FTC Meeting to Discuss Collection Litigation and Arbitration
A roundtable discussion next week in Chicago will explore the regulation of lawsuits and arbitration hearings used by ARM firms and banks to collect from consumers.
A meeting next week to discuss legal matters important to the accounts receivable management industry has been in the works for months. But recent news may alter the course of the conversation.
The Federal Trade Commission will host a roundtable to discuss debt collection and arbitration practices Aug. 5 and 6 at the Thorne Auditorium, Northwestern School of Law, in Chicago.
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The roundtable follows up on the FTC’s February 2009 report Collecting Consumer Debts: The Challenges of Change – A Workshop Report, which recommended that the debt collection regulatory system in the U.S. should be reformed and modernized ("FTC Proposes Significant Changes to FDCPA in Workshop Report," Feb. 27). The report also announced a series of regional roundtables to further discuss debt collection litigation and arbitration, next week’s meeting being the first.
The roundtable will include representatives from the collection industry, government officials, judicial system representatives, consumer advocates, academicians and other stakeholders.
On the first day, the roundtable will cover litigation topics including service of process, consumer default rates, time-barred debts, evidentiary requirements, and burdens in collection actions and post-judgment issues.
The second day will cover arbitration topics including the role of consumer choice, consumer arbitration codes and protocols, perceptions of bias, transparency of results and post-decision issues.
One of the biggest issues that needs to be addressed during the roundtable, according to Bob Markoff, president of the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys (NARCA), Washington, D.C., is the subject of frivolous litigation.
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Comments
Comment from Rodney Meeks on July 28, 2009 at 11:11AM EST
Frivolous lawsuits are a major problem. No longer are people looking for ways to pay their debts, but instead looking for ways to get out of paying their debts. Everyone plays apart in consumer education. The consumer attorney needs to be regulated just as much as the creditor and the 3rd party collector. I hope these round table discussions help our regulators understand the seriousness of this problem.
Comment from Agency Owner on July 28, 2009 at 12:39PM EST
Its about time to regulate consumer attporneys. They are extorting settlements from legitimate agencies by sueing in quantity.
Comment from sif2pif on July 28, 2009 at 8:22PM EST
If the FDCPA does not get overhauled guess what, the extortion will continue. The FDCPA is wide open for interpretation which means that if judges continue to make decisions that are in direct conflict with the FDCPA the industry and ultimately the consumer is going to suffer. COLLECTORS! GET SMART....DONT BE RUDE TO DEBTORS...IF THEY WANT TO PAY JUST ACCEPT WHAT THEY CAN PAY....BETTER DAYS ARE COMING! IF THEY DONT WANT TO PAY JUST GIVE THEM YOUR PHONE NUMBER AND WISH THEM A GREAT DAY! THERE ARE PLENTY OF DEBTOR THAT WANT TO PAY, GO LISTEN AND TALK TO THEM! THEY REALLY DO WANT TO PAY SO MAKE A WAY!
Comment from DONALD DALY on July 28, 2009 at 9:25PM EST
I believe the consumer has had it going their way now since at least 1977. I am excluding those outfits and their actions that even this industry would rather see in jail. Everything that has been passed into law since 1977 is directed to creating hoops for the A/R industry while assisting the consumer in avoiding payment of debt. I would like to see more attention pointed at consumer education, responsibilty and common sense. Why pass impossible laws that handcuff an industry? Of course the credit grantor has got to know that they have a job to lend responsibly. Bottom line is this, there are enough laws on the books now but they all point to what the A/R industry has to do now while the consumer sits back and enjoys the show. I have often wondered if the A/R industry just gave up and shut down where would this country end up?
Comment from ping on July 28, 2009 at 10:07PM EST
It's one thing if the Original creditor is involved.
But bulk filings by junk debt buyers; without evidentary support, sewer service, filing complaints on time barred debts andseeking judgments from awards given by a "National Arbitration Forum" which is owned by a collector is ok?
There's far more reason to regulate collection attorneys than consumer advocates.
consumers wouldn't need the FDCPA or an attorney if CA's would follow the laws.
Comment from Anonymous on July 29, 2009 at 11:38AM EST
Corporate attorney's love to talk about frivolous lawsuits but can't ever produce them when asked. It's nothing but propaganda and brainwashing of the public. Judges can throw out frivolous lawsuits and quite honestly few ordinary people can afford to file them anyway.
Comment from JAM on July 29, 2009 at 12:01PM EST
And now...a new regulatory body to deal with rather than the FTC (Obama's new consumer protection agency that will ultimately interpret and enforce violations) is on the verge of birth. Recent comments by the people that head up this agency tell the real story of the ARM future. "It will be our mission to vigorously enforce violations of the act" This means.....get ready for it to get even worse.
Comment from MAJ on July 29, 2009 at 12:03PM EST
"consumers wouldn't need the FDCPA or an attorney if CA's would follow the laws"
Or...at least tell their clients who are placing this type of debt that it will not be worked if it cannot legally be collected.
What kind of hairbrains at the debt buyer level continue to purchase this crap...and then try to collect on it.
Comment from Anonymous on August 7, 2009 at 9:39AM EST
Debtors used to try to find a way to pay their debts. Over the last 10 years they've tried to finds a way to avoid paying their debts. Now, with consumer attorneys who are the credit & collection industry's version of ambulance chasers, debtors are using their debt to try and MAKE money via frivilous lawsuits. Anyone who doesn't see this is kidding themselves.
Comment from JASON CASH on August 7, 2009 at 11:12AM EST
To take Rodney Meeks comments a step further, not only have debtors gone from wanting to pay their debts to attempting to avoid their debts but now, with the advent of the collection industry's equivalent of ambulance chasers masquerading as 'consumer advocacy" attorneys, debtors are actually trying to MAKE money off their indebtedness. One would have to be totally blind to this trend not to see it. Let's start holding these suit sharks to the same standard as credit & collection attorneys.