Pakistani debt collectors cajole Americans from afar

[Liberal_in_LA]

As U.S. fortunes fade, Pakistani debt collectors dial it up a notch
At call centers in the South Asian nation, young Pakistanis put on American accents and match wits with Americans with bad debts. Tactics range from cajoling to needling and bluster.

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Pakistani debt collectors

September 14, 2009 | 5:10 p.m.

Reporting from Islamabad, Pakistan - It's 8 o'clock on a Sunday night in the Pakistani capital, but collection cowboy Sharoon Hermoon is living on U.S. time. Headset in place, feet on his desk, he aims his speed dialer at a debtor in Fort Worth, Texas.

"Hello, ma'am, how ya doin' today?" he says in a convincing American accent. "My name is James Harold and you owe us $11,000."

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As Americans struggle under a mountain of debt, they might be surprised to learn that their collection nightmares may originate in a nation better known for its Taliban insurgency, instability and extremism. With more economic uncertainty, job losses and mortgage defaults expected, long-distance arm-twisting has become something of a growth industry in Pakistan.

And though the mostly 20-something crew at the call center expresses empathy for the troubled voices on the other end of the line, some of them also wonder how the Americans could let themselves slip so far under water.

"Americans are rather addicted to their credit cards," Siddiqui says.

After the woman from Fort Worth slams down the phone, the Touchstone crew goes to work. Predictably, she doesn't answer their return calls. So in subsequent days they use tracking software and loan document details to generate letters and leave phone messages with neighbors, co-workers and relatives that they're trying to reach her. Finally, a few weeks later, worn down, the woman accepts a repayment plan.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-pakistan-call-center15-2009sep15,0,5191179.story

[chalky]

1. "...leave phone messages with neighbors, co-workers and relatives"?

That doesn't sound exactly legal.

[Louisiana1976]

2. Could it be legal in Pakistan?

[flvegan]

4. Doesn't matter. They operate under the FDCA, regardless.

[backscatter712]

3. Neither is threatening to have people arrested.

I guess that's why big lenders are outsourcing collections to Pakistan - hard to enforce the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act over there...

[JoDog]

7. According to the article,

this company is a subsidiary of an American company. Since they are taking orders and getting leads from their American parent, the FDCPA is enforceable. The American parent would have to take the sanctions and pay the fine if found in violation.

And yes, threatening jail is absolutely against the act. Failure to pay a debt is violation of a contract, not the penal code. The only exceptions to this are cases of fraud and tax evasion.

[JoDog]

6. Yes, it is legal

It is OK under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act so long as no specific financial information is released. This type of "fishing expedition" letters and calls serve 2 purposes: 1. to use the friends/family/neighbors to confirm that the debtor is at the address and phone number and 2. to use peer pressure and shame to get the debtor to pay.

So long as the collector does not give the fourth parties the specific amount or nature of the debt and does not harass them, it is all legal.

[Craftsman]

8. I have had several calls from debt collectors about my BIL's

I hang up on them.

[Skittles]

5. I find it hard to believe he has a "convincing American accent"

the offshore idiots I deal with can barely speak English, and it's supposedly a job requirement

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

9. I get those calls all the time on my cell looking for someone else

I found a solution using Youmail which is a voice mail system for phones. I now group those numbers (which call repeatedly, no matter how many times you tell them they have the wrong person) and I chose a "this number has been disconnected" message which immediately hangs up afterwards. So far, it's working like a charm.

[tammywammy]

10. The last time I had a home phone line installed

I immediately started getting phone calls for someone who lives in the same town with the same first and last name, but different middle names. After just a week I think I disconnected the phone unless I was expecting someone that needed to be buzzed into the apt gate. Then eventually I just completely ended the phone service and had the gate number routed to my cell phone.

It's hard to explain to a collector that yes you do have almost the same full name, but no you aren't her and no you don't owe them any money.

[Liberal_in_LA]

13. I got those type of calls. Debt collectors don't care that you aren't that person. They have

successfully pressured people to payoff the debts for others with the same name. Debt collectors want to make contact with someone, anyone.

[tammywammy]

14. Screw that

I don't make enough to pay off other people's debt. I just disconnected the phone anyways, since I never used it. No calls like that to my cell phone. :)

[Craftsman]

12. I just put them on hold now when they call me about my BILs.

[KG]

11. the irony.

of americans not being able to pay coz there are no jobs being bugged by outsourced bill collectors.