NEW YORK — Since mayor Michael Bloomberg and the city's department of consumer affairs rolled out broad guidelines for collection regulations that govern all industry segments, including recovery agents, a handful of organizations sought clarification to all of the measures.

New York City received clarification inquiries earlier this month from ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, DBA International and the Commercial Lawyers Conference of New York. Among the points these organizations raised were specific limitations or guidance to fulfilling requirements for:

—Definition of communication.

—Trade name.

—Call-back number.  

—Providing the amount of debt.

—Call recording.

According to the new regulations that cover all five of the city's boroughs, collection and recovery agents now must provide proof the debt is owed at the consumer's request. City officials also indicated the agents must provide a copy of the original debt documentation, a copy of the final account statement of the originating debt, a document itemizing the remaining amount due, including any additional fees or charges claimed to be due and the basis of the consumer's obligation to pay them.

Officials reiterated that any business collecting debts from New York City residents must be licensed by the department of consumer affairs and must follow strict guidelines set by New York City law. They added that currently there are approximately 1,700 licensed debt collectors from all over the country attempting to collect debts from New York City residents.

More details about the specific sections the city agency used to spell out these requirements can be found here.