Problems with debt-collection practices are not exclusive to the United States. This past week, the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) which provides guidance for debt collectors in England and Wales, issued a warning to these companies to keep their activities fair and their intentions clearly communicated.

The press announcement from the OFT issued on September 13, 2011 makes reference to a company found by a Tribunal to be “unfit to hold a consumer credit license [sic]” because the company in question allegedly mislead consumers.

The Office of Fair Trading composed a lengthy document in 2003, which was subsequently updated in 2006, called “Debt Collection Guidance.” According to an OFT web page, the document “is aimed at all consumer credit licence [sic] holders and applicants, and applies to collection of debt once an account is in default.” The Debt Collect Guidance document was born out of an obligation imposed on the OFT by the Consumer Credit Act 1974 to produce such guidance for debt collections companies.

The latest development is an apparently flagrant disregard for the practices outlined in the Debt Collection Guidance document. The news issued by the OTC last week said, “The First-tier Tribunal upheld the OFT's decision to revoke the consumer credit licence [sic]of Carltons Business Limited, a debt collection agency based in Dartford, Kent.” It went on to say that this case serves as an example for credit businesses to ensure that their interactions with customers provide communications that are “clear, transparent and do not place undue pressure on the debtor.”

Similar issues are being considered in the United States. TMCnet reported today that just this month the State of Maryland added its name to a list of eight other U.S. States that have imposed legislation requiring debt collectors to provide proof that any consumer they seek to sue in an effort to make good on past-due bills are indeed in debt for those bills. The Federal Trade Commission in the United States is also pushing the States to come up with regulations to ensure that debt collectors are actually making connection with the consumers they say owe on debts and to clearly communicate the intentions of their actions once the connection is made.

Consumers are also wise to be more proactive about debt issues they may be facing. In an article  written by a company called Debt Free Me that counsels consumers about debt issues, consumers with debt were advised to not “suffer in silence” and to  “get advice sooner rather than later to avoid a debt collector getting involved.”