Concerns Grow Over US Debt Collection Abuse Being Emulated in UK

In the United States, harassment by debt collectors is reported to be on the rise. This news comes despite the fact that, like the United Kingdom, the US has laws which specifically prevent debt collectors from harassing those they are attempting to collect from. Since debt collectors are unable to obtain the money they are after from a population facing rising unemployment, they have resorted to far less savory tactics that some experts in the UK say could soon be used on citizens here.

As the debt collection agencies continue to sprout up in both the UK and the US in response to growing consumer debt and the economic uncertainty that comes along with the loss of a job. The economy at the global level may be back on the upswing according to some analysts, but the fact remains that many in both the UK and the US are facing the loss of their jobs as companies continue to shrink their labor force and deal with their own business level debt woes.

All of these factors press on the debt collecting outfits that are outsourced by companies to bring in past due accounts. Since these groups get a cut of the debt due to the companies that hire them for the job, they are often desperate to get that money to keep their own operation afloat.

Now, it appears that these companies are going further in what they are allowing their workers to do as far as behavior towards those debtors they are charged with collecting from. While this may be a simple lack of oversight and supervision, it is certainly abusive. In the US alone, complaints to that nation’s official body which monitors the activities of the debt collecting industry have risen a full 50% in 2009 alone. This is an enormous figure that does not bode well for the debt collection industry and is happening in the face of laws which specifically detail not only what collectors are allowed to say to debtors, but the times they may call them, as well.

Abusive language is the primary complaint, including threats to reveal a consumer’s information to third parties in attempt to damage their credit worthiness with other businesses. The creditors have been placing back to back calls in an attempt to force debtors to pick up the phone and also calling at off hours to try and catch them off guard. Some consumers have actual recorded voicemail messages of creditors making threats to their property and person – recordings that will surely lead to a very quick and simple lawsuit for those creditors.

Beyond this? There are incidents of credits enacting physical violence against those who refuse to pay them. These lowest of the low creditors generally attempt to collect with rising threats that include jail time, something that is not actually allowed by US laws. Then, if the debtor is unable to pay off the debt plus an extra amount that the collector concocts, they have gone so far as to call that person’s relatives and extended family member to try to obtain the money.

All of this is far beyond what the law allows which is exactly the point. If this is taking place in America, it could very well take place in Britain, a country where plenty of people know about the nasty tactics debt collectors have employed in the past.

So what is the bottom line for consumers? Avoid the debt collectors altogether by entering an IVA or opting for a Debt Management Plan which can legally stop those harassers from being able to call or contact the debtor. Experts suggest that for many this is the quickest route to avoiding these people because even the best intentioned debt collector brings stress into UK families when money is already obviously a problem. If consumers get in on the easy way out of debt now, say UK experts, the debt collecting industry can do nothing to them and they will be debt free in just a few years. For many this is the solution they hoped for.