FTC Calls for Tougher Rules on Debt Collection Lawsuits

You didn't even read Spam King's message before replying to it. In the future, please take the time to read and to think before you reply. He is talking about "debt collectors" who are calling random numbers, calling every number sequentially, etc. He is not talking about real debt collectors who are calling only people who have debts. These "debt collectors" are calling productive members of society who have no debts whatsoever, just because they can. His point seems to be, and I agree 100% with it, is there there is no consequence whatsoever for "debt collectors" to just call everyone, sometimes hundreds of times, and just keep calling them until they pay, regardless of whether they ever owed anything to begin with. These fake "debt collectors" are parasites who are sapping our economy. It takes hours to fill out complaint forms, investigation requests, DoNotCall complaints, write cease & desist letters, and generally track them down and follow up on it. These parasites are costing our economy real money and productivity hours lost; and not giving anything in return. In addition, it costs them nothing; there is no penalty; there is not even any enforcement of the existing laws against this kind of extortion.

You are living in a dream world--where debt collectors only harass people who don't pay their bills. I have received more than 500 calls from "debt collectors" in the last two years. Apparently my phone numbers somehow got into their national network. I have no debts, much less any bad debts or any accounts that are behind; I have perfect credit and even now still get offers for 0% credit cards. (But I have no balances to transfer.) These parasites are just idiotic criminals who are desperate to get money, and they don't care whether there are laws against their behavior or not. I'm glad that you are one of the lucky ones that they haven't targeted yet, but eventually they will get around to trying to extort money from you, too. The curious thing is then when "debt collection" calls stop for a while, then "auto warranty" scams, "press 1 to lower your credit card interest rate" scams, and "buy our magical weight loss beverage" scams fill in the gaps. They never seem to overlap. Then when these other scams stop, the "debt collection" scams begin again. This cycle has happened several times, and there is mathematically no chance that this is a coincidence. All of these scams are related.

the burden of proof has ALWAYS been on the collector to PROVE the debt is valid and owed.   However MOST of the JUNK DEBT COLLECTORS that buy all these time-barred debts are not even licensed in MOST states where they are collecting, and filing lawsuits.  Why - because they KNOW that MOST will not show up for court even if served properly.  

the courts do not have the time or personnel to research the thousands of bogus lawsuits filed by these ILLEGAL debt collectors - so the defendant does not show - it results in an automatice default judgement, even though the collector NEVER MET the LEGAL burden of Proof required.

These ILLEGAL debt collectors USE that to their advantage!

I am documenting how many new 'debt' collections callers I get. EACH MONTH I get a minimum of 5 new callers looking for someone I don't know. One month...11 new callers.
The person the are looking for ususally has my same last name. This is absolutely rediculous!

Do you own a robot-call?

I agree with "WOW", people need to come to some responsibility of themselves. We seem to live in a world were if you dig yourself a hole you look to someone else to get you out. No one made a promise saying "life was a bed of rose" as they say. Life is hard, if you financed a home, then you find yourself out of work and cant pay. On one hand some help can be had but on the other you have to stand on you own two feet and live your life. I mean myself I have dealt with many bad hands in life but I made it. I have faced being homeless, hungry, and down right scared of what tomorrow brings. I am just tried of hearing Americans blaming everyone for there problems. Be a leader, make your own path in life and stop thinking that everyone else is holding you back. Collection company are fulfilling a need that has to be met. If you don't like it. Then don't barrow money! Stop living above your income! Simple, and as to any reply's to my response well it a free country and I love it, so feel free to speak your mind (Good or Bad).

                                          Thank You For Your Time :)

In case you haven't noticed there are a hellova lot of people out of work and can't pay their bills. There are also people who are working but have had their hour cut to the point that they can't pay their bills also. And please enlightened us on how you purport to know that these people complaining about the harrassing phone calls for people who don't live there anre the ones that owe the money?  Greed caused this recession.  Yes these people are serious. Get a clue.

@Concerned - you made me laugh pretty hard there.

First, it's obvious English is your second language but you really need to learn how to spell.

Second, I know you're worried about your precious call center job in India might be going away, so what are you going to do to pay your bills.

Third, when you fools call me I simply claim to not know who you are, that you're an overseas entity, and refuse to pay or talk to you any further out of concern I may be unwittingly funding a "terrorist organization".  LMAO @ YOU!

I mean - the least these debt collecting morons could do is employ Americans when they want to inquire about my American debt.

@ WOW - I agree with you!  In today's devastating economical crisis, job losses, etc...AVERAGE MIDDLE CLASS families, with good intention, and who also have debt, have lost their incomes, are PROVEN statistically, to be in the range of 2 weeks from living on the streets!!!  YES...HOMELESS AND JOBLESS...AND NO WARNINGS FROM EMPLOYERS!!!  

