STOP FIGHTING BY YOURSELF, GET THE GOVERNMENT ON YOUR SIDE

Sometimes I know you feel like you are David and the debt collector is Goliath.  They have all the resources and the time to call and mail and now even text and harass you.  They have account managers to call and harass you.  They have attorneys to sue you.  And you have no one on your side.  Unfortunately the truth is you are pretty much on your own when it comes to your own individual debt.  But, you do have arrows you can shoot.  Individually, your arrows won't kill the proverbial Goliath, but bundled together with lots of individual arrows Goliath doesn't stand a chance.  There are two government agencies that are constantly looking to bring down improperly acting debt collectors; the Federal Trade Commission (the FTC) and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).  The FTC has been around since 1914 and has a specific division, the Bureau of Consumer Protection, dedicated to protecting consumers from illegal and unscrupulous activity.  The CFPB is a brand new independent government agency formed after the 2008 financial meltdown and activated on July 21, 2011.  This agency is specifically designed to regulate and investigate financial matters, including debt collection.  When either of these agencies receive multiple complaints about a single debt collection company, they aggressively investigate and if possible, take punitive action resulting in penalties, fines and shut down orders.  

To file a complaint with the FTC go to:    

https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/#&panel1-8

To file a complaint with the CFPB go to:

http://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/


If you are interested, here is some of their latest work:

https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/press-releases/2015/01/ftc-sues-stop-texas-debt-collector-coercing-consumers-falsely

http://www.consumerfinance.gov/newsroom/cfpb-monthly-complaint-snapshot-examines-debt-collection-complaints/


So while you may be alone, it can't hurt to spend a few minutes and file a complaint with both of these huge government agencies.  The result may be very satisfying!