audio
"When I see you, I'm gonna f*** you up," says debt collector "Mickey," pictured at left, on the answering machine of a guy who bounced a check. WTSP obtained the messages, some of the worst debt collector recordings I've ever heard, and you can
listen to them here.
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leaks
An anonymous tipster sent us
AOL's 153 page internal collections guidebook for prying money out of delinquent account holders. The guide shows that AOL is following some of the debt industry's most egregious collection tactics by encouraging agents to deceive and lie to customers. After the jump we present AOL's scare tactics, tricks to negotiating a substantial discount, and the full collections guide.
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debt
Consumers have filed over 69,000 complaints against scummy
debt collectors for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, prompting the FTC to
rush to our collective defense by taking action against three debt collectors who showed a "culture of harassing the debtors from which they collect." Two debt collectors settled and one went to court. Still, when you receive over 69,000 complaints—and these are from the people who know to complain to the FTC—it's reasonable to assume that more than three collectors encourage a culture of harassment. More harrowing revelations from the FTC's annual report to Congress, after the jump.
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consumerist kit
Might as well get into it. If I don't respond to your comment, that may be because you asked about criminal law, intellectual property, or something that does not fall within the (my) definition of consumer law. I will save those for another day. (For the questions about checking receipts, I think
these posts had some pretty good answers.)
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Consumerist
confused vigilantes
debt collectors
