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At a time when many consumers are facing debt problems, the Federal Trade Commission has issued its annual report detailing the steps the agency has taken to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, and abusive debt collection practices and educate the public on the subject. The 32nd Annual Report to Congress on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act presents, for 2009, an overview of the types of consumer complaints received by the FTC, descriptions of the agency’s debt-collection law enforcement actions, and a summary of its consumer and industry education efforts and research and policy initiatives. The FDCPA prohibits deceptive, unfair, and abusive practices by third-party debt collectors. The FDCPA requires the FTC to submit annual reports to Congress. The Commission vote to issue the report was 4-0. (FTC File No. P104802; the staff contact is Ron Isaac, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-3231.)

Copies of the report are available from the FTC’s Web site, http://www.ftc.gov, and the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.