In the wake of a report by the National Association of Attorneys General that listed debt collection as the number one consumer complaint, the debt collection industry association, The Association of Credit and Collection Professionals (ACA) proffered two remedies to combat debt collector abuses.
A press release issued by the organization noted that ACA International’s board voted to “explore the development of a national debt collection dispute resolution program that would seek to resolve complaints consumers have against debt collectors in a timely, cost-effective and unbiased manner.”
The organization is also engaging in “further discussion on and research the concept of creating a national debt collector registry. In theory, the registry would require every individual debt collector as defined by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or applicable state law to be registered and pass an examination based on critical job benchmarks. Also, the registry would increase accountability by enabling industry employers to track complaints filed against individual collectors.”
It seems apparent that both moves are preemptive actions designed to head off further debt collection industry regulation by the federal government, namely through the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Such self-regulatory organizations are a bit like the fox guarding the henhouse.
While a national debt collector registry would be a step in the right direction, we’re leery of a binding dispute resolution program. From our extensive experience in vehicle lemon law complaints, we’ve seen that state-run arbitration boards give auto manufacturers, with their teams of legal experts, an unfair advantage over self-represented consumers. It’s not unreasonable to assume that consumers who have been victimized by debt collection agencies would find themselves in a similar situation. As it stands, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act provides consumers with remedies, in that debt collectors who violate the FDCPA can be required to pay fines of $1,000 for each violation, and pay the consumer’s attorney fees.
