Debt Collectors Using Facebook To Embarrass Those Who Owe

Not even the tranquility of FarmVille can save you from the long arm of debt collectors. Melanie Beacham says that a collector from MarkOne Financial contacted her relatives about her past due car note via Facebook. She is filing suit alleging that the company is harassing her family. Tampa based consumer attorney Billy Howard of Morgan & Morgan says, "Now Facebook does a debt collectors work for them. Now it's not only family members, it's all of your associates. It's a very powerful tool for debt collectors to use."

Comments

Re:I'm Pretty Sure That's Illegal

[magarity]

The article says it is the company that financed the car, which would make them the primary debt holder and not a collections agency. Read the Wiki you linked: "While the FDCPA generally applies only to third party debt collectors—not internal collectors for an "original creditor"

Re:Easy Solution

[clone53421]

That’s actually worse than getting pegged rightfully, because if you’re the wrong person (a) the debt collector won’t believe you and (b) there’s nothing you can do to correct the debt. (If you’re the right person, there are actually more legal protective steps for you to take against this sort of harassment!)

Still, you might be able to find out from the debt collector who actually owns the account (the creditor) and contact them. If anyone can do anything, it’s the creditor.