There are two sides to this growth industry; debt services and debt collection. With consumer debt growing from $133.7 billion in 1970 to $2.5 trillion at the end of 2007, and with credit card debt at $1 trillion in January 2008, there has been plenty of room for growth in both sectors.
Both debt services and debt collection profit by taking money consumers should be using to pay their debts. Debt service firms do so by charging fees and percentages. Debt collectors receive a commission on collected debts and inflate debt by adding fees and interest to the alleged balance.
The Debt Industry
Debt Collection
- Collection Agencies
- Junk Debt Buyers
- Collection Attorneys
- Your Local Court
Debt Services
- Debt Management and Debt Counseling Services
- Credit Counseling Agencies
- Credit Card Debt Consolidation
- Credit Card Debt Consolidation Loans
- Credit Card Debt Negotiation or Settlement
- The Credit Reporting Agencies
- Credit Repair Organizations (CROs)
- Credit Card Debt Elimination Scams
Here is a paper put out by the Philadelphia branch of the Federal Reserve bank explaining the growth of the debt relief industry, “Meeting the Demand for Debt Relief.”
To educate yourself about credit card debt read the posts on this site that break down each one of these. http://www.creditsabre.com/
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