Virginia is about to get a handful of new laws to crack down on debt collectors.
Governor Abigail Spanberger is signing a handful of bills that will create new rules for debt collectors in Virginia, making sure they can't zero out anyone's bank account, setting new standards for what they need to prove in court before they get a default judgement, setting a time limit for how long they can try to collect on old debt and making sure they provide contact information when they sue people.
"You know, you get this warrant in debt in the mail, you don't understand what it means, and you don't understand who's suing you, and then you're intimidated by going to court," says Jay Speer, executive director of the Virginia Poverty Law Center. "What the legislation tries to do is give you much better notice about why you're being sued, who's suing you, what is this original debt from and why you should go to court if you don't think you owe the debt or don't think you owe the amount they're suing you for."
Ruth Rosenthal at the Pew Charitable Trusts says these new laws will make sure people have a fighting chance when the debt collectors come after them.
"They're making sure that if people get sued, they're getting contacted at the right location," Rosenthal says. "They're making sure that if they end up with a judgment against them, that they are able to pay off that judgment without going bankrupt.”
Rosenthal says Virginia has historically been at “the bottom of the pile” for laws around debt collection. Now, she says, the Commonwealth will be a model for other states.
