The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that Section 1692e of the Fair Debt Collection Protection Act (“FDCPA”) requires debt collectors to disclose any potential increase in the account balance due to fees and interest when notifying consumers of their account balance.
The court applied the “least sophisticated consumer” standard in Avila v. Riexinger Associates, LLC to conclude that in the absence of notification about any potential increase, a reasonable consumer could be misled into believing that payment on a current balance would satisfy their debts.
Following Avila, we recommend that all collection notices inform the consumer that the amount of debt will increase over time or state that if payment of the amount set forth in the notice is received by a specified date, the debt will be fully satisfied.
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