There’s a dubious list that no one likes to belong to. The folks at Nerd Wallet compile a list every year cataloguing what types of businesses each state’s citizens dislike the most, according to the volume of complaints received by the State Attorneys Office.
This year, in Florida, Mortgage Companies lead the list with 23 complaints per 100,000 people. Florida was one of 21 states that had Mortgage Companies at the head of the list. The rest of the states picked debt collectors as their number 1 complaint.
Unfortunately, Debt Collectors did make 2nd place in all of those 21 states. In Florida, 18 people per 100,000 complained about Debt Collection Agencies. Debt Collection Agencies are NOT Debt Collection Attorneys.
A debt collection attorney steps in after all reasonable attempts to collect a debt by the business that extended credit have failed, and a Debt Collection Agency has been called to collect a debt. In the process of collecting the debt, either legal issues arose, or the complexity and difficulty of collecting the debt were too much for the Debt Collection Agency, and the debt was given over to a debt collection attorney.
To most of the general business community, there may seem little difference between debt collection attorneys, and debt collection agencies. Debt Collection Attorneys must hold themselves to a much higher standard of ethics to comply with their state bar. While anyone willing to pick up a phone can become a collector, you must have passed the Florida Bar, and agreed to adhere to their standards of professional ethics and conduct, along with that of your employees.
Perhaps someday, the debt collection industry will remake itself as an industry. It is not likely that we will soon win awards for being the friendliest business, as no one likes to be called on for debt that they owe but have not paid.
It is not our goal to be loved by the debtors we work with to collect debt, however, it is our goal that the debtor always be treated professionally, communicated with within the framework allowed by law, and dealt with with respect. If that were the goal of all debt collectors, perhaps we would see complaints against our industry drop from first place nationwide.