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More people than ever are being sued, harassed, and chased down for debt they may or may not owe. Thanks to a recent in-depth investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, we now know why consumer complaints against debt buyers have skyrocketed.
For those who may be new to the lingo, “debt buyers” are a fairly new breed within the debt collection world. Debt buyers purchase debt from banks and creditors for pennies on the dollar. Once the debt is purchased, they have the right to collect and to file collection lawsuits in state court.
Too often, these lawsuits are filed with no evidence that the debt buyer is suing the right person, for the right amount, or that the debts haven't expired. In 1999, the top debt buyers filed fewer than 130 lawsuits against Oregon consumers. Last year, those same firms filed more than 7,200 such lawsuits – an increase of more than 5400%.
Here’s
some of what the FTC found after reviewing nearly 90 million consumer accounts:
So let’s recap: Major banks and creditors are selling debts with incomplete account information to debt buyers who then file lawsuits in state courts, often winning automatic judgments that give them the ability to garnish wages and reach into consumer bank accounts.
It’s time to clean up this mess and provide Oregon consumers with the protections they deserve.
EFO is working with lawmakers to introduce and pass the Consumer Credit Fairness Act during Oregon’s 2013 legislative session. The Act would require debt buyers to provide sufficient evidence regarding the validity and accuracy of their claims before filing lawsuits and obtaining judgments, including:
Unfortunately, lawsuits based on limited and/or inaccurate information have become too common for the debt buying industry. Added accountability will benefit consumers, reduce the burden on our courts, and preserve the legal framework for consumer creditors.