[dateline] --
The struggling economy hit Michelle Morrison’s family like a brick. With her husband now out of work, unemployment still weeks away, bill collectors are calling.
"They’re rude. I mean they are just mean. You know you try to explain the circumstances and they don’t care. It doesn’t matter,” describes Michelle Morrison.
The Federal Trade Commission reports abusive calls from debt collectors are a growing problem.
Here are the fast facts.
Nationwide, nearly 71,000 file such complaints with the FTC in 2007.
Add to that the 14,000 who complained to the Better Business Bureau.
And thousands are filing grievances with state and city officials.
“They cannot swear at you, they cannot tell you that they will put you in jail if you don’t pay for this,” said Rich Call with Consumer Credit Counseling Services in Columbus.
So what can debt collectors do and not do? The bottom line Consumer Credit Counseling says they may contact you in person, by mail, telephone, telegram or fax. However, debt collectors may not call you before 8am or after 9pm. They also cannot call you on your job, but only if you tell them not to.
Consumer Credit Counseling Services urges anyone with a complaint against a debt collector to contact the Federal Trade Commission or the Better Business Bureau.
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Abusive Debt Collectors On The Rise
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NBC4i.com
Published: November 10, 2008
Published: November 10, 2008
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