UNITED STATES OF AMERICA May 17, 1993 Carla J. Matthews Dear Ms. Matthews: Your letter of January 28, 1993 to Mary Jo Vantusko of the Federal Trade Commission in Cleveland has been referred to me for reply. I apologize for the delay. Section 808 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act makes it an unfair practice to collect "any amount (including any interest, fee, charge or expense . . .) unless such an amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law." The practice of charging the debtor a fee for providing information concerning a debtor's account falls within the ambit of this paragraph. To my knowledge, neither the Commission staff nor the courts have previously addressed this issue directly. However, it would appear that charging such a fee to the debtor would violate Section 808 of the Act. I hope this has been helpful. Sincerely, John F. LeFevre |