So you think that you can get away from your debts?  Well let us tell you it’s not easy to hide from debt collectors.  They will try everything at their disposal to get the money that you owe them back.

With the popularity of social network sites, it seems that the debt collectors have resorted to Face-Booking and Tweeting to try and get their money back.

The Financial Ombudsman Service has advised in the last six months, it has received over 350 new complaints about debt collecting. That was nearly 60% up on the previous six months.

These revelations have led to the Office of Fair Trading issuing a warning to debt collectors in the UK.  The OFT has received many complaints from debtors who were being pressurised online to pay off loans and credit.

They have advised these debt collection agencies that they are not allowed to pursue people on social networking sites to try and get the debt repaid.  The OFT has said that it is worried that details about their debts will be revealed on the internet.

It is particularly concerned because of the public nature of websites such as Facebook and Twitter, where friends can see messages being sent to an individual.

To try and deter the practice, the OFT says it is willing to strip perpetrators of their consumer credit licences. 

The CCCS said the rules were much needed:

Delroy Corinaldi of the CCCS said.  “Many debtors are understandably anxious to keep their debt problems private from friends and work colleagues – and the possibility of being contacted by a debt collector on Facebook or Twitter causes serious worry for many,”

The OFT has published some new debt collection guidance in recent months which sets out the standards that is expected of any business associated with debt collection.

A previous tactic of many debt collection agencies in the UK was to put cards through the letterbox or leave phone messages which other family members could read or listen to.

The main areas of complaint that the Financial Ombudsman Service are receiving are harassment and intimidation by debt collectors.  Another complaint was that many people were being chased for debts they knew nothing about.  Many individuals were also being chased for debt when a repayment plan was firmly in place with the creditor.

If you feel you have been subjected to unfair debt collection procedures, leave a comment and let us know.

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