Debt Collection

Debt Collectors Have the Wrong Number

This frightening article in The Boston Globe (free registration required) demonstrates that debt collection is, indeed, a growing industry - it’s growing excessively arrogant and careless.

Details of the profiled individuals and their unbelievable experiences with debt collectors are all too familiar to consumer lawyers, unfortunately. There is anecdotal evidence to suggest that recent explosive growth in the practices of selling and purchasing old debts is leading to some major abuses of the kind that prompted the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act’s enactment. And these folks aren’t even the real account holders!

Consider the following - all related to me by various consumer and bankruptcy professionals in the last few weeks:

• A debt collector states firmly to an account holder “Bankruptcy was repealed last year - perhaps you heard about it?” and questions the debtor’s integrity.

• A lawyer speaking to a collection agency employee on a client’s behalf is told confidently that the client “isn’t eligible” to file for bankruptcy and that if the lawyer proceeds to file a chapter 7 petition on the individual’s behalf, the collection agency will “bring criminal charges.”

• Another lawyer is likewise told that the account holder “isn’t eligible” for bankruptcy relief; when pressed, the collector declines to elaborate but instead threatens to report the lawyer to “the authorities.” When asked “what authorities?” - the collector hangs up.

What’s going on here? (All these statements are at best gross misstatements of the law, by the way!)

What to do if a debt collector is harassing you?

1. Keep detailed logs of each and every contact. Note the time, date, and substance of each communication. Keep copies of letters. Write down conversations in as much detail as possible. Make sure you get the name of the person you’re speaking to - ask them to spell the name for you. It may well be a false name, but it could nevertheless be important later.

2. Never give out your personal information over the telephone, especially when it’s a disputed debt. You have the right to request and receive confirmation and verification of the debt in writing; ask for it to be sent to you.

3. Consider contacting a consumer attorney if the matter is not resolved promptly. You do have rights - an attorney knowledgeable in consumer law and credit collection practices law can assist you in protecting those rights from being violated.

© 2006 SC Bankruptcy & Consumer Law Blog.