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Collection Agencies: Why They Are Indispensible
Google "collection agency cockroaches," and there are 18,500 hits. Replace the search with "hate collection agencies," and the results expand to 30,700,000.
Collection Agencies Perform Essential Role
Why do so many otherwise sane individuals hate the collection service industry so much? It's easy to see why those on the receiving end of its work are among its less enthusiastic fans, but for the wider population the industry is performing an absolutely indispensable service.
Some people will always be better at spending money than making it. If they were allowed to fund their spending at other people's expense indefinitely, and with no sanctions, then the impact on society would be disastrous. Certainly, any capitalist economy would soon grind to a halt if there were no brake on their profligacy.
If collection agencies are performing functions that are essential to the smooth running of a fair and free society, why do they get such a bad press?
Collection Service Industry Bad Apples
Part of the answer has to be the very few bad apple collection agencies. These don't turn the rest of the barrel, but they certainly tarnish the industry's image.
Less than two weeks ago, police in Buffalo, NY, arrested the ex-convict owner of a collection agency. The Buffalo News reported that State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo played audio recordings to its reporter of a number of the collection service's staff posing as police officers. They claimed to be working in the police department's warrants division, and to be acting under the authority of the district attorney.
In one recording, an employee appeared to tell a mother to organize long-term childcare arrangements, and to pack clean clothes, "...because you're not coming home anytime soon."
It was also alleged that the collection service used threatening tactics to collect monies that were never owed, or that were related to expired debts.
Collection Agencies' Clients Not Blameless
The Buffalo story is shocking and indefensible. But, even though it was an isolated incident, it attracted widespread coverage, including on NBC's Dateline program. And that sort of dark publicity reflects badly--if unfairly--on the entire industry.
But often those in collection agencies get bad publicity through no fault of their own. Too often, it's the client rather than the agency that either has made a genuine mistake, or is pulling a fast one.
Cowboys and...
For example, AOL made a bad decision when it set its collection service on Jason Zweig. The man writes a column in the Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Zweig says that the agency had been told by AOL that he owed $103.60 for a service to which he had been automatically upgraded without his consent. Given recent unwelcome coverage, it seems unlikely that AOL will wish to pursue this.
One further point arises from this story. In his WSJ piece, Mr. Zweig says: "About a month ago, we started getting bizarre phone calls from a collections agency in India."
In India? Didn't AOL originally stand for America OnLine? If so, couldn't its finance people find an American collection service?
Cockroaches? Who Cares?
The fact is that collecting debts is like collecting taxes. Nobody wants to pay them. Those who collect them are unpopular. And yet the nation couldn't last past next weekend without them.
Those who work in the collection service industry shouldn't be blamed for rogue criminals or careless clients. But they are. It's part of the job.
And who cares? Cockroaches have thick skins, and are born survivors who thrive through good times and bad.
In 2009, there are way, way worse things to be.
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