Report: Debt Collection Complaints Increased in 2007

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reported that consumers lodged 70,951 complaints of violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by third-party debt collectors last year, 2.4 percent more than the 69,249 complaints received during 2006, according to CreditandCollectionsWorld.com.

The most frequent complaint was that collectors attempted to collect debts that consumers did not owe or a debt larger than what consumers actually owed. In 2007, FTC received 27,393 such complaints – or 38.6 percent of all complaints, which compares with 40.3 percent of complaints to the FTC in 2006.

In 2007, 19.7 percent of FDCPA complaints the commission received (or 13,989) alleged harassment. About 6.5 percent (or 4,592 consumers) alleged that third-party collectors falsely threatened a lawsuit or some other action that they could not or did not intend to take.