General Discussion

phantom power

(25,966 posts) Tue May 15, 2012, 10:17 AM May 2012

Brewer signs bill to help debt collectors

As ever, I hope Napolitano really loves the position she took heading up DHS, because she was apparently the last finger in the dike of right wing crazy down here.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer ... signed House Bill 2664 into law today. The measure allows collection agencies to use final billing statements as a basis to show amounts owed and interest rates as they seek court judgments and wage garnishments.

The bill was favored by debt collectors, which buy delinquent accounts from banks and credit card companies for pennies on the dollar, but receive only minimal information from those sources. It can be difficult and expensive for the collection companies to get additional information on the defaulting consumers and business owners.

Debt collectors’ business model depends on them collecting money from the account holders whose information they buy. The new state law makes it easier on them if they can obtain final billing statements from the banks and credit card issuers.

Consumer attorneys and Democrats opposed the bill, worrying about the accuracy of credit card statements and fees.

http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2012/05/14/brewer-signs-bill-to-help-debt.html

8 replies

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Highlight:

Brewer signs bill to help debt collectors (Original Post) phantom power May 2012 OP

Why not a bill limiting them to collecting only what they paid for the bill? Vincardog May 2012 #1

Oh, you Democrats! gratuitous May 2012 #2

Create a huge debtor underclass... ananda May 2012 #3

Yeah, put 'em in for-profit prisons. Bake May 2012 #5

IIRC, when the Mob does this it is called a shakedown hifiguy May 2012 #4

We used to call it evil when organized crime bought the courts and politicians. phantom power May 2012 #6

Oh, well, if it's their business model then, fine. SARCASM ashling May 2012 #7

Proof of Debt is the lynchpin for all collection services ProgressiveProfessor May 2012 #8

Vincardog

(20,234 posts)

1. Why not a bill limiting them to collecting only what they paid for the bill?

Reply to phantom power (Original post)

Tue May 15, 2012, 11:38 AM

May 2012

gratuitous

(82,849 posts)

2. Oh, you Democrats!

Reply to phantom power (Original post)

Tue May 15, 2012, 11:41 AM

May 2012

Why in the world would anyone not provide accurate information about a debt owed? The free market will take care of this, and in the meantime, you owe whatever the collection agency says you owe. Just hand over your money and nobody gets hurt. It's the same principle as any other robbery.

ananda

(28,874 posts)

3. Create a huge debtor underclass...

Reply to phantom power (Original post)

Tue May 15, 2012, 11:48 AM

May 2012

And then criminalize them.

Huge money for some, though....

Bake

(21,977 posts)

5. Yeah, put 'em in for-profit prisons.

Reply to ananda (Reply #3)

Tue May 15, 2012, 12:24 PM

May 2012

Make 'em do slave labor to profit the corp-run prison.

This country SUCKS. And Arizona SUCKS more than just about any other state. I hope Brewer contracts a flesh-eating bacterial disease. Of course, the bacteria might starve to death ...

Bake

hifiguy

(33,688 posts)

4. IIRC, when the Mob does this it is called a shakedown

Reply to phantom power (Original post)

Tue May 15, 2012, 12:00 PM

May 2012

and illegal. Better to be in the credit card business than the Mob, I guess. The Mob doesn't have the law backing it up.

phantom power

(25,966 posts)

6. We used to call it evil when organized crime bought the courts and politicians.

Reply to hifiguy (Reply #4)

Tue May 15, 2012, 01:16 PM

May 2012

Now we call it a business model. Or a super-PAC.

ashling

(25,771 posts)

7. Oh, well, if it's their business model then, fine. SARCASM

Reply to phantom power (Original post)

Tue May 15, 2012, 01:34 PM

May 2012

Debt collectors’ business model depends on them collecting money from the account holders whose information they buy. The new state law makes it easier on them if they can obtain final billing statements from the banks and credit card issuers.

And the mafia has a business model that says you pay what they say or the break your kneecaps. I'm sure Brewer would be ok with that, too.

Some "business models" are not only unethical, they are criminal.

ProgressiveProfessor

(22,144 posts)

8. Proof of Debt is the lynchpin for all collection services

Reply to phantom power (Original post)

Tue May 15, 2012, 05:04 PM

May 2012

I got a call recently about my wife's delinquent credit card bill. Mind you that she passed away some time ago. I let this guy go on for a while, and then asked him to send me POD via certified mail, saying I would pay any legitimate past due bill. Note that the bills he claimed were after she died on an account we never had.

Surprisingly something came in the mail late last week. There are ways I can recover from these guys. I need enough data from them to properly ID them. I am going to enjoy this.

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