If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
https://pluralistic.net/2023/08/12/do-not-pay/#fair-debt-collection-practices-act
2/
America has fairly robust laws to protect debtors from sleazy debt-collection practices, notable the #FairDebtCollectionPracticesAct (#FDCPA), which has been on the books since 1978. The FDCPA puts strict limits on the conduct of debt collectors, and offers real remedies to debtors when they are abused.
But for FDPCA provisions to be honored, they must be understood. The people who collect these debts are almost entirely untrained.
3/
The people they collected the debts from are likewise in the dark. The only specialized expertise debt-collection firms concern themselves with are a series of gotcha tricks and semi-automated legal shenanigans that let them take money they don't deserve from people who can't afford to pay it.
There's no better person to explain this dynamic than #PatrickMcKenzie, a finance and technology expert whose #BitsAboutMoney newsletter is absolutely essential reading.
4/
