By LYNEKA LITTLE
June 13, 2011
Seeking to catch up with changing technology, the nation’s debt collectors want the laws changed to allow them to reach out and touch delinquents by e-mail, cell phone and text messages
On Monday, the Association of Credit and Collections Professionals introduced a blueprint for modernizing debt collections. Their goal: to increase collections by finding more ways to contact their targets.
The trade group wants to change laws including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which were written before the age of robo-dialers, texts, Facebook and wide use of cell phones. Collectors use these methods to contact consumers now, but they may open themselves up to fines and sanctions under current laws.
“It seems like they are looking for looser laws when they refuse to adhere to the ones that are in place now,” ays Billy Howard, head of the consumer protection department for law firm Morgan & Morgan. “The law’s real simple and should it remain the same: do not harass people and/or their families or friends.”
