Senate panel advances bill requiring debt-collection filings to include attorney contact info

Senator Williams Graves told the committee SB 189 addresses transparency gaps in consumer debt collection: the substitute requires the attorney of record in a civil action to include name, business address and a direct phone number on initial pleadings and subsequent filings, and allows attorneys 21 days to cure defects in filings.

Supporters, including the Virginia Poverty Law Center, Legal Aid Justice Center and advocates who observed debt-docket practice, said the change would reduce confusion and enable consumers to resolve matters or make payment arrangements. Crystal Chapman described observing debt-docket proceedings in Richmond-area general district courts and said defendants often could not reach out-of-state collection firms to negotiate.

The substitute was reported by the committee with a roll call recorded in the transcript as "Your bill passes 10 1, abstention is 3."