David Vladeck director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection and DOJ Assistant Attorney Tony West conducted a conference call I attended to provide additional information regarding an announced settlement with collection company Asset Acceptance

With the ongoing credit crisis, a lot of people are getting calls from debt collectors. Most of these collectors are merely trying to do their job, but there are some among them who are so money-hungry (in many cases motivated by bonuses and commissions) that they will go so far as to violate the regulations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. As a result, complaints against debt collectors are on the increase according to the Better Business Bureau and federal regulators. The FTC reported that it received more complaints I 2007 about debt collectors than in reference to any other industry. These are the top complaints received about debt collectors by the FTC in 2007…

July 14th, 2002 I got a call yesterday at 8:AM. I don’t like getting calls at 8:AM at work or at home. Obviously, there’s nothing I can do about the work calls but the home calls, I’d like to think that this is an open invitation to be rude…

If you’re behind in paying your bills, or a creditor’s records mistakenly make it appear that you are, a debt collector may be contacting you. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the nation’s consumer protection agency, enforces the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which prohibits debt collectors from using abusive, unfair, or deceptive practices to collect from you. Under the FDCPA, a debt collector is someone who regularly collects debts owed to others. This includes collection agencies, lawyers who collect debts on a regular basis, and companies that buy delinquent debts and then try to collect them. Here are some questions and answers about your rights under the Act…