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The Â鶹´«Ã½ Trade Commission has authorized its staff to publicly release The 24th Annual Report to Congress on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). This report summarizes the Commission's administration and enforcement of the FDCPA during 2001. It presents an overview of the types of consumer complaints received by the Commission, a summary of the Commission's consumer and industry education initiatives, and descriptions of the Commission's debt-collection enforcement cases that became public in 2001. The report also contains four recommendations for amendments to the FDCPA that the Commission believes will improve the statute's clarity and effectiveness as a law enforcement tool. The FDCPA prohibits abusive, deceptive and otherwise improper collection practices by third-party debt collectors. Section 815 of the FDCPA requires the Commission to submit annual reports to Congress. The Commission vote to issue the report was 5-0. (FTC File No. P024809; staff contact is Thomas E. Kane, Bureau of Consumer Protection, 202-326-3224.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.