ACA Staff, Members Testify Before NY Assembly Committees on Behalf of Collectors

Two ACA members in New York – Eric Najork and Lynn Goldberg – joined ACA International Executive Vice President and General Counsel Rozanne Andersen on May 14, 2009 to testify on behalf of the credit and collection industry before members of the New York State Assembly.

The trio attended a “Committee Public Hearing to examine how the State of New York can best protect consumers from unfair and deceptive practices in debt collection and debt management industries.” Andersen, Najork and Goldberg delivered their comments to the Assembly Standing Committee on Consumer Affairs and Protection, the Assembly Standing Committee on Judiciary and the Assembly Standing Committee on Banks.

The public meeting was called in response to a rise in consumer complaints against debt collectors according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA).

“Given this background, ACA respectfully submits the primary issue before the Committees and the credit and collection industry is how to reduce consumer complaints against debt collectors,” Andersen told the assembly in her prepared comments. She and Najork, the New York State Collector’s Association’s (NYSCA) First Vice President, and Goldberg, the NYSCA’s Past President, summarized ACA International’s position on the issue:

“ACA suggests the solution may not necessarily reside in additional legislation and regulation. Litigation against debt collectors as well as state and municipal legislation and regulation have increased while at the same time the FTC, States’ Attorneys General, and state regulators are witnessing a rise in complaints. As a result, there is no empirical evidence to show providing consumers greater opportunities for litigation and imposing greater requirements for debt collectors when attempting to collect will decrease the number of complaints filed by consumers against debt collectors.

“ACA respectfully submits greater opportunities for litigation and unreasonable legislative and regulatory burdens on the debt collection industry cause more complaints to be filed because they ultimately erode the single most important element for debt collectors to properly collect debt and for consumers to understand their rights and obligations – communication. Consumer complaints can only be reduced if the communication between debt collectors and consumers is nurtured and not diminished.

“ACA believes many of the proposals before the Committees will result in a diminution of collection in the State, the layoff of workers in New York, and will fundamentally augment the credit and collection cycle to the detriment of consumers in terms of obtaining credit opportunities to purchase goods and services in the State. ACA also believes the proposals will create greater consumer confusion, complicate the already difficult legal landscape with which debt collectors operate, and will all but eliminate opportunities for debt collectors and consumers to communicate.”

The hearing was held to address proposed legislation, and ACA and the NYSCA will continue to closely monitor all future developments. The full comments by members of the NYSCA and ACA are available on the ACA International Web site.