The Federal Trade Commission (FTC (News - Alert)) just collected $2.5 million from one of the nation’s top collectors, Asset Acceptance. This is one of the eight collection agencies that the FTC has went after for practicing unethically.
If this report doesn’t satisfy you, then perhaps you are of the fiscally responsible type who has avoided the debt woes faced by the rest of America. Even if this is the case, you should be thankful that the FTC stepped in when it did because Asset Acceptance wasn’t playing by the rules. Many of the collection agency’s victims are good people. The following are some of the dirty deeds committed by Asset:
1. Went after people who shared a similar name and address as the debtor.
2. Used tricks to get past the statute of limitations, such as convincing debtors to make partial payments, only to refresh the case so that it qualifies for suit.
3. Did not inform people that the partial payments made to their accounts made it possible for Assets to sue.
4. Placed bogus derogatory marks on people’s credit reports in order to drag down their credit score until Assets received payment.
So why would people go along with this? Some people want to avoid looking like “deadbeats,” so they quietly paid off the bogus debt to improve their credit score. Some people felt guilty about not being as responsible as they should have been, so they paid whatever they could to seek financial redemption.
Assets’ President and CEO, Rion Needs claims that he is grateful that the FTC has “clarified” the rules for them, so that now they can provide customers more “visibility.” It seems as though Assets would like us to believe that these “new standards” just now came to light, but thankfully he consents to abide them from now on.
Spokesmen for the FTC would like to point out that the wrongdoings of debt-collectors do not absolve debtors of what they owe.
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Julie Griffin has a B.A. in English from the University of Kentucky and covers technology news and communications related topics. Known best for her various web publications, Griffin also occasionally contributes to local press.Edited by
Rich Steeves
