At Least Everyone Argued Well

Call me a cynic.

I heard this week the consumer advocates and ARM industry reps go hammer and tongs at the FTC conference on industry practices.

To believe the advocates you’d think that all collectors spend their days threatening dead-broke helpless little old ladies with physical harm if they don’t pay that 15-year-old credit card bill. To believe the agency chiefs, their collectors are angelic financial experts who live to counsel folks that are just a little down on their luck.

Are there money hungry jerks in this business? Are there helpless senior citizens? Are there a lot of good folks doing the tough job of asking people for money that they rightfully owe? Yes, yes and yes.

It felt sometimes like I was observing the American Bar Association’s All-Star Olympic Debate Club. Just about everybody was an attorney. They made their point, they stayed on-point, they knew their stuff, they could be funny, and they could stick in the knife.

The problem was that it was tough to find common ground with such dedicated advocates. As soon as agreement was made, someone would find a sub-clause that was being violated. Compromise wasn’t on the agenda. The FTC has given itself the difficult job of proposing changes that are bound to anger someone. 

The FTC is to be commended for organizing a fascinating and informative conference that allowed for venting by industry players. The arm chair psychologist will tell you it helps just to get it out. We’ll see.