Buffalo's debt collectors accused of bullying

Yahoo News/Finance ^ | 01/05/2010 | By Carolyn Thompson And David B. Caruso

[ErnstStavroBlofeld]

When Tobias "Bags of Money" Boyland went looking for a new career after serving 13 years in prison for armed robbery and drug dealing, he quickly found something that suited his sensibilities: He opened a collection agency.

It was, in some ways, a natural move for a young man in Buffalo. Desperate for jobs, this chronically depressed Rust Belt city has become home to one of the biggest concentrations of debt collection businesses in the U.S.

"Collections is the Bethlehem Steel of Buffalo," said Boyland, 44, recalling the industrial giant that once employed 20,000 people in the region. "You can make a decent living in a town where there isn't a lot of opportunity."

Between 5,000 and 6,000 people earning $30,000 to $40,000 a year now work at roughly 110 collection agencies in and around Buffalo, an industry created with the help of seed money from the state of New York. The industry has been a rare economic bright spot in Buffalo, the nation's third-poorest city of its size, a place where 30 percent of the people live in poverty.

Yet, law enforcement and consumer groups point to a dark side: Buffalo, they say, has also become a center for some of the worst elements in the business. Debt collectors, some of them convicted felons, have illegally posed as lawyers or unlawfully browbeat people -- threatening to have them arrested or stripped of custody of their children -- to scare them into making payments.

[mkjessup]

Having worked in the collections industry for brief time, I can confirm that the worst practices are condoned as long as “nobody gets caught”.

My own approach to debtors was to convince them that it was in their best interest to work with me, set up reasonable payment plans, telling them to contact me if they had to make late payments, but emphasizing that they had to keep up with the installments or I would be ‘removed’ from their account and I had no control over who would be contacting them next (i.e., a ‘not-so-nice’ collector). I had a fair bit of success, but I was never in the upper echelons of earners because I refused to treat those people like dirt.

Which is one reason why my time in that industry was ‘brief’, lol

[Shimmer1]

It’s important that credit collectors follow the law.

[Graybeard58]

I worked in the collection business too, immediately after serving 4 years in the military. I was young and dumb and that was probably the worst job I ever had. (1967)

I worked for G.A.C. Finance, (Not G.M.A.C.) I don’t believe the company is even in business any more. No direct physical threats involved to anyone but they could be implied.

Calling people on their jobs multiple times daily probably got some fired, which I’m sure was not helpful in getting them to repay their loans, Calling their friends and neighbors and relatives and generally making life miserable for them.

I lasted about 4 months. I’m not proud of what I did, this is more like a confession but these activities were accepted practices back then.

[Anti-Bubba182]

All the debtor has to do is to tell the collection agency not to call again in writing.

Debt Collection FAQs: A Guide for Consumers

"..How can I stop a debt collector from contacting me?

If a collector contacts you about a debt, you may want to talk to them at least once to see if you can resolve the matter – even if you don’t think you owe the debt, can’t repay it immediately, or think that the collector is contacting you by mistake. If you decide after contacting the debt collector that you don’t want the collector to contact you again, tell the collector – in writing – to stop contacting you. Here’s how to do that:

Make a copy of your letter. Send the original by certified mail, and pay for a “return receipt” so you’ll be able to document what the collector received. Once the collector receives your letter, they may not contact you again, with two exceptions: a collector can contact you to tell you there will be no further contact or to let you know that they or the creditor intend to take a specific action, like filing a lawsuit. Sending such a letter to a debt collector you owe money to does not get rid of the debt, but it should stop the contact. The creditor or the debt collector still can sue you to collect the debt..."

How can I stop a debt collector from contacting me? If a collector contacts you about a debt, you may want to talk to them at least once to see if you can resolve the matter – even if you don’t think you owe the debt, can’t repay it immediately, or think that the collector is contacting you by mistake. If you decide after contacting the debt collector that you don’t want the collector to contact you again, tell the collector – in writing – to stop contacting you. Here’s how to do that: Make a copy of your letter. Send the original by certified mail, and pay for a “return receipt” so you’ll be able to document what the collector received. Once the collector receives your letter, they may not contact you again, with two exceptions: a collector can contact you to tell you there will be no further contact or to let you know that they or the creditor intend to take a specific action, like filing a lawsuit. Sending such a letter to a debt collector you owe money to does not get rid of the debt, but it should stop the contact. The creditor or the debt collector still can sue you to collect the debt.

.......Do I have any recourse if I think a debt collector has violated the law?

You have the right to sue a collector in a state or federal court within one year from the date the law was violated. If you win, the judge can require the collector to pay you for any damages you can prove you suffered because of the illegal collection practices, like lost wages and medical bills. The judge can require the debt collector to pay you up to $1,000, even if you can’t prove that you suffered actual damages. You also can be reimbursed for your attorney’s fees and court costs.......

Now, YOU could also be sued if the debt was valid and they think they can win and collect.