We’ve often discussed the trend of debt collection agencies using taxpayer-funded court systems as a primary tool in their debt collection arsenal. Thankfully, states are catching on and are putting a halt to the practice. The Maryland Commissioner of Financial Regulation recently announced that the state had settled with Worldwide Asset Management and its affiliated companies for alleged violations of the Maryland Collection Agency Licensing Act, the Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act, the Maryland Rules of Civil Procedure, and the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Worldwide Asset did not admit to any wrongdoing, but agreed to pay $85,000.

According to Deputy Commissioner Mark Kaufman, “As collection agencies have turned to litigation as a core business strategy and filed tens of thousands of suits statewide, we have seen significant problems with the practices that are employed. Consumers often fail to contest these lawsuits or are unaware of their rights, so regulatory oversight of litigation-related debt collection activities is an important protection.”

Kudos to Maryland for working to keep debt collection agencies in line.