FTC Statistics on Debt Collection
The Federal Trade Commission’s (“FTC”) 2010 Annual Report indicates that the FTC received 88,190 complaints about third-party debt collectors in 2009, which is more complaints than any other specific industry it has jurisdiction over.
The number of complaints the FTC received for specific violations of the Federal Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) in 2009:
- Calling repeatedly or continuously: 41,028
- Using obscene, profane, or otherwise abusive language: 14,321
- Calling before 8:00 a.m., after 9:00 p.m., or at other times that the collectors knew or should have known were inconvenient to the consumer: 9,684
- Using or threatening to use violence if consumers failed to pay: 2,517
- Attempting to collect either a debt the consumer does not owe at all or a debt larger than what the consumer actually owes: 27,420
- Falsely threatening a lawsuit or some other action that they could not or did not intend to take: 18,438
- Falsely threatening arrest or seizure of property: 11,505
- Calling a consumer at work when the collector knows or has reason to know that the consumer’s employer prohibits such contacts related to calls to consumers at work: 11,973
- Illegally disclosing a purported debt to a third party: 10,758
- Failing to provide the required written Consumer Notice: 22,708
- Failing to verify disputed debts:10,158
- Ignoring “cease communication” notices: 7,411
Full Text of the Federal Trade Commission Annual Report 2010: Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
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