Debt Collection Calls Soaring In Florida

TAMPA – According to the Federal Trade Commission, there has been a 150% increase in debt collection calls per capita this year.

Financial experts say they’ve seen a rise in the level of unsecured debt Floridians have.

By the numbers:

The FTC says there have been more than 278,000 reports filed about debt collection calls.

Money Management International say 31,000 complaints have come from Floridians, and that Florida ranks 3rd in the country for complaints about debt collection calls.

According to the FTC, about 41% of the total reports have been about debts not owed or calls that are aggressive or threatening in nature.

What they’re saying:

“Our average client has six or seven accounts, you know, an average balance of $30,000 on top of often a home or a rent payment and an auto payment and possibly student loan payments,” Thomas Nitzsche, a financial educator with Money Management International said.

Nitzsche says one in five of their clients has at least one account in collections.

“I think there’s a few reasons that we’ve seen more debt collection calls,” he said. “First and foremost, unsecured consumer debt is at an all-time high of about $1.2 trillion nationally. So, there’s a lot of outstanding debt. There are obviously more accounts falling into collections.”

Nitzsche also says a lot of salaries haven’t kept up with the cost of inflation since the pandemic.

“Since there’s been a softening or a weakening of consumer protection agencies like the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the CFPB has been virtually eliminated,” Nitzsche said. “I think some third-party collection agencies may feel more emboldened to be more aggressive because they don’t feel like there’s going to be consequences.”

Financial experts say there are three common types of calls that consumers receive. They say calls typically start coming from the original creditor with reminders and warnings if you fall behind on payments.

“Once the account is charged off to a third-party collection agency, the collection efforts can become more aggressive,” Nitzsche said.

In some cases, debt collection calls can be a scam.

“If they get a call about an old debt that they don’t recognize, some folks will just pay it, because they don’t want it to show on their credit report, or they don’t want to be sued,” Nitzsche said.

Local perspective:

John Rossen, who lives in Tampa, found himself facing mounting debt last year.

“Credit card debt,” he said. “After COVID, a lot of expenses went up. I was not able to increase my salary at the time.”

Rossen says after he explored debt relief options online and then had a late payment, he started getting calls from collectors.

“The worst was two, three times a day,” Rossen said. “Lately, it’s once or twice.”

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Rossen says some of the calls were confusing because collectors would call him congratulating him with an opportunity to consolidate his debt.

“The language is still like ‘Congrats’, but no, I should not have been in this situation in the first place,” he said.

Rossen encourages other people in a similar position to contact a reputable agency or go directly through their bank to manage debt.

“You don’t have to agree to anything, that’s my main advice,” he said.

What to know:

Financial experts say there are certain things debt collectors aren’t allowed to do when trying to collect payments.

“There’s the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which they have to follow,” Nitzsche said. “They can’t threaten jail time. They can’t threaten to show up at your home or tell family members.”

Nitzsche says you should always get written proof that the debt does, in fact, belong to you.

He says every state has a statute of limitations on debt collections.

“You can contact a reputable nonprofit credit counseling agency,” Nitzsche said. “The number is on your credit card statement. If you’ve never looked at it closely, it’s on every credit card’s statement, and you can get some good advice and also possibly some help in managing the debt.”

You can find more information about managing debt and financial resources here.