Minnesota Cracks Down on Debt Collectors

Written by Amelia Gordon on February 4, 2011 – 4:08 am

The Commerce Commissioner of Minnesota, Mike Rothman, has informed eight of the largest debt collection agencies in the state that they are in non-compliance with the law. Mr. Rothman has stated that these debt collectors have failed to screen their employees for criminal activity, and that 1 in 12 employees in these firms have a criminal past. What was even more shocking the Commissioner stated, was that most of these employees lied about their criminal history and the collection agencies had no clue.

When research was conducted by the Commissioner’s office, they found that these debt collectors had criminal histories that ranged from identity theft and fraud to rape charges. The thought of debt collectors having access to personal and financial information that have a history of identity theft or fraud is just unacceptable.

Debt collection agencies are required, by Minnesota law, to register individual debt collectors with the state. Mr. Rothman has informed these agencies that he is prepared to take action against there licenses because the debt collectors were not properly screened. At this time the commissioner has issued a hold on further licensing. Rothman has stated that they will resume state licensing once these companies have proven how they verify information about their debt collectors.

This has been an ongoing battle in the state of Minnesota since 2005. In that time period, 5 collection firms have been fined for failing to comply with proper screening procedures. At this time, Rothman has made it clear that the state is taking this issue very seriously and will no longer tolerate these companies failing to comply with screening requirements.

Many other states are expected to follow the lead of Minnesota and start demanding that all debt collectors are screened for criminal background. Demanding this as a requirement in all states may help decrease the amount of identity theft and fraud being committed in the country.

Identity theft is the top white collar crime in the country, with millions of people suffering from loss of their personal information. The thought that these same criminals are being hired to collect that same information is an atrocity.

http://stopdebtcollectors.debt-collector-problems.com/

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