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.

Ms Blackwell said FLAC was seeking a licensing system for debt collectors similar to that which was used for moneylenders or credit or mortgage intermediaries.

The organisation also called for a statutory code of conduct that is legally enforceable, covering issues such as frequency of contact, clarification as to for whom the collector is working, and Garda involvement where appropriate.

Ms Blackwell said that even debt collectors themselves wanted regulation.

While family law is the main focus of FLAC’s work – at 31% – Ms Blackwell said the main story of the last year had been debt.

Calls from the public in 2009 on debt issues rose 300% from the previous year. Ms Blackwell said options available to people to manage their debt were “entirely inadequate”.

“Our main concern about the impact of debt on consumers is that there seems to be little official urgency in tackling the enormity of personal indebtedness in Ireland,” she said.

“Changes are needed to both practice and legislation.

“Even as the expert group on personal and mortgage debt is in session, a number of short-term measures could be undertaken,” she added.

“One of these is the licensing of debt collectors.”

FLAC’s annual report also highlights how state-funded civil legal aid is coming under increased pressure.

“At its very best, this scheme, administered by the Legal Aid Board, had a total of 89 solicitors to cover its general law practice in 29 law centres across the country,” the report states.

“Increased demand, together with a government embargo on recruitment, meant that in 2009 the waiting times for a client to see a solicitor for the first time increased by up to 9 months over the course of the year,” it added.

“By December 2009, 2,475 people were approved for legal aid and on waiting lists to get a first appointment with a solicitor, 1,700 of those in law centres which had a waiting list of 4 months or more,” said Ms Blackwell.