Letter to the Editor - Say no to new debt collection proposal

Editor,

They told us if we got educated then we would see success in our lifetime. Yet, more than 44 million Americans have student debts that combine to total $1.5 trillion. Having to borrow money for school is stressful enough; abusive debt collection practices don’t help. And now the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is seeking to increase harassment of graduates over their debts.

The CFPB wants to allow debt collectors to email and text consumers without consent, while also calling up to seven times per week per debt.

This will disproportionately affect students, two-thirds of whom graduate with an average debt of over $28,000. If someone has eight loans, they could receive up to 56 calls and numerous messages every week. Worse, the texts could contain hyperlinks to important information about your rights, which could be disregarded as spam. This won’t facilitate communication between debt holders and collection agencies; it will only make paying off loans more confusing and abusive.

It’s unfair that students are saddled with mountainous loans after working hard in school. It’s downright immoral to actively punish them by allowing the debt collection industry to abuse them. Say no to the CFPB’s new debt collection rules.

Genoa Carver

Billings