![]() Encore cannot truly control the attorneys that it hires - it can merely stop working with a firm that does not comply with its wishes. In any event, there is enough grey area that this promise means very little.Īdditionally, any promises made in Article 6 with regard to attorney conduct are also empty promises. Whether an entity is the "rightful" owner of a debt may vary from state-to-state and case-to-case. The burden of proof for a debt buyer to be the rightful owner of an account is different than the burden of proof for a debt collector. In Illinois, a credit card account involves both legal and equitable interests in the credit card account. "Rightful owner" is a pretty loaded concept - these kinds of debts are really a bundle of rights. This clause contains some fantastic weasel language. on accounts where we are not the rightful owner, and we will require our attorneys and law firms to provide proof of such ownership when requested by a court." ![]() For example, "we will not pursue litigation. Some of the company's commitments fly in the face of what is common practice in debt collector/debt buyer lawsuits. The document suddenly veers towards being laughable in Article 6 - Encore's commitment to the "fair and reasonable use of litigation." ![]() The majority of what is promised in the document is what Encore should already be doing - making sure that its debt collectors comply with the law. In the future, if we have an occasional instance when we do resell accounts, we will only do so when we can provide the purchaser with documentation evidencing the amount owed on the account and clear title of ownership. We will not resell accounts to third parties in the ordinary course of our business. The only mention of proper documentation comes in Article 5 of the document: However, this validation is based moreso on finding the consumer and collecting money (or determining that the consumer is uncollectable), not on making sure that the debt is properly documented. ![]() It also claims to create several levels of account information validation. The Consumer Bill of Rights is supposed to be the document that guides the conduct of Encore's collectors. It purchases debts that have been charged off by banks - these debts are generally credit card debts. In 2011 Encore Capital Group rolled out a "Consumer Bill of Rights" that was touted as an effort to " set the industry standard for consumer conduct." Per the linked press release, Encore is the nation's largest publically-traded debt buyer. ![]()
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