The Debt Buying Industry and Changes in Collection of Consumer Debts

The Debt Buying Industry and Changes in Collection of Consumer Debts PDF Author: Paul B. Davis
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781626183957
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
In a 2009 study of the debt collection industry, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concluded that the "most significant change in the debt collection business in recent years has been the advent and growth of debt buying." "Debt buying" refers to the sale of debt by creditors or other debt owners to buyers that then attempt to collect the debt or sell it to other buyers. Debt buying can reduce the losses that creditors incur in providing credit, thereby allowing creditors to provide more credit at lower prices. Debt buying, however, also many raise significant consumer protection concerns. The FTC receives more consumer complaints about debt collectors, including debt buyers, than about any other single industry. Many of these complaints appear to have their origins in the quantity and quality of information that collectors have about debts. This book provides an overview of the debt buying market and the process of buying and selling debt; and the nature and extent of the relationship between the practice of debt buying and the types of information that the FTC has found can occur when debt collectors seek to recover and verify debts.

The Debt Buying Industry and Changes in Collection of Consumer Debts

The Debt Buying Industry and Changes in Collection of Consumer Debts PDF Author: Paul B. Davis
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781626183957
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 214

Get Book

Book Description
In a 2009 study of the debt collection industry, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) concluded that the "most significant change in the debt collection business in recent years has been the advent and growth of debt buying." "Debt buying" refers to the sale of debt by creditors or other debt owners to buyers that then attempt to collect the debt or sell it to other buyers. Debt buying can reduce the losses that creditors incur in providing credit, thereby allowing creditors to provide more credit at lower prices. Debt buying, however, also many raise significant consumer protection concerns. The FTC receives more consumer complaints about debt collectors, including debt buyers, than about any other single industry. Many of these complaints appear to have their origins in the quantity and quality of information that collectors have about debts. This book provides an overview of the debt buying market and the process of buying and selling debt; and the nature and extent of the relationship between the practice of debt buying and the types of information that the FTC has found can occur when debt collectors seek to recover and verify debts.

The Structure and Practices of the Debt Buying Industry

The Structure and Practices of the Debt Buying Industry PDF Author: Federal Trade Commission
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 9781507524565
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
In a 2009 study of the debt collection industry, the Commission concluded that the “most significant change in the debt collection business in recent years has been the advent and growth of debt buying.” “Debt buying” refers to the sale of debt by creditors or other debt owners to buyers that then attempt to collect the debt or sell it to other buyers. Debt buying can reduce the losses that creditors incur in providing credit, thereby allowing creditors to provide more credit at lower prices. Debt buying, however, also may raise significant consumer protection concerns.The FTC receives more consumer complaints about debt collectors, including debt buyers, than about any other single industry. Many of these complaints appear to have their origins in the quantity and quality of information that collectors have about debts. In its 2009 study, the Commission expressed concern that debt collectors, including debt buyers, may have insufficient or inaccurate information when they collect on debts, which may result in collectors seeking to recover from the wrong consumer or recover the wrong amount.The FTC initiated this debt buyer study in late 2009 for two main purposes. First, the FTC sought to obtain a better understanding of the debt buying market and the process of buying and selling debt. Second, the Commission wanted to explore the nature and extent of the relationship, if any, between the practice of debt buying and the types of information problems that the FTC has found can occur when debt collectors seek to recover and verify debts.Many stakeholders recognize the concerns that have been raised about debt buying, including consumer groups, members of Congress, federal and state regulatory and enforcement agencies, and the debt buyer industry itself. Indeed, the debt buyer industry has launched a self-regulatory effort to address some of these concerns, and the FTC is encouraged by that effort. This study of debt buyers is the first large-scale empirical assessment of the debt buying sector of the collection industry. The FTC hopes that its findings contribute to a greater understanding of debt buying, enhance ongoing reform efforts, and prompt further study of the industry. To conduct its study, the Commission obtained information about debts and debt buying practices from nine of the largest debt buyers that collectively bought 76.1% of the debt sold in 2008, with six of these debt buyers providing the information the Commission used in most of its analysis. The FTC also considered its prior enforcement and policy work related to debt collection, as well as available research concerning debt buying. The study focused on large debt buyers because they account for most of the debt purchased; it did not address the practices of smaller debt buyers that are a frequent source of consumer protection concerns, a limitation that must be considered in evaluating the study's findings. The Commission acquired and analyzed an unprecedented amount of data from the studied debt buyers, which submitted data on more than 5,000 portfolios, containing nearly 90 million consumer accounts, purchased during the three-year study period. These accounts had a face value of $143 billion, and the debt buyers spent nearly $6.5 billion to acquire them. Most portfolios for which debt buyers submitted data were credit card debt, with such debt accounting for 62% of all portfolios and 71% of the total amount that the buyers spent to acquire debts. In addition to these data, the debt buyers provided copies of many purchase and sale agreements between themselves and sellers of debts. The debt buyers also submitted narrative responses to questions concerning their companies and their practices, as well as the debt buying industry. The key findings of the study are as follows:

