Debt Collection Law Updates
Court decisions, federal rules, Texas laws and enforcement actions since 2020 that affect people sued for or contacted about a debt, each with the holding, the sources, our analysis and the bottom line.
2026
- Fifth Circuit: Parking Fine Suit Fails, but Court Narrows ExceptionU.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitBottom line: A company collecting its own charges is usually not a 'debt collector' under the FDCPA, and to sue one you need specific facts showing collection is its main business or that it collects for others.
- New Texas Summary Judgment Rule: Response Due 21 Days After FilingSupreme Court of TexasBottom line: If a debt buyer or bank files a motion for summary judgment against you in county or district court, your written response and evidence are now due 21 days after the motion is filed, no matter when the hearing is.
- Federal Student Loan Collections Restarted in 2025, Then Paused AgainU.S. Department of EducationBottom line: Federal student loans are collected very differently from credit cards: the government can garnish wages and take tax refunds without a lawsuit, even in Texas, though those tools were on hold as of our last check.
2025
- CFPB Says Federal Law Broadly Overrides State Credit-Report LawsConsumer Financial Protection BureauBottom line: The CFPB now takes the position that states generally cannot add their own limits on what goes into your credit report, though courts make the final call.
- Texas Collectors Must Stop Pursuing Identity-Theft DebtsTexas LegislatureBottom line: If someone opened an account in your name and you get a Texas court order declaring you an identity-theft victim, collectors who receive it must stop collecting that debt from you and correct what they reported.
- Texas Federal Court Vacates CFPB Rule Banning Medical Debt on ReportsU.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Sherman Division)Bottom line: There is no federal rule keeping medical debt off your credit report; only the credit bureaus' voluntary policies and the general FCRA accuracy rules apply.
- CFPB Withdraws 67 Guidance Documents, Including Debt Collection AdviceConsumer Financial Protection BureauBottom line: The CFPB pulled back its explanations of how the debt collection laws apply, but the FDCPA, Regulation F and the Texas Debt Collection Act themselves did not change.
- CFPB Narrows Enforcement in 2025, Keeps Debt Collection on Its ListConsumer Financial Protection BureauBottom line: Federal regulators are doing much less policing of collectors than a few years ago, so private enforcement through individual cases matters more for Texans.
- Ninth Circuit: One Letter After Lawyer Notice Gives Standing to SueU.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitBottom line: Once a collector knows you have a lawyer, contacting you directly can be an actionable privacy intrusion, though courts in different circuits disagree on single letters.
2024
- Supreme Court Upholds CFPB Funding, Reversing the Fifth CircuitSupreme Court of the United StatesBottom line: Rules issued by the CFPB, including Regulation F on debt collection, are not invalid simply because of how the agency is funded.
- Fifth Circuit: Threatening Suit on a Stale Debt Can Violate the FDCPAU.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitBottom line: A collector that threatens to sue you on a debt too old to enforce, misstates what the debt is for, or threatens attorney's fees it cannot legally recover may be violating federal law.
2023
- Texas Requires an Itemized Medical Bill Before Debt CollectionTexas LegislatureBottom line: If a Texas hospital or other licensed health care facility, or a collector working for it, is trying to collect a medical bill, you are entitled to an itemized bill first, and the provider cannot pursue collection until it has sent one.
- CFPB Opinion on Zombie Mortgages and Time-Barred Debt, Now WithdrawnConsumer Financial Protection BureauBottom line: The ban on FDCPA debt collectors suing on time-barred debts is still in Regulation F; only the CFPB's extra explanation about mortgages was withdrawn.
- Portfolio Recovery Associates Ordered to Pay $24 Million in CFPB CaseU.S. District Court for the Eastern District of VirginiaBottom line: One of the most active debt buyers in Texas courts is under a federal court order limiting when it can sue and what proof it must have first.
- Credit Bureaus Drop Paid and Small Medical Collections From ReportsEquifax, Experian and TransUnion (voluntary industry policy)Bottom line: A medical bill in collections should not appear on your credit report if it is paid, if its original balance was under $500, or if it is less than a year old.
- Texas Adopts Permanent Rules for Remote Court AppearancesSupreme Court of TexasBottom line: Your debt case hearing or trial may be held by video or phone, so read the notice to see how you are expected to appear, and tell the court promptly if the method will not work for you.
2022
- Eleventh Circuit En Banc: No Standing in Hunstein Mail-Vendor CaseU.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (en banc)Bottom line: A collector's routine use of a letter vendor, without any public disclosure, is unlikely to support an FDCPA lawsuit in federal court.
- Fifth Circuit: A Confusing Letter Alone Is Not Enough to SueU.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitBottom line: In Texas federal courts, you generally need a real harm from a collector's misleading letter, such as a payment, a financial loss, or genuine distress, before you can sue over it.
