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I've faced two situations involving collectors: In one, I had forgotten to pay a bill in a timely manner. In the other, the bill was BS and the former landlor

by jfrisby 13y ago

I've faced two situations involving collectors: In one, I had forgotten to pay a bill in a timely manner. In the other, the bill was BS and the former landlord who sent it to collections was breaking a number of related laws (such as double-dipping). In both cases, the default behavior of the debt collectors was to... break the law. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act exists for a reason and its only peoples' ignorance of it that allows the grotesque tactics they employ to continue unabated. (BTW: The $100 bill I forgot about? I promptly paid it once I was reminded of it. The $5,300 the landlord claimed I owed? That went away the moment I pointed out I had proof of their malfeasance.) "Just doing their jobs" is not an excuse for bad behavior, ever.

jack-r-abbit 13y ago
Of course. Anyone violating The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act should be punished. Also, anyone who owes someone money should pay it. If there is a dispute over the validity of a debt, there is a provision in The FDCP Act to handle that. Everyone should be held to the rules equally.
- jfrisby 13y ago
  And my point is that the default behavior of both collectors -- the behavior from the very first word of their first call -- was in violation, and they continued to violate the law in numerous ways. If an entire industry is so systematically rotten that good behavior (read: compliance with the law) is the exception rather than the norm, what is one to do? For example, if the debt collector does not provide any written notice and refuses to provide an address to which one can mail a written notice of dispute, what is one to do? If the debt is intrinsically fraudulent, and the "validation" of the debt consists solely of confirming its veracity with the party committing fraud, what is one to do? If one tries to dispute a fraudulent claim when speaking to a debt collector on the phone and one is told "I don't fucking care, if you don't give me a goddamn credit card number right fucking now I'm going to garnish your wages and fucking destroy your credit!", what is one to do? And don't tell me that I should complain to the FTC -- since there was no written communication, and I couldn't identify the parties involved, they were unable/unwilling/uninterested in helping me. At this point I have no sympathy for debt collectors. The very best of them are preying upon people who are already in a bad position and that's being generous. I'm almost tempted to be late on a bill or two just so I can use this service (whatever it may be -- still can't access it) in an attempt to discourage these vermin from continuing in their chosen "profession".
  - sarahnadav 13y ago
    The collection agencies violate laws as a standard practice and most people don't understand their rights or have the tools to advocate for themselves. The version of BUKIT now is a minimal viable product but with time I plan on adding in more features to help make reporting, disputing and suing easier.
  - osamet67 13y ago
    The law doesn't really set a high bar for debt validation, tbh. Good points here though. I hope to be able to solve them.

by jfrisby 13y ago

jack-r-abbit 13y ago

Of course. Anyone violating The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act should be punished. Also, anyone who owes someone money should pay it. If there is a dispute over the validity of a debt, there is a provision in The FDCP Act to handle that. Everyone should be held to the rules equally.

jfrisby 13y ago
And my point is that the default behavior of both collectors -- the behavior from the very first word of their first call -- was in violation, and they continued to violate the law in numerous ways. If an entire industry is so systematically rotten that good behavior (read: compliance with the law) is the exception rather than the norm, what is one to do? For example, if the debt collector does not provide any written notice and refuses to provide an address to which one can mail a written notice of dispute, what is one to do? If the debt is intrinsically fraudulent, and the "validation" of the debt consists solely of confirming its veracity with the party committing fraud, what is one to do? If one tries to dispute a fraudulent claim when speaking to a debt collector on the phone and one is told "I don't fucking care, if you don't give me a goddamn credit card number right fucking now I'm going to garnish your wages and fucking destroy your credit!", what is one to do? And don't tell me that I should complain to the FTC -- since there was no written communication, and I couldn't identify the parties involved, they were unable/unwilling/uninterested in helping me. At this point I have no sympathy for debt collectors. The very best of them are preying upon people who are already in a bad position and that's being generous. I'm almost tempted to be late on a bill or two just so I can use this service (whatever it may be -- still can't access it) in an attempt to discourage these vermin from continuing in their chosen "profession".
- sarahnadav 13y ago
  The collection agencies violate laws as a standard practice and most people don't understand their rights or have the tools to advocate for themselves. The version of BUKIT now is a minimal viable product but with time I plan on adding in more features to help make reporting, disputing and suing easier.
- osamet67 13y ago
  The law doesn't really set a high bar for debt validation, tbh. Good points here though. I hope to be able to solve them.