You're Doing it Wrong: Misrepresenting the Collection Industry

For those of you not able to experience the comedy stylings of one David C. Vladeck, Director of Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, at yesterday’s FTC Debt Collection conference, we’ve got video for you just in time for this week’s Doing it Wrong:

Vladeck will be played by Alan Arkin in the movie version.

It’s not just the super-poorly executed attempts at funny (and, if you’ve read anything by me in the last 17 years, you’ll know I know from not funny) — it’s his complete gusto in misrepresenting how the collections industry goes about its job.

At no point would a reputable collection agency doing its job correctly ever refer to a consumer as a deadbeat. Those that do are breaking the law. And we can’t keep going to the lowest common denominator to make our point: the fact that some debt collector somewhere at some point has probably called someone a deadbeat does not mean that’s how the entire industry works.

Just like how not every consumer who opens a credit card account has plans on not paying his bill — regardless of how many credit card accounts a collection agency might be servicing.

So, more than just doing it wrong, Mr Vladeck is doing it disappointing: as a government official, I wish he would have spent a little more time familiarizing himself with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and learned that debt collectors can’t use the language he attributes to them.

I also wish he would stop telling jokes.