Collections
FDCPA
Background on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the CFPB's Regulation F, and a plain statement of what ArkCloud does about them - which is to record, not to enforce. This page is not legal advice.
Written for: Compliance reviewers · Collections managers
What ArkCloud does and does not do
| Field or control | What it means |
|---|---|
| Contact hours | Automated texts are refused outside 8am-9pm in your organisation's timezone (both US coasts when none is set), except a portal invitation text, which is sent at any hour. Calls are placed by hand and are not checked. |
| Call frequency | Not enforced. A frequency check exists in code but is not run before a call. |
| Mini-Miranda disclosure | Shown in the account Script tab (and the AI-tailored script) right after identity verification, with first-contact or later-contact wording chosen from the account's contact history. On by default; an organisation can turn it off under AR Settings → Compliance. It is shown for the collector to read; whether it was said is not recorded. The call-centre console records a checkbox for its own script's disclosure. The seeded letter templates carry the first-contact wording. |
| Validation notice | Not generated. ArkCloud has no validation-notice template or Regulation F itemization. |
| Disputes | Recorded (Patient AR → Disputes). While a dispute is open, letter cadences produce no letters for the account; queues and calls are not paused. |
| Cease communication / attorney representation | Recorded as communication preferences. Letter cadences produce no letter for either; statement runs and the Statements screen's Send skip cease-and-desist but still send statements when only attorney representation is recorded. Queues, the call centre, the account's Script tab and the collections workspace do not check them. |
| Do-not-call | Preference flags are recorded. There is no Do-Not-Call registry lookup. |
| Interest and fees | No interest is calculated. A late-fee setting exists but is never applied. |
Who the FDCPA applies to
The FDCPA and Regulation F apply to debt collectors - chiefly third-party agencies and law firms collecting debts owed to someone else. A healthcare provider collecting its own accounts in its own name is generally not a debt collector under the FDCPA, but it becomes one if it uses a name that suggests a third party is collecting, and several states extend similar rules to original creditors. Many providers follow FDCPA practices anyway.
Main requirements
| Field or control | What it means |
|---|---|
| Time and place | Communications before 8am or after 9pm in the consumer's local time are presumed inconvenient. Do not call at work if the consumer's employer prohibits it. |
| Call frequency (Regulation F) | Presumed harassment above 7 call attempts in 7 days about a particular debt, or within 7 days after a telephone conversation about it. |
| Initial communication | Must disclose that the collector is attempting to collect a debt and that information obtained will be used for that purpose; later communications must disclose they are from a debt collector. |
| Validation information | Within 5 days of the initial communication (unless given in it), provide validation information - Regulation F specifies its contents and offers a model notice. |
| Disputes | If the consumer disputes in writing within the validation period, stop collecting until verification is provided. |
| Cease communication and attorneys | Honour a written request to stop communicating, and communicate through the consumer's attorney once representation is known. |
| Third parties | Do not disclose the debt to third parties, except as the law allows. |
| Prohibited conduct | No harassment, false or misleading statements, threats of action not intended or not permitted, or unauthorised fees. |
| Liability | Actual damages, statutory damages up to $1,000 per action for an individual, and attorney's fees; class actions are possible. |