Michigan

When collectors exert too much pressure....

I was shocked and saddened to read about a story of an individual who received so many dunning notices and collection calls from a New Jersey Rent-a-Center, that he walked into the store and set himself on fire. As a debt collector, this is the sort of thing that gives me great pause.

People are under a lot of pressure these days. People are losing their jobs and their homes. A good debt collector plies pressure to people to get them to pay their debts. However, it is the rare instance when a debt collector knows about a person's other pressures in life. When a debt collector chronically duns someone who is already under a great deal of pressure, well its just like pushing a balloon against a pin...something has to give. In this case, it was Mr. Saladriagas' sanity. He was the individual who torched himself.

Thankfully, the employees at Rent-A-Center came to his aid and doused him with water. Their lives, like Mr. Saladriagas' skin, will never be the same.

As debt collectors, the people at Rent-A-Center will have to ask themselves if they went too far in attempting to collect their debt from Mr. Saladrigas. Its too easy to write him off as a nut job, although it is not out of the question. This story gives me great pause and causes me to examine our procedures for collecting debts as well.

Full post as published by Michigan Collection Law Blog on July 30, 2008 (boomark / email).