Many new collectors or people new to debt collection don’t realize the implications of third party disclosure and how it affects the industry, the collectors and the consumers in the long run.
On March 31, 2009, Ryan Singel wrote a story titled “Woman sues debt collectors for “MySpace posting” According to Singel, a consumer fell behind on her payments in early January on her 2005 Chevy Impala, the last thing she wanted to do was share that information on her Myspace profile or any other social networking website.
But that’s what the debt collector assigned to her debt did. This woman then filed a civil lawsuit against the collection agency accusing them of violating collections law by harassing her online, on the phone and in person. She is asking for $25,000.00 in damages.
The court found that because of the post to her Myspace page, she suffered damage to her business and community reputation, extreme mental distress, aggravation, humiliation and embarrassment.
Under most state laws, debt collectors may not publicize a debt or even tell a debtor’s friends, family members, or work associations about a debt in order to shame a person into paying. Collectors must also refrain from using abusive or oppressing methods, and generally have to stop calling one’s home or work after being asked to communicate in writing.