Concerns over debt collection activities

PEOPLE who owe money are increasingly being intimidated, bullied and harassed by debt collection agencies around which there is no regulation.

Currently, anyone can set themselves up as a debt collector, and with the industry mushrooming as a result of the recession, the Free Legal Advice Centre is calling for urgent regulation.

Launching its annual report for 2009, FLAC director general Noeline Blackwell said that every day people were calling its centres saying they were being harassed by debt collectors.