Does an HOA board have to comply with the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act?

The topic of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act came up at the recent OBA webcast on Oklahoma homeowner association law. Specifically, the question was:

Q - Do HOA boards have to comply with the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act?

A - The FDCPA is found at 15 USCA 1692 et. seq. By definition, a board member or officer of an HOA collecting the HOA's own debt is not a "debt collector" under the FDCPA. 15 USCA 1692(a). However, if for some reason the HOA sought to collect its own debt under an assumed name which would tend to make a consumer believe a third party sought to collect a debt, the HOA could be defined as a "debt collector" under the FDCPA - why an HOA would ever do this is beyond me.

Matthew L. Winton, Oklahoma homeowner association lawyer