AlterNet: Is Your Newest Facebook Friend a Sleazeball Debt Collector?

[marmar]

Is Your Newest Facebook Friend a Sleazeball Debt Collector?

By Liliana Segura, AlterNet. Posted June 10, 2009.

Exposing the latest and slimiest ways the "financial services" industry is raking it in from cash-crunched Americans.




With millions of Americans struggling in the current economic crisis, it should come as no surprise that a growing number of people are falling behind paying their bills. This is no cause for celebration -- unless of course, you happen to make your living as a debt collector, a debt-settlement company or other notoriously sleazy outfits engineered to profit off people's financial misery.

It’s bad enough that while newspapers and car companies die off, the debt business is booming. But recent months have brought a number of reports and lawsuits that exposed some of the latest -- and slimiest -- ways the "financial services" industry is using to cash in on already-struggling Americans.

Is Your Newest Facebook Friend a Debt Collector?

When Michigan resident Paula Newland fell behind in her car payments, she found herself battling some typical -- and not so typical -- tactics used by debt collectors. In addition to repeated, harassing phone calls from three companies -- including 15 calls on one Saturday and claims that phone calls were "concerning a 'family emergency' " -- Newland was told that if she did not pay up, her car would be reported stolen, and she would be arrested. The company also threatened to deploy what they called a "shame automobile" and "camp out all weekend" in front of her house.

And then came a novel approach: As if all this weren’t enough, the fact there were overdue payments for her 2005 Chevy Impala were broadcast on her MySpace account.

Outraged and humiliated, Newland filed a civil suit earlier this year claiming "damage to her business and community reputation, extreme mental distress, aggravation, humiliation and embarrassment." ............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.alternet.org/story/140547/is_your_newest_facebook_friend_a_sleazeball_debt_collector/

[ejpoeta]

1. just an fyi... this is a dupe.

[marmar]

2. I don't see it anywhere else in THIS forum.....There are always lots of inter-forum dupes.

n/t

[ejpoeta]

4. ok, sorry.

[customerserviceguy]

3. Just another of the thousand reasons

to avoid social networking sites.

[Rebubula]

6. Amen....n/t

[mwb970]

8. I deactivated my Facebook account several weeks ago.

It wasn't because of bill collectors. I was just tired of hearing from tiresome people from my past that I thought I had left behind.

[Demeter]

5. That's Got To Be Against The Law

and if it isn't, it should be.

Hope she wins and pays off that bill and the collector goes out of business.

[Quantess]

7. I think they would have to inform you

"this is an attempt to collect a debt".

[Hugin]

9. It is...

And she'll probably win her case from the sound of what they've been doing.

Not too long ago someone won $1.5 Million off of the tactics of these slime suckers.

What Debt Collectors can and can't do is very clearly spelled out in the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_Debt_Collection_Practices_Act">Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

But, there's tons of the worst out there... They buy this (quite often fraudulent) debt off of someone for pennies on the dollar and then they go ape on the people.

They act just like the drunk in the bar who hits on everyone in sight... Hoping to find an under-informed person who they can intimidate.