Shining a Light on the Consumer Debt Industry

Shining a Light on the Consumer Debt Industry PDF Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Collecting of accounts
Languages : en
Pages : 54

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Book Description


Bad Paper

Bad Paper PDF Author: Jake Halpern
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
ISBN: 0374711240
Category : True Crime
Languages : en
Pages : 257

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Book Description
The Federal Trade Commission receives more complaints about rogue debt collecting than about any activity besides identity theft. Dramatically and entertainingly, Bad Paper reveals why. It tells the story of Aaron Siegel, a former banking executive, and Brandon Wilson, a former armed robber, who become partners and go in quest of "paper"—the uncollected debts that are sold off by banks for pennies on the dollar. As Aaron and Brandon learn, the world of consumer debt collection is an unregulated shadowland where operators often make unwarranted threats and even collect debts that are not theirs. Introducing an unforgettable cast of strivers and rogues, Jake Halpern chronicles their lives as they manage high-pressure call centers, hunt for paper in Las Vegas casinos, and meet in parked cars to sell the social security numbers and account information of unsuspecting consumers. He also tracks a "package" of debt that is stolen by unscrupulous collectors, leading to a dramatic showdown with guns in a Buffalo corner store. Along the way, he reveals the human cost of a system that compounds the troubles of hardworking Americans and permits banks to ignore their former customers. The result is a vital exposé that is also a bravura feat of storytelling.

Repairing a Broken System

Repairing a Broken System PDF Author: Jon Leibowitz
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437936350
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 106

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Book Description
Creditors and collectors seek to recover consumer debts through the use of litigation and arbitration. But, neither litigation nor arbitration currently provides adequate protection for consumers. The system for resolving disputes about consumer debts is broken. To fix the system, federal and state governments, the debt collection industry, and other stakeholders should make a variety of significant reforms in litigation and arbitration so that the system is both efficient and fair. Contents of this report: Introduction; Litigation and Arbitration Proceedings; Conclusion. Appendices: Debt Collection Roundtable (DCR) Panelists; Contributors to DCR; Agendas for DCR; DCR Public Comments; Sample State Debt Collection Checklists. Illustrations.

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act PDF Author: Sven De Boer
Publisher: Nova Science Publishers
ISBN: 9781628081169
Category : Collecting of accounts
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The recent fiscal crisis and recession have accentuated debt collection issues, prompted federal regulatory and enforcement activities regarding the debt collection industry, and motivated assessments of the effectiveness of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the two main agencies charged with regulating and/or enforcing the FDCPA, have identified debt buying, the use of litigation as a collection strategy, and the impact of current technology on the debt collection industry as three major developments that did not exist when the FDCPA was enacted in 1977. They have conducted analyses of consumer complaints about FDCPA violations and studies and workshops to evaluate the debt-buying industry and the impact of technological developments such as social media, email, mobile phones, etc., on how debt collectors communicate with consumers and find information about consumer debts. At present, about 30 million Americans, nearly 10% of the population, are subject to debt collection for amounts averaging $1,500 per person, according to the CFPB. This book provides an overview and analysis of the Fair Debt Collection Practices and Act with a focus on current issues and legislative proposals.

