DEBT COLLECTOR NCO GROUP FINED $1.5 MILLION FOR ILLEGAL CONDUCT

May 30, 2004

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Like I said in my prior “What’s New,” bankruptcy debtors are unfairly characterized as “crooks” when they file bankruptcy, by the big banks and money lenders that are trying to have our bankruptcy laws changed. They want the bankruptcy laws to be made much more strict; because they say so many people are “manipulating” our bankruptcy laws.

Yet, more and more creditors and bill collectors are caught, and have to pay hefty fines and judgments, because THEY ARE THE ONES committing the unlawful acts; at least the ones that affect thousands of consumers and involve millions of dollars. Any fraud or malfeasance carried on by individual consumers PALES IN COMPARISON to the illegal acts carried on by the big money lenders, and the debt buyers and collectors.

As another example of this, is the following story. In order to resolve claims of illegal conduct, per a consent judgement filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania May 12th, a major debt collector will refrain from future violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and will pay a $1.5 million civil penalty (U.S. v. NCO Group, Inc., E.D. Pa., No. 992-3012, 5/12/04).

The complaint, filed by the Justice Department, at the request of the Federal Trade Commission, alleged that NCO Group, Inc. and affiliates (NCO Financial Systems, Inc.; and NCO Portfolio Management, Inc.) reported incorrect information about consumer accounts to credit bureaus in violation of Section 623(a)(5) of the FCRA and Section 5 of FTC Act.

David Goch, Washington Legislative Counsel, Commercial Law League of America