Introduction
Lung transplant recipient Tom Fuller testifies at a public hearing in St. Paul, Minn., on May 30, 2012, about high-pressure debt collection at a Fairview Health Services hospital. A scathing report by Minnesota's attorney general documents tactics such as asking patients to pay while lying in pain on a gurney. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune/Richard Tsong-Taatarii)
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Lawsuits filed against debt collectors multiplied in recent years, as have complaints to regulators about abusive collection tactics. Indeed, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) receives more consumer complaints against debt collectors than any other industry. Collection companies, which recover billions of dollars in delinquent debt for creditors annually, defend their practices and challenge the validity of many of the lawsuits and consumer complaints. Nevertheless, over the past 18 months, the FTC and state attorneys general have stepped up enforcement against collection agencies they believe are breaking consumer-protection laws. Meanwhile, the Internal Revenue Service has drafted rules aimed at curbing aggressive collection methods at nonprofit hospitals, including dunning sick patients for payment in the emergency room. At the same time, the collection industry is bracing for tighter regulation from the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
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Jul. 20, 2012 |
Debt Collectors |
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May 17, 2011 |
Future of the Euro |
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Oct. 10, 2008 |
Regulating Credit Cards |
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May 09, 2008 |
Financial Crisis |
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Mar. 02, 2007 |
Consumer Debt |
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May 26, 2006 |
Teen Spending |
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Nov. 19, 1999 |
The Consumer Culture |
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Nov. 15, 1996 |
Consumer Debt |
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Sep. 13, 1985 |
America in Debt |
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Jan. 25, 1980 |
Consumer Debt |
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Apr. 11, 1975 |
Consumer Credit Economy |
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Jan. 12, 1972 |
Directions of the Consumer Movement |
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Nov. 10, 1965 |
Personal Debt in a Consumer Economy |
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Jan. 02, 1957 |
Tight Credit |
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Feb. 10, 1956 |
Consumer Credit |
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Mar. 30, 1949 |
Installment Credit |
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Aug. 09, 1941 |
Restriction of Consumer Credit |
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Jan. 28, 1941 |
The Big Business of Making Small Loans |
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Jan. 17, 1934 |
Federal Credit Aid for Consumers |
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Jan. 01, 1930 |
Installment Buying, 1920–1930 |
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