Debt Collectors and Pseudonyms

by Jeff Sovern

Brian posted earlier a link to the Times article about debt collectors. The article notes in a photo caption that debt collectors use pseudonyms, apparently because they fear retribution from consumers from whom they are attempting to collect debts. But doesn't that violate 15 U.S.C. section 1692e, which prohibits "false, deceptive, or misleading representation[s] or means in connection with the collection of any debt"? The use of pseudonyms need not always be innocent; a debt collector who has violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act can use a pseudonym to conceal his or her identity to escape liability. Thus, in testimony before Congress in 1992, Richard Bell, a former debt collector, stated that collection agencies report that a collector about whom they receive a complaint has been fired or left the company; in fact, according to Bell, the collector simply changes his alias.