Debt Collectors and Social Media Sites

You know the call. At some stage in your life you’ve probably forgotten to pay a bill or have run short on cash and skipped a credit card payment. So, the collectors start calling. But as fewer people have landlines (about 27% of adults in America use only mobile phones) what’s a collector to do?

The debt collectors (there are 4,500 in the US) want lawmakers and regulators to revamp the way they do business and be permitted to more easily use social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to locate and communicate with debtors. Additionally they want lawmakers to get rid of obstacles so that they will be able to more easily use e-mail, cell phones, and text messages.

Mostly, the Association of Credit and Collections Professionals (ACA) want rules to more clearly explain how collectors can communicate and make use of electronic media. Existing rules and laws don’t address the way to properly use voicemail, text messaging, or cell phones.

The ACA also is looking to curb consumer complaints. A flood of complaints (some 140,000 recently) have been made about collection agencies. Some complaints were made about collectors who used social media in a deceiving way to gain access as well as harass some debtors. Some cases have even landed in court.

Changes to the way debt collectors operate are likely to be made soon as debt collectors are coming under the oversight of the new regulator, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Before, the industry was regulated by the Federal Trade Commission.