SB 890 originally had been a short bill designed to require debt collectors , when suing, to produce documentation that evidences that the debt collector is attempting to collect from the right person, for the right amount, on a debt that the debt collector can lawfully recover. Yesterday, On March 24, the Legislature amended the Bill to purportedly create the “Fair Debt Buyers’ Practices Act” that would
regulate the activities of a person who has bought consumer debt and the circumstances in which the person may bring suit. The bill would prohibit a debt buyer, as defined, from making any written statement in an attempt to collect a consumer debt, including bringing suit, unless the debt buyer has valid documentation that the debt buyer is the sole owner of the specific debt at issue and reasonable verification of the amount of the debt allegedly owed. The bill would require the debt buyer to make this documentation available to the debtor, without charge, upon request, within 5 days. The bill would require a debt buyer who receives a payment on a debt to provide an original receipt containing specified information. The bill would prohibit a debt buyer from initiating a suit to collect a debt if the statute of limitations on the cause of action has expired. The bill would prescribe penalties for a violation of the act and would provide that its provisions may not be waived. The bill would prohibit an entry of judgment in favor of a plaintiff debt buyer unless properly authenticated business records relating to the debt and ownership of it, among other things, are properly in evidence, and would require a court to enter a judgment against the plaintiff debt buyer if this information is not provided or if he or she fails to appear or is not prepared on the date scheduled for trial .
The text of the new bill can be found at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/pub/11-12/bill/sen/sb_0851-0900/sb_890_bill_20110324_amended_sen_v98.html UPDATE: 5.27.11 Amendment: here.