One of the most prevalent problems with debt collection is harassing communications from debt collectors that violate consumers’ privacy and can cause serious harm to individuals and their families. In the Consumer Bureau’s survey on debt collection experiences, 42% of consumers who had been contacted by a collector in the past year reported that they had asked the collector to stop contacting them. More than a third of consumers were called four or more times a week and nearly one in five were contacted eight or more times a week.
Even worse, 75% of consumers who asked to stop receiving calls reported that creditors and debt collectors did not comply. Continued harassing phone calls from debt collectors are intended to push consumers to pay debts just to stop the harassment. And this is exactly the type of behavior the FDCPA is designed to prevent. Consumers have too often used money they needed for rent, housing or medical attention to pay debt collectors, even for debts they do not owe, just to stop the harassment.