Good news, bad news for debt collectors Lingering economic woes mean The industry averages about 20 percent business is booming, but it's recovery on delinquent debt, Strauster harder to get people to pay up said. Several decades ago, it averaged 30 percent. By Wayne Parry Sometimes that amount is shared on a contingency basis with the business to ATLANTIC CITY, N.J.- These are the which a consumer owes money. Other best of times, and the worst of times, for times, a debt collection agency will buy America's debt collectors. debt from businesses at a discount and keep whatever it can pry from the debtor. . The prolonged economic turmoil has That part of the industry has grown alg- created more opportunity than ever for the profession, even while making it nificantly in recent years, collectors said. The most common consumer com- harder than ever to get folks to pay up. plaints against debt collectors involved A gathering of debt collectors in Atlan- the City this past week found many willing three big no-nog under federal low. call- to work out payment plans with debtors in ing a debtor repeatedly or constantly, misrepresenting the amount or status of a which payments of as little as $5 or $10 a debt; and failing to notify consumers of . month are acceptable. It's harder to collect their rights in writing. About half the complaints than ever because people are in genuine hardship." The way dealt with repeated cally said Harry Strausser III, collection from collectors. More than president of the Mid-Atlan- 20,000 people said debt cal- lectors falsely threatened to ile Collectors Association, agencies try to have them arrested or seize who has his own collection get money from their property, and more agency In Bloomsburg, Pa. than 17500 said collectors "With unemployment the people who used profanity or abusive way it is and the terrible have less of it is language on the phone. foreclosures, people are having a harder time mak- to get more Nearly 4.200 consumers ing ends meet. There's aggressive." sold a collector threatened them with violence. more potential business, The way collection agen- and we're having a tougher SERGEI LEMBERG, time trying to collect it." an attorney who represents cles try to get money from Also growing is the num- debtors people who have less of it is to get more aggressive ber of consumer com- said Sergei Lembery, a Con- plaints about debt collectors. The Federal necticut attorney who represents debtors Trade Commission says it receives more who feel harassed. "We get cases every complaints from consumers about debt day from people who have collection collectors than any other industry. Last agencies calling them six, seven, 10 times year, it received 140,036 such complaints, up from 119.609 in 2009. a day. My own mother doesn't call me three times a day" "They called mo three or four times a Collectors said hardball tactics, aside day, every day, asking all kinds of per- from being illegal, just don't work. sonal questions, like am I married, do I "Some agencies are into the Intimidat have custody of my kids, can my kids pay ing sido," said Jeff Kotula, a manager this bill?" Scott Tillman III, a 53-yearold with a Scranton, Pa, collection agency musician from Oroville, Callf, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. who trains others in acceptable tech- niques. "They try to scare people into pay- He said he was harassed over an auto ing. We don't do that. We try to explain to lease for a vehicle he returned to a dealer- ship 15 years ago. people we're helping them get their credit Businesses nationwide placed $150 bil- rating back.= llon worth of debt with collection agen- Yet collection agencies are quick to cles last year, Strausser said. Of that total, point out that unpaid debt is never truly agencies were able to collect about written off: Someone, somewhere, has to eat It. An Industry-sponsored study says $io billion. debt collectors " save the average U.S. There are 4,100 debt collection agen- household $354 a year in costs it other- cles In the United States, employing wise would have been charged if nearly 450,000 people, and the Industry businesses raised prices to cover losses expects to grow by as much as 26 percent instead of recovering it through a collect over the next three years. tion agency.The attached article titled "Good news, bad news for debt collectors," caused me to think of contract law issues. Imagine that Tom owes $10,000 on his credit cards, then loses his job and cannot keep up on his monthly payments. His $10,000 debt is due February 1, 2019. The employee of the collection agency told Tom on February 15, that if Tom paid $6,000 by February 20, the $4,000 would be written off. Which of the following is correct? a. Tom doesn't owe the $4,000, if he pays the $6,000 by February 20, 2019, since he accepted the offer. b. Tom doesn't owe the $4,000, if he pays the $6,000 by February 20, 2019, because of the present value of money. c. Tom owes the $4,000, even if he pays the $6,000 by February 20, 2019, because there is no genuineness of assent. d. Tom owes the $4,000, even if he pays the $6,000 by February 20, 2019, because Tom has not provided any new consideration. e. None of these