debt collectors

When Betty Perez bought new bedroom furniture for her children earlier this year, she never dreamed that being a few days late on her payments would result in a collection agency barricading her front door and threatening to call the police. Perez is just one of an untold numbers of consumers,...

A debt collection agency has been slapped with a near-record fine by the Federal Trade Commission for repeatedly trying to collect from the wrong people, collecting the wrong amounts, using abusive language and other unlawful practices. Allied Interstate, Inc., a Minnesota-based corporation with...

If harassing calls from debt collectors are keeping you from answering the phone -- or stressing you out -- you're not alone. Amid the tough economy, debt collection activity has intensified, with some debt collectors engaging in unfair, abusive or illegal practices. The Federal Trade Commission...

With so many Americans in dire financial straits these days, it's no wonder that advertisers of "settle your debt" services for debt management have found an eager audience. These companies promise to slash your debt by thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars. But is it too good to be true?...

We told you about the debt collection hassles endured by people shouldering a large amount of credit-card debt. Then we invited debt collectors to tell their side of the story. Both sides had a lot to say about just what goes on in the debt collection industry, but one assertion -- by the head of a...

Not long ago, we shared the experiences of several Americans who had climbed their way out of deep debts. Their tales touched a nerve with readers who shared their own harrowing stories of their experiences with debt collectors. Some of these agents treated their debtors professionally; others,...

With more than $40,000 in credit card debt and more than 20 credit cards to her name, Diana Ryan didn't think she had a problem -- even though her husband had no idea just how many pieces of plastic she had tucked in her wallet. "It sounds cliche," Ryan says, "but I thought I could stop at any...

Florida law firm Morgan and Morgan filed a first-of-its-kind lawsuit alleging that a company's collection calls were so frequent and harassing that they contributed to a person's death because they increased Stanley McLeod's blood pressure and stress levels. McLeod's debt problems stemmed from...

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo (pictured at right) has sued Benning-Smith Group, a debt collection agency operating under a number of different names, accusing the company of more than 1,000 violations of New York and federal law in his state alone. From the press release announcing the...

Forget knives and handguns, slingshots and the atom bomb; the world's most dangerous weapon is still the human libido. As far back as Homer's Odyssey and the Old Testament, lust was the go-to weapon when arrows and armies failed. Even today, Sirens can still draw men to wreck their boats and...