Credit Cards

Credit Cards PDF Author: Alicia Puente Cackley
Publisher: DIANE Publishing
ISBN: 1437924573
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 66

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Book Description
Approx. 6.6% of credit cards (CC) were 30 or more days past due in the first qtr. of 2009 -- the highest rate in 18 years. To recover delinquent debt, CC issuers may use their own collection dept., outside collection agencies, collection law firms, or sell the debt. This report examined: (1) fed. and state consumer protections and enforcement respon. related to CC debt collection; (2) the practices involved in collecting and selling delinquent CC debt; and (3) issues that may exist related to some of these practices. To address these objectives, the author interviewed rep. from 6 large CC issuers, 6 third-party debt collection agencies, 6 debt buyers, two law firms, fed, and state agencies, and attorneys and organizations representing consumers and collectors. Illus.

Escaping the Chains of Debt

Escaping the Chains of Debt PDF Author: Seann L. Jackson
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1450003311
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 169

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Book Description
Have you had enough? Are you tired of being hounded by calls from creditors and debt collectors? Do you feel trapped and think there is no way out? Does bankruptcy seem inevitable? Are you embarrassed to talk to your friends and family? Do you need a way out? Over 12 years ago, Seann L. Jackson lived through the same fears, shame, and frustration that you face today, and has since moved from debt and poverty to enjoy the rewards of a credit score over 800! Escaping the Chains of Debt summarizes the hard-earned knowledge about debt and credit the he accumulated in his fight for financial freedom, explaining step by step what works and what doesn’t by offering you what he learned about:  Bankruptcy options  The Credit System and what you need to know to survive  How you can get out of debt without declaring bankruptcy &Rebuilding your credit  And Eliminating Debt Collectors from your life FOREVER! In Escaping the Chains of Debt, Mr. Jackson shares his experiences in the trenches of debt recovery so that you can change your life quickly and get you on the road to recovery.

Lived Economies of Default

Lived Economies of Default PDF Author: Joe Deville
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1134087713
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 231

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Book Description
Consumer credit borrowing – using credit cards, store cards and personal loans – is an important and routine part of many of our lives. But what happens when these everyday forms of borrowing go ‘bad’, when people start to default on their loans and when they cannot, or will not, repay? It is this poorly understood, controversial, but central part of both the consumer credit industry and the lived experiences of an increasing number of people that this book explores. Drawing on research from the interior of the debt collections industry, as well as debtors' own accounts and historical research into technologies of lending and collection, it examines precisely how this ever more sophisticated, globally connected market functions. It focuses on the highly intimate techniques used to try and recoup defaulting debts from borrowers, as well as on the collection industry’s relationship with lenders. Joe Deville follows a journey of default, from debtors’ borrowing practices, to the intrusion of collections technologies into their homes and everyday lives, to the collections organisation, to attempts by debtors to seek outside help. In the process he shows how to understand this particular market, we need to understand the central role played within it by emotion and affect. By opening up for scrutiny an area of the economy which is often hidden from view, this book makes a major contribution both to understanding the relationship between emotion and calculation in markets and the role of consumer credit in our societies and economies. This book will be of interest to students, teachers and researchers in a range of fields, including sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, economics and social psychology.

Complete Guide to Credit and Collection Law

Complete Guide to Credit and Collection Law PDF Author: Arthur Winston
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 728

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Book Description
This text gives advice to help credit managers steer clear of litigation, and serves as a guide through the ever-changing maze of credit and collection law. It provides coverage of all aspects of the Debt Collection Practices Act, Truth in Lending Act and other relevant legislation. It also contains explanations of legal terminology, guidelines, procedures, tactics and examples.