USA Today Highlights Increasing Debt Collection Complaints

National paper USA Today is running an article today detailing the increase in consumer complaints against debt collectors. The piece notes that complaints have gone up at Better Business Bureaus and the Federal Trade Commission.

The article by Kathy Chu frames the issue in the context of the current economy, noting that in an environment where more people are in more debt and have less income to pay off the debt, collectors have grown increasingly aggressive. There is also mention of banks involving third-party collectors at earlier stages than is typical.

Chu also notes that individual states’ attorneys general are ramping up their enforcement actions against collection agencies. The lead law enforcers in New York, California and Minnesota are highlighted for their recent actions against debt collection agencies.

Read the full article at www.usatoday.com/money/perfi/credit/2008-05-18-debt-collectors_N.htm.