According to the February 8, 2012 Spokesman-Review, the tough economy and staggering costs of health care have led to a boom in the debt collection industry, and consumers  in Washington State filed 1,577 complaints with the state Attorney General’s office last year.

The debt collection industry claims that it it is a multimillion dollar industry that creates jobs and donates to charity.

But there is another side to that story.

Just ask the person who works swing shift how they feel about the debt collection industry when they get harassing calls at 5am from a collection agency.

Ask the person who was the victim of identity theft how they feel when a debt buyer calls their boss and tells that person’s boss that they owe money, when it is simply not true.

Ask the grieving person how they feel about getting calls from debt collectors hoping to talk them into paying the debts of dead family members they are not legally responsible to pay.

I hear a lot of sad stories about what debt collectors have done to people.

I don’t hear any news of the debt collection industry finding a cure for cancer, developing new technology, manufacturing useful products, or creating works of art that uplift our culture.

The collection industry often resorts to some of the worst tactics to make a buck off the people who can least afford it.  It isn’t fair, it isn’t positive, and sometimes, collection agencies break the law.

The article doesn’t mention the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Washington state Collection Agency Act, or the Consumer Protection Act — laws that protect consumers from the abuses of the debt collection industry.

Tragically, a lot of people don’t know about those laws and don’t know their consumer rights.  That’s why so many default judgments are entered against consumers, and why some people get so worn down by collection agencies that they pay, even if they don’t owe the debt.

Don’t be a statistic.  If a debt collector is harassing you or you get sued by one, contact a consumer protection lawyer right away.

Life is becoming more and more like “The Real World” as our tough economy forces people to bunk in to save money.  According to this article in the Wall Street Journal, 30% of adults are living with roommates to save money — and this includes some adults who are married and not in school.

If you’re in Generation X or Y, this should come as no surprise.  Forty years ago, a young couple in their twenties could buy a house, go to school, and emerge from those investments ready to build their little American Dream on that foundation.

Today, young people emerge from school with tens of thousands in student loans, thousands in credit card debt, and to go where the jobs are, find themselves living in places where the rent is just too high to live alone.  Much of this is not a “failure of personal responsibility,” it is what folks often have to do to buy their way into “the 1%.”

They start out life digging their way out of a hole.

Now throw in debt collectors.  Debt collectors can be downright ruthless when they are looking for someone.  Only under very narrow circumstances is a debt collector permitted to contact third parties about an alleged debt. There is no reason why your roommates, grandparents, babysitter, and 15 cats should have to talk to debt collectors when your credit cards are none of their darned business.  (Just kidding about the 15 cats.  I don’t deal with that kind of problem.)

Debt collectors screaming at Grandpa?  Telling your eight-year-old that mommy could go to jail? Calling your supervisor at work?

Not cool. Call a lawyer to discuss your situation and work to stop debt collectors.

Are beautiful people less likely to pay their debts? 11/16/2011

I stumbled across this August 25, 2011 article from the Economist discussing the studies that show that more attractive people statistically earn more and are more likely to get a loan approved.  They may be less likely to repay a loan, however.  Read this with a grain of salt.