Complaints about debt collections agencies unlikely to decrease due to new federal supervision

Some of the industry's largest debt collection agencies are preparing to come under the supervision of the federally created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). Critics have espoused hopes that the move will reduce the number of consumer complaints of which the industry is the target. However, InsideARM reports that new government oversight is unlikely to help decrease this figure. According to the source, the two most commonly cited complaints are "billing disputes" and "APR or interest rate," with "collection practices" and "collection debt dispute" combined being the third most reported issue for credit card companies. "Even though the CFPB is not currently taking consumer complaints about debt collection, recovery practices of credit card issuers are already a top concern," InsideARM explains. "In fact, in the list of company names in the credit card complaints, a few collection agencies are already popping up." However, not all debt collection agencies will be overseen by the CFPB. Those with regular revenues under $10 million will likely not be subject to the supervision.