Debt collectors don’t want people to know what the FDCPA

Today I read an article on the internet complaining about a potential new bill out of New Jersey that would require debt collectors to send a copy of the FDCPA to Consumers. I read the article on collectormentor.com which appears to be a site geared toward aiding and informing collectors. Not surprisingly, this particular article called the potential bill, “another one of those bad dreams”. I found it amusing that the alleged reason that the author was opposed to the bill is because of the cost of paper and postage to print an 11 page document. Personally, I don’t believe that’s the number one reason why debt collectors do not want Consumers to get their hands on a copy of the statute.

Most people that call me have no idea what a debt collector can and can’t do. I would venture to guess that there are many more people who don’t call me at all because they don’t even realize they have rights. If Consumers were to become more educated about what those rights are, imagine how many more people would come forth to fight for those rights. Debt collectors don’t want people to know what the FDCPA says because they don’t want even more people to sue them.

Imagine if people found out that debt collectors can't call you 5 times per day. Or what if they weren't allowed to threaten to sue people because too many people found out that such threats could lead to litigation? Even something as simple as not leaving the name of the company, or not giving the mini-miranda warning that this is an attempt to collect a debt can result in a lawsuit. If only people knew.

The collection industry can cry foul and try to complain about the amount of photocopies if they want, but their time could probably be used better if they would just sit down and grab one of those bulky FDCPA copies and actually read it. Oh wait, I forgot, they have read it, they just don't care. But that is a topic for another day.

The collectormentor.com website makes a point to tell its readers just how many lawsuits are filed each year, and who is the biggest filer of said lawsuits. What the website doesn't tell its readers is that there are a great number of other cases that don't get filed each year because they end up settling, and an even greater number of lawsuits that don't get filed simply because the person who is being harassed, doesn't bother to call a lawyer. Personally, I hope the bill passes. Not just because I stand to benefit from more cases, but because the only way collectors are ever going to get the hint is when enough people start enforcing their rights such that it becomes cheaper to comply with the law than to break it.