The responses to this article so far have been interesting — the prevailing attitude seems to me to be that people get into debt because of fiscal irresponsibility (if not deep personal flaws) and thus any harassment they receive is fully justified.
But having been on the receiving end of collections calls, the thing that is very, very, deeply frustrating are the ones who call and harass you from the assumption that you have the money, and you’re able to pay the debt, you’re just not paying it because you’re greedy or irresponsible. When I’ve told them that no, we really don’t have the money, we can’t even pay our regular bills for food and housing and so on, I was treated like I was flat out lying to them.
The debts were a result of over a decade of unemployment and underemployment, after I was sold the lie that if I get good post-secondary education, I would be able to find a good job and pay off the debts and live comfortably. That life hasn’t materialized, but the debt collectors sure have.
I’m not greedy or irresponsible, I’m part of a generation who has been screwed over by the collective actions of the generation before, and being treated as if I’m greedy and irresponsible is not making me inclined to be at all cooperative.
