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This Commission Staff Advisory Opinion (1) explains that the Commission's Trade Regulation Rule Concerning Preservation of Consumers' Claims and Defenses, 16 C.F.R. § 433 (the Holder Rule) protects consumers who enter into credit contracts with a seller of goods or services by preserving their right to assert claims and defenses against any holder of the contract, even if the original seller subsequently assigns the contract to a third-party creditor, and (2) advises the U.S. Department of Education that -- just as courts commonly allow consumers to assert time-barred claims defensively, even if they would not be able to assert such claims in an affirmative lawsuit -- the Holder Rule would permit the time-barred claims or defenses against the holder, if state law would permit the time-barred claims or defenses against the seller.