I am never surprised at the lengths debt collectors will go to recover money for their clients, but what can you expect when these individuals and companies are on commission? The more they collect the more they earn for themselves - it’s not rocket science.
When was the last time you heard someone saying that they couldn’t wait for their friendly debt collector to pop round for tea?
Creditors and debt collectors, in a lot of instances, work under the rule of “he who shouts the loudest gets paid” and they will therefore annoy, badger, disturb, exhaust, harry, jade, perplex, pester, plague, tease, tire, torment, trouble, vex, weary and worry to get paid, in other words to “annoy or trouble constantly”, reference: Collins dictionary.
People won’t talk about being in debt and debt collectors know this which is why they get away with murder, knowing that little will be done about their tactics for fear of letting out their dirty secret. Also most of us, through lack of awareness, simply don’t know our consumer rights when faced with aggressive debt collectors.
Just a few days ago the OFT released their updated ‘Debt Collection Guidelines Oct 2011’ which included a section banning debt collectors from ‘poking’ users on Facebook or leaving messages. Some collectors had also moved on to Twitter in the hope of embarrassing the debtor into coughing up money.
Apart from some of these messages being less than subtle, even threatening, with some social network users complaining of intimidation, whatever messages were left could invariably be read by others.
Debt collectors were not just trying to embarrass debtors into paying their debts, they were gaining valuable information about their prey, such as ‘just about to go to the Caribbean for two weeks all inclusive’ or ‘just got my new iPhone 4S’ which told a debt collector that people had the means to pay and were a ‘won’t payer and not a can’t payer’.
Well before social network sites were thought of, debt collectors would put cards through letter boxes or communal hallways in flats saying they had called. Another trick was to leave phone messages at the borrower’s home so that they could be picked up by anyone, or to post a card saying ‘call this number you have won something’.
I remember a few years ago when a firm of solicitors wrote to me asking if I knew the whereabouts of my ex neighbour who had moved some months earlier. The letter said they needed to contact him urgently but a quick punt around on the net revealed they were after collecting a debt!
As long debt collectors are paid a commission on what they collect we will continue to see all kinds of inventions, scams and cons to get contact, a bite.
Other improvements in the new guidelines mentioned above include the need for clarification over statute barred debts (old debts) for both England and Scotland, (although I feel the Scottish came out better on this), disputed debts and instructions on what debt collectors need to do when dealing with consumers that have mental health issues.
Hopefully, as a result of these revised guidelines, we will see less of the sort of activities mentioned above and hopefully, a certain debt collector will stop calling one of my clients up to six times in the same day!
More on the debt collection guidelines here - OFT to stop the shady side of debt collection plus template letters for harassment, disputed debt and old debts.
