In the past week I've gotten two new clients and learned of a third person who are having issues with a company over collection of what the company calls past-due accounts. Without going into details about the nature of the business or the claims of the company I want to show some examples of the collection tactics used by this company.
In an email to one of my clients the company wrote "hope your [sic] ready for the storm that's coming. Smells like burnt toast to me."
Another email accused my client of having violated the Utah Medical Association's standards of ethics and conduct and threatened to file a complaint with the Department of Professional Licensing (DOPL) in Utah.
A third email was full of vulgarities and accused my client of unethical conduct.
All of this is over debts that are disputed. One side says it is owed money, the other side disputes that, saying the first party breached its contract. Resolution of those types of disputes is what the court system is all about.
Where this crosses the line, in my view, is over the tactics this self-proclaimed ethical and professional company is using to collect. If these actions were undertaken by a third party (a debt collector) they would violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Unfortunately that act only applies to third parties, those who make collection of debt their primary business.
The fact that this conduct isn't illegal under that act (it might be actionable under other theories) doesn't make it any less reprehensible. If you're a business, conduct yourself professionally. Don't stoop to threats and even blackmail to collect on accounts.
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