- CFPB Said Collectors Can't Charge Pay-by-Phone Fees; Opinion WithdrawnConsumer Financial Protection BureauBottom line: The federal guidance is gone, but the underlying rule that a collector may only add fees the contract or the law allows is still in the FDCPA and the Texas Debt Collection Act.
- New Texas Rules Protect Exempt Money After a Debt JudgmentSupreme Court of TexasBottom line: If a creditor freezes your bank account or a receiver takes your property after a judgment, you should receive a bilingual notice and a simple form, and filing it stops any sale or payout until a judge decides what is protected.
- Seventh Circuit: $350,000 Zombie-Debt Class Verdict Tossed on StandingU.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh CircuitBottom line: Federal courts in the Seventh Circuit, like the Fifth, require a real harm from a misleading letter about an old debt, which is why paying or promising to pay matters.
2021
- CFPB's Debt Collection Rule Limits Calls and Governs Texts and EmailsConsumer Financial Protection BureauBottom line: If a collection agency, debt buyer or collection law firm is calling you constantly or texting and emailing you, there are now specific federal limits on how it may do that.
- Debt Collection Rule Adds Validation Notice, Bans Suits on Old DebtsConsumer Financial Protection BureauBottom line: A collector's first letter now has to show where the balance came from, and a collector covered by the FDCPA may not sue you on a debt that is past the statute of limitations.
- Texas Orders a Fast, Simple Way to Protect Exempt PropertyTexas LegislatureBottom line: Texas law now guarantees that if a creditor freezes or seizes your money or property after a judgment, you get a plain-language notice and a simple form to claim what the law protects, and a prompt hearing.
- Supreme Court: TransUnion v. Ramirez Requires Concrete Harm to SueSupreme Court of the United StatesBottom line: To sue a collector for money in federal court, you generally must show the violation actually hurt you, not just that the law was broken.
- Fifth Circuit: Collector's Call to a Relative Must Reveal a DebtU.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitBottom line: A collector that calls your relatives without mentioning or implying a debt likely has not broken the third-party contact rule in Texas, but saying more can change that.
2020
- Texas Courts May Allow Service of a Lawsuit by Email or Social MediaSupreme Court of TexasBottom line: A debt collector who cannot find you in person may ask the judge for permission to serve you through email or a social media account, so a message that looks like spam could be the start of a real lawsuit.
- Which COVID Stimulus Payments Were Protected From GarnishmentU.S. CongressBottom line: Federal law protected only the December 2020 stimulus payments from private creditors; other relief money had no special federal shield.
- Texas Supreme Court: Substitute Service Must Match the Court's OrderSupreme Court of TexasBottom line: If a plaintiff used substitute service, such as posting papers on your door, the paperwork must match the judge's order exactly, and a mismatch can be enough to undo a default judgment.
- Midland Funding's Parent Encore Pays $15 Million Penalty to CFPBU.S. District Court for the Southern District of CaliforniaBottom line: Midland, one of the most common plaintiffs in Texas debt suits, has faced two CFPB enforcement actions over lawsuit documentation and old debts, and a 2020 court order extended its obligations.
- FTC and Partners Crack Down on Phantom Debt CollectorsFederal Trade CommissionBottom line: Some 'collectors' are scams demanding money for debts you don't owe; you never have to pay a caller who won't prove the debt and identify who they are.
- Texas Raises Justice Court Limit to $20,000Texas LegislatureBottom line: Debt lawsuits up to $20,000 can now be filed in your local justice of the peace court, where the rules are simpler, the answer deadline is short, and Rule 508 governs debt claim cases.
- Fifth Circuit: Repaying a Disaster Grant Can Be an FDCPA DebtU.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitBottom line: The FDCPA is not limited to credit cards and loans; if you agreed to repay money in a consumer transaction, a collector chasing that money may have to follow federal debt collection law.
- Supreme Court: CFPB Director Removal Limit Is UnconstitutionalSupreme Court of the United StatesBottom line: The agency that writes federal debt collection rules survived this challenge, though it now answers more directly to the President.
- Fifth Circuit: Urgent Letters on Time-Barred Debt Can MisleadU.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitBottom line: A collector chasing a debt too old to sue on cannot dress up its letters with false urgency and vague threats while staying silent about the debt's age.
- Fifth Circuit: 'Amount May Increase If Interest Accrues' Is LawfulU.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitBottom line: Generic conditional language about interest in a collection letter usually will not support an FDCPA claim in Texas federal courts; the focus is on statements that actually misstate your debt.
- Fifth Circuit: Lawsuit-Threat Letter Class Needs Proof of IntentU.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth CircuitBottom line: Under § 1692e(5), the question is not only whether a letter sounds like a lawsuit threat but whether the creditor really meant it, which makes class cases over these letters harder in Texas.