Any person who violates a provision of the Act is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction is punishable by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $1000 for each conviction. Borrowers often allege that ED or its PCAs have engaged in acts or practices that violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) (15 U.S.C. §1692 et seq.) The FDCPA applies only to the collection activities of third-party debt collectors. The statute itself defines the term "debt collector" to exclude officers or employees of the United States, and therefore the FDCPA by its terms does not apply to the collection actions of ED employees. The FDCPA does, however, apply to the PCAs ED retains to perform collection services on student loans. 31 U.S.C.§ 3718(a)(2)(B). Because the FDCPA does not apply to ED, ED takes the position that it cannot be held liable for any FDCPA violations of its PCAs. In addition, there is a clause in each of ED's contracts with a collection agency that holds ED harmless for the acts of the collection agency. Go to this website to find the training manual for Collection agencies to collect defaulted loans. www.collections.sfa.ed.gov/contractors/PCANew/Virtual_Library/Training_Manual_Draft.doc
