12 August 2005
The government is to review its rules on dealing with debt collectors, a report says.
The study, from the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), found a number of consistent abuses being carried out by debt companies.
The most common abuse was pressurising debtors to pay in full or large instalments, or increasing payments when the debtor could not meet the demand.
Companies also disclosed or threatened to disclose debt details to third parties without being legally entitled to do so.
In order to tackle the abuse, the OFT will issue a questionnaire to current licence holders involved in debt collection, including creditors, Trading Standards and free/independent advice agencies.
Penny Boys, OFT executive director, said: "This review will give us a clearer picture of compliance levels across the industry. The compliance review will also raise awareness of the guidance amongst those in debt, who are some of the most vulnerable consumers. If they are experiencing unfair treatment we want to know so that we can tackle that unfair conduct."
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