Purpose of the Act

"The Rosenthal Act(also known as Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) forbids the use of any "false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt" through its incorporation by reference of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the "FDCPA"), 15 U.S.C. § 1692(e). See Cal. Civ. Code § 1788.17." (Chao v. Aurora Loan Services, LLC (ND Cal 2011 Lexis 103205.)

“The Rosenthal Act is intended "to prohibit debt collectors from engaging in unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the collection of consumer debts and to require debtors to act fairly in entering into and honoring such debts.” Cal. Civ. Code Sec. 1788.1. “In addition to setting forth its own standards governing debt-collection practices, the Rosenthal Act also provides that, with limited exceptions, ‘every debt collector collecting or attempting to collect a consumer debt shall comply with the provisions of’ the FDCPA.” Id. Sec. 1788.17.

Debt Collector Defined

"Under the Rosenthal Act, a ‘debt collector’ is defined as ‘any person who, in the ordinary course of business, regularly, on behalf of himself or herself or others, engages in debt collection.’” Id. Sec. 1788.2(c). “[T]he definition of ‘debt collector’ is broader under the Rosenthal Act than it is under the FDCPA, as the latter excludes creditors collecting on their own debts.” (Reyes v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., C-10-01667 JCS, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 2235, 2011 WL 30759, at *19 (N.D. Cal. Jan. 3, 2011.) “Thus, a mortgage servicer may be a ‘debt collector’ under the Rosenthal Act even if it is the original lender, whereas, such an entity would be excluded from the definition of debt collector under the federal act.” (Id., citing Herrera v. LCS Fin. Servs. Corp., C09-02843 TEH, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 122775, 2009 WL 5062192, at *2 N.D. Cal. Dec. 22, 2009; Reyes-Aguilar v. Bank of Am., N.A., 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 86627.)

Under Civ. Code 1788.2(c): "The term "debt collector" means any person who, in the ordinary course of business, regularly, on behalf of himself or herself or others, engages in debt collection. The term includes any person who composes and sells, or offers to compose and sell, forms, letters, and other collection media used or intended to be used for debt collection, but does not include an attorney or counselor at law."

Consumer Debt Defined

“The Rosenthal Act defines ‘consumer debt’ and ‘consumer credit’ as ‘money, property or their equivalent, due or owing or alleged to be due or owing from a natural person by reason of a consumer credit transaction.’” (Davidson v. Seterus, Inc. (2018) 21 Cal.App.5th 283, 295 citing Sec. 1788.2(f).) “The Rosenthal Act further defines the phrase ‘consumer credit transaction’ as ‘a transaction between a natural person and another person in which property, services or money is acquired on credit by that natural person from such other person primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.’” (Id. citing Sec. 1788.2(e).)

Whether Mortgage Servicers Can Be “Debt Collectors”

“It is clear that the Rosenthal Act is a civil statute that was enacted for the protection of the public, and in interpreting it, we are mindful of the fact that, to the extent that the statutory language is ambiguous, the statute should be construed broadly in favor of protecting the public.” (Davidson v. Seterus, Inc. (2018) 21 Cal.App.5th 283, 289.) “Given this principle, and the fact that the Rosenthal Act's definitional language is sufficiently broad to include mortgage lenders and/or mortgage servicers within its purview, we conclude that mortgage lenders and mortgage servicers can be "debt collectors" under the Rosenthal Act.” (Id. at 289-290.)