Businesses are going bankrupt...no pensions paid, vacation time accrued is LOST...NOT PAID to these unsuspecting folks.  It happened to us!  We moved to California from the midwest USA, to "become partners and re-build my sisters' failing business"...we DID IT...They are out of the hole, have government contracts..are now distributors, have a great machine shop...but once they received their contracts, (which I ESTABLISHED), there shop was set up, (which my husband did); and they received their first of 4 $250K checks, with multi-year contracts...THEY SAID "WE DON'T NEED YOU ANYMORE!"  We BOTH lost our income, on the same day...and only had about $6,800.00 in the bank...and we had debt.  We went "belly-up"...while my EX-sister and hubby (devout Lutherans), are now a successful company, bringing in over $2.5 mil. per year.   Bankruptcy was OUR only option...Thank God, that I am adept at writing resumes and researching the internet... just in time to allow my husband to get a "mediocre" paying job...right before we lost EVERYTHING!  Now...five plus years later, due to Legal Malpractice, and my becoming disabled...we are "up against a wall again"....we are being FORCED to buy a home, in 2 weeks...forfeit and liquidate our assets...and ONE collector, from the "discharged debt" is harassing us...and are repossessing the "what we THOUGHT was a reaffirmed  RV, that we have been PAYING FOR and LIVING IN FOR 6 YEARS....because "the bank is in fear that we will stop making payments, and the RV will depreciate", because we missed ONE PAYMENT, due to my stroke...I offered to make up the payment and continue "as usual"...but the bank REFUSED...declaring that there was no reaffirmation agreement signed, NO NEGOTIATING...PERIOD...."WE ARE REPOSSESSING IN 2-4 WEEKS!" (The man claimed to be an Investigator working out of our local Police Department...when IN FACT...HE IS A REPOSSESSING AGENT working from a private owned business, "posing, fraudulently", as a working police department investigator!  I checked.  He had NO DELINQUENCY  AMOUNT  PAPERWORK, NO DATES OF ARREARS, NO ADDRESS FOR US...NADA!
So....before we go making "assumptions" about folks and their debt....either ask questions, or give them a few bucks for a room and or meals...like my family does, even though we are struggling.  Pay it forward!  ~PEACE~

You are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT...We DO still have our Constitutional Rights...at least for now.
Great to-the-point answer!

All of the banks that underwrite credit cards to department stores and gas stations and the like, just got bailed out of all their bad debt, does any one else remember this? This was suppose to trickle down and help the economy.  What really happened was all those bad debts were sold to less than reputable collection companies, so all those people who lost their jobs, and their homes and everything else, now have to deal with the scum collection companies who are getting more and more business because the banks didn't hang on to that bad paper, as soon as they got bailed out of it, they sold it.  I haven't been able to work since 2005 due to an injury I received at work.  Although I was making decent money at work, my weekly compensation check is less than minimum wage.  My disability is total and permanent and my SS claim has been bouncing around the system for almost three years.  For over a year I was forced to live on nothing but the good will of friends and $200/month food stamps for shelter and transportation.  
I've listened to them threaten to take my assets, I don't have any left, go for it.  They can't take my food stamps, they can't take my piddly weekly disability check, a judge can't give them what I don't have, so I just refuse to let it bother me any more.  I can let it upset me and become more ill, or I can just weather their yelling on the first call, get their address and then send them a cease and desist letter and from then on, they can only contact me by mail.  If they get too nasty, as one did, I reported them to my state AG's office and they sold my debt to someone else real fast.  Eventually, it will stop and my phone as a reject feature.

White consumers should be able to counter-sue when their credit is suddenly removed for no reason during a "meltdown". This crashed my biz then my credit when I could not develop the product line.

Wow-it's a shame that you love to defend scumbags, that's right wow I'm back.
It's [***] heads like you that don't give a crap whether people lose their jobs
or not. It's the stupid banks fault for enticing people to get these loans anyway, and know people lose there jobs, banks and debt collectors are
crying because there not getting paid. Why are banks being stingy to small
businesses and not giving them loans so people can get back to work and pay
their debts. Hopefully one day you'll be out of work and can see what it's
like to be out of work, can't pay your bills.

Third party collectors have no power & no authority. You do not have to pay them a dime! Send a certified letter (return receipt requested) asking for validation including the card holder agreement. They will not have this. A print screen of a billing statement page is all they can come up with. Never talk to them on the phone. I looked up a five year history of court cases in my state involving a large national collection agency. They only win when they get a default judgement. In my state they have to serve you in the court district in which you live.

You are right Will G I reasearched cases in my state also and from time to time looked in on various cases and sadly the default judgment rate is very high when dealing with 3rd party debt collection.
I hope folks would understand that if you are served by the COURT.. It is in your best intrest to APPEAR
You have nothing to lose and if you have a good consumer lawyer as representation you more than
likely have the issue closed.