FDCPA DEFINITION OF CREDITOR AND THE
APPLICATION OF FDCPA TO THEM AND THEIR
EMPLOYESS.

(6) The term "debt collector" means any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another. Notwithstanding the exclusion provided by clause (F) of the last sentence of this paragraph, the term includes any creditor who, in the process of collecting his own debts, uses any name other than his own which would indicate that a third person is collecting or attempting to collect such debts. For the purpose of section 808(6), such term also includes any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the enforcement of security interests. The term does not include --

(A) any officer or employee of a creditor while, in the name of the creditor, collecting debts for such creditor;

So it is made clear here in (A) that so long as the original creditor or his employee uses the name of the creditor, they have no obligation under 15 USC 1692 and can do as they please with impunity. (Well, more so than a 3rd party collector, anyway.) What is important to note is that some 3rd party collectors will use the name of the original creditor instead of the name of the the company s\he really does work for. This too is illegal and must be guarded against. On rare occasions, debt collectors using the phones to harass debtors will give their name as "JOE" or "Suzy" with "Original Creditor INC" and if asked where the payment should be sent will give the address of the actual bill collector rather than the address of Original Creditor INC.

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