(Sacramento – May 29, 2018) – This week the State Assembly voted 58-0 to approve Assemblymember Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer’s (D – South Los Angeles) legislation that would protect individuals with debt from towing fees, parking tickets, and past due rent against unscrupulous debt collection practices.
“While it is important that we all pay our debts, it is also important for debts to be settled fairly and without the use of loan shark tactics,” said Assemblymember Jones-Sawyer.
Under current law, the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prevents debt collectors from using the threat of physical force or violence, defamation, the use of obscene language, arbitration or legal proceeding when the statute of limitations on the debt has expired. Unfortunately, these protections do not apply to towing charges, unpaid parking ticket, and past due residential rent. AB 2825 corrects this issue by adding these debts to the Act.
“Our law should not allow debt collectors to threaten or harass anyone,” said Assemblymember Reginald Jones-Sawyer. “Debt collectors should be held to the same legal and ethical standards no matter how a debt was incurred and AB 2825 will give individuals such protections.”
AB 2825 now heads to the California State Senate.