Donald S. Clark, Secretary Federal Trade Commission Room H-135 (Annex T) 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20580

RE: Telemarketing Sales Rule – Debt Relief Amendments – R411001

Dear Secretary Clark:

These comments are being submitted by Consumer Federation of America, Consumers Union, Consumer Action, the National Consumer Law Center on behalf of its low-income clients, the Center for Responsible Lending, the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the National Consumers League, U.S. PIRG, the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse9 the Arizona Consumers Council, the Chicago Consumer Coalition, the Consumer Assistance Council, the Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina, the Consumer Federation of the Southeast, Grass Roots Organizing, Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc., the Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance, and the Virginia Citizens Consumer Council.

We applaud the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for its thorough analysis of the debt relief industry and for the essential amendments that it has proposed to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) to protect consumers from abusive practices in debt relief, including for-profit debt settlement services, debt counseling services, and debt negotiation services. These amendments are crucial to protecting consumers from deception and ensuring that they do not pay for false promises rather than real results.