Report finds debt collectors best at solving consumer issues

Debt collectors often do not have an amiable position when it comes to their relationships with consumers. However, a new report found that no one is better at resolving consumer complaints. A study from the Council of Better Business Bureaus (BBB) revealed that debt collectors find a solution to 84 percent of consumer issues. That figure is nearly nine points higher than the 75.8 percent resolution rate of other industries. Currently, debt collections rank 19th in the number of inquiries and fifth in total complaints, according to the BBB. "Debt collectors take consumer complaints very seriously and agree with the significant importance of protecting consumers against any business that engages in deceptive, unfair or abusive practices," Ted Smith, interim CEO of the Association for Credit and Collections, said in a statement. The BBB reportedly received 535,224 inquiries about debt collection agencies in 2010, of which 14,966 were complaints. Nevertheless, 12,568 of those complaints were solved up to BBB standards. Debt collectors have resolved more than 80 percent of their cases since 2002, according to the report.