Question about the original creditor collecting a debt

[littleitgirl]

I have a two part question:

First: I am partially familiar with the FDCPA. It seems to apply only to collection agencies but perhaps not to the original creditor if they are collecting on their own debt. Do I understand this correctly?

Second: I have a friend, who is the only person on the installment car loan. He is the only person on the title. Ex spouse was NEVER on the loan. Through his divorce, the decree states the ex is to retain the vehicle and is responsible for the payments. She pays the creditor directly. We have found out the loan is currently deliquent via a phone call directly to the creditor. Of course, they updated his contact information and when the friend asked if the account was current, found out it was two payments behind. He was never contacted about the deliquency. He asked what phone number they had and they gave his ex-wife's email address and work phone number and said she was the point of contact for the account.

How can this be when she is not on the loan. Can he sue them for releasing his personal credit information to a 3rd party w/o his permission?? Does this violate the FDCPA since they are not an actual collection agency? Does this also violate the Right to Financial Privacy Act? What should he do? Request a transaction and communication history from the creditor?

Any thoughts and information would be greatly appreciated?

[nascar]

Do I understand this correctly?

yes

Second: I have a friend, who is the only person on the installment car loan. He is the only person on the title. Ex spouse was NEVER on the loan. Through his divorce, the decree states the ex is to retain the vehicle and is responsible for the payments. She pays the creditor directly. We have found out the loan is currently deliquent via a phone call directly to the creditor. Of course, they updated his contact information and when the friend asked if the account was current, found out it was two payments behind. He was never contacted about the deliquency. He asked what phone number they had and they gave his ex-wife's email address and work phone number and said she was the point of contact for the account.

How can this be when she is not on the loan. Can he sue them for releasing his personal credit information to a 3rd party w/o his permission?? Does this violate the FDCPA since they are not an actual collection agency? Does this also violate the Right to Financial Privacy Act? What should he do? Request a transaction and communication history from the creditor?

Any thoughts and information would be greatly appreciated?

If the two were married at the time the loan was taken out, it wouldn't have mattered whether the contact information belonged to either spouse. The fact that it was not updated - post divorce - falls to your friend for failing to check that his creditor had the correct contact info. The creditor could not reasonably be expected to know this information.

As for the delinquent debt; that's on him as well. He is still responsible for the payment, despite the divorce decree. His proper course of action is to make the payments -then go back to court to get the ex to pay up.

It sucks, but it looks like your friend just didn't cover all his bases and now he's in a bit of a bind because of it.

[littleitgirl]

The phone number was the same prior to and post divorce in which the number belong to my friend, not to his wife at the time, it was his cell phone number. The address did change. So the creditor did have the correct number to contact friend for collection. But evidently they never tried.

Guess I don't understand how in the world if she had nothing to do with the loan, the creditor can legally contact her for collection and provide info to her.

I am very well aware that he is responsible for the debt. He should have had her make the payments directly to him, not the creditor, and then he would be aware of what's going on and have paid on time. But, as you know, people who are not in this business (i'm in mortgage lending), have no clue and their attorneys evidently fail to explain to them how debts will work.

[littleitgirl]

Is this Eric??