Illinois Collectors Association says industry should be held to high standard

An Illinois-based debt collection group recently praised the efforts of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan as she works to put a stop to deceptive practices that harm consumers. The Illinois Collectors Association released a statement that reminded the public that debt collection was a legitimate business and that all people within the industry had to play by the rules laid out by the state and federal government. The president of the Illinois Collectors Association, Debra Ciskey, said that people who used improper means to collect debt should be held accountable and that her industry had high standards. "Anything less than the legal and respectful collection of duly owed debt is simply unacceptable and those bad actors that choose an alternative path should be held accountable for their actions," said Ciskey. In a statement released the day before, Attorney General Madigan announced that there had been more than 7,000 consumer debt complaints filed in 2010. She said that the largest number of complaints were against collectors in the residential mortgage industry, followed by credit card companies and debt collection agencies.