Aggressive Debt Collector Pays $3.2M Fine

It's a little solace perhaps for people besieged by phone calls morning, noon, and night by debt-collection firm Expert Global Solutions: The company agreed to pay the FTC a $3.2 million fine and ease up on the harassment of debtors, reports Reuters. It's the biggest such fine ever levied on a third-party debt collector. "They called after being asked to stop; after they promised to stop; early in the morning; late at night; at people's workplaces—when they knew the employers prohibited the calls," writes an FTC official.

Those types of tactics aren't just annoying, they're illegal under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the FTC Act, reports ABC News. Among the changes: The company and its subsidiaries will stop calling people if the debt is being disputed, at least until an investigation takes place. The company also has to record 75% of its calls and keep the recordings for at least three months. (Being a debt collector can be a lucrative job.)