Outsourced Consumer Debt Collection

24 Apr 2008 - As if the frustration of consumers directed towards outsourced technical support was not enough, now it appears that outsourcing companies in India and other countries are calling on American consumers to try to collect consumer debts.  In fact, this form of outsourcing is a growth industry, according to the New York Times.  Here is one highlight from the New York times story. "Armed with a sophisticated automated system that dials tens of thousands of Americans every hour, and puts confidential information like Social Security numbers, addresses and credit history at operators' fingertips, this new breed of collectors is chasing down late car payments, overdue credit card debt and lapsed installment loans. debt collectors in India often cost about one-quarter the price of their American counterparts, and are often better at the job, debt collection company executives say."  Obviously the private information that has been put in the hands of outsourced debt collection firms raises all sorts of privacy concerns.  Or consider the Prince's personal favorite section from the article.  "'One hundred thirty million U.S. families will get a tax rebate this season' as part of the new economic stimulus package, Manu Sharma, the team leader, explained to a roomful of top-earning collection agents, most in their 20s. Those who qualify for the rebates will get as much $600 a person or $1,200 a household, he said, and ‘the I.R.S. is going to start paying this money in May.'  start bringing up the rebate during calls, he told them. “This gives you an advantage so you can increase your wallet share,” he went on. ‘Get them set up on minimum balance arrangements' based around their tax rebates."  President Bush and the U.S. congress have to read this article with a bit of concern.  However, it will still be interesting to see how much more animosity this raises amongst the American public about outsourcing.  Then again, given the superb language training and customer relations training that many employees in the India receive, American consumers struggling to make their debt payments may never know that their debt collector's agent sits in Delhi.