macumber

April 20, 2011 at 7:13am

People don't conduct themselves over the phone, FB, email ... like they would face-to-face. Debt collectors can be ruthless and I think it is an inherently ugly business that is only going to attract and retain a certain kind of talent pool. Some folks are deadbeats, others are victims of circumstance. What seems to be lacking across the board is civility. I know it isn't supposed to be possible to employ because "justice is blind" but I think *everything* in this world has to be approached on a case-by-case basis. In this case the collector should be reprimanded, because regardless of whether this person was a victim or a deadbeat - it does not entitle the debt collector to humiliate, denigrate, crush the spirit of someone who isn't paying up.

szore

April 19, 2011 at 1:24pm

I understand about debt and paying it back Sometimes though life throws you a curve ball, like when politicians (both sides) destroy the economy and leave you without a job, virtually homeless, about 100K in debt that can never be paid back or cleared in bankruptcy. Throw in 2 small children, and then people start to say "YOU CANNOT GET BLOOD OUT OF A STONE". Then add in obnoxious debt collectors that call you 30 times a day... etc.  At some point some people realize they are worth more dead than alive, and the quality of there lives are destroyed. At that point, most people would say 'SCREW SOCIETY" and I don't give a DAMN about the money I owe to some creep chargingt 20% interest.

 

 

Just Sayin'

aarcane

April 19, 2011 at 1:02pm

1) she could have just blocked them on facebook..

2) my wife was a debt collector for a day.  she had the guy ready to pay, had his electronic check out and everything..  and the trainer said "You have to make him feel like crap now, ask him these highly offensive questions", and being her first day, she did..  they lost money because of that event, and a potentially awsome debt collector.

ShyLinuxGuy

April 19, 2011 at 8:37am

One of my aunts put herself through college as a debt collector...she told me about how very few people actually responded and when they did, they chewed her head off. I guess collecting debts is hard, but if someone isn't responding after getting calls and letters, chances are they won't respond to anything else and it's best to give up and move on to someone who actually wants to resolve their situation. Calling 20x a day and announcing that you owe a debt all over FB isn't a proactive way to get people to pay. It seemed to work the other way around with this lady's case.

BTW why didn't the finance company repossess the car if she was late on payments?

ShyLinuxGuy

April 19, 2011 at 8:38am

double post

Neufeldt2002

April 19, 2011 at 8:21am

As I agree that some debt collectors do go to far, I also believe that they should not go after you in a public setting. In private is acceptable. Since we are talking facebook here, PLEASE make publish to facebook opt-in, not opt-out.

someuid

April 19, 2011 at 8:10am

Well, there is little to go on here, but if you own debts, and you're avoiding the collectors, they should have the freedom to turn to a social network after x number of months in an attempt to collect.

If you don't like it, pay your freakin' debts, work out a deal, or return the possession you aren't paying for.