees
161 incurred by the plaintiff. In determining the defendant's
162 liability for any additional statutory damages, the court shall
163 consider the nature of the defendant's noncompliance with s.
164 559.72, the frequency and persistence of the noncompliance, and
165 the extent to which the noncompliance was intentional. In a
166 class action lawsuit brought under this section, the court may
167 award additional statutory damages of up to $1,000 for each
168 named plaintiff and an aggregate award of additional statutory
169 damages up to the lesser of $500,000 or 1 percent of the
170 defendant's net worth for all remaining class members; however,
171 the aggregate award may not provide an individual class member
172 with additional statutory damages in excess of $1,000. The court
173 may award punitive damages and may provide such equitable relief
174 as it deems necessary or proper, including enjoining the
175 defendant from further violations of this part. If the court
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176 finds that the suit fails to raise a justiciable issue of law or
177 fact, the plaintiff is liable for court costs and reasonable
178 attorney's fees incurred by the defendant.
179 Section 5. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
180 made by this act to section 559.72, Florida Statutes, in a
181 reference thereto, paragraph (o) of subsection (1) of section
182 648.44, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
183 648.44 Prohibitions; penalty.—
184 (1) A bail bond agent or bail bond agency may not:
185 (o) Attempt to collect, through threat or coercion,
186 amounts due for the payment of any indebtedness related to the
187 issuance of a bail bond in violation of s. 559.72.
188 Section 6. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
189 made by this act to section 559.72, Florida Statutes, in a
190 reference thereto, paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
191 817.7001, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
192 817.7001 Definitions.—As used in this part:
193 (2)
194 (b) "Credit service organization" does not include:
195 1. Any person authorized to make loans or extensions of
196 credit under the laws of this state or the United States who is
197 subject to regulation and supervision by this state or the
198 United States or a lender approved by the United States
199 Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for participation in
200 any mortgage insurance program under the National Housing Act;
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201 2. Any bank, savings bank, or savings and loan association
202 whose deposits or accounts are eligible for insurance by the
203 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or the Federal Savings and
204 Loan Insurance Corporation, or a subsidiary of such bank,
205 savings bank, or savings and loan association;
206 3. Any credit union, federal credit union, or out-of-state
207 credit union doing business in this state;
208 4. Any nonprofit organization exempt from taxation under
209 s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;
210 5. Any person licensed as a real estate broker by this
211 state if the person is acting within the course and scope of
212 that license;
213 6. Any person collecting consumer claims pursuant to s.
214 559.72;
215 7. Any person licensed to practice law in this state if
216 the person renders services within the course and scope of his
217 or her practice as an attorney and does not engage in the credit
218 service business on a regular and continuing basis;
219 8. Any broker-dealer registered with the Securities and
220 Exchange Commission or the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
221 if the broker-dealer is acting within the course and scope of
222 that regulation; or
223 9. Any consumer reporting agency as defined in the Federal
224 Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. ss. 1681-1681t.
225 Section 7. This act shall take effect upon becoming law.
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