They are insidious…they are mean….they are debt collectors. This business attracts only some of the most persistent and intrusive individuals in this country.
They are insidious…they are mean….they are debt collectors. This business attracts only some of the most persistent and intrusive individuals in this country. The kind of people you don’t want to deal with. Now they exploit the social marketing phenomenon for their own interest. Facebook is fair game when it comes to debt collectors stalking you and trying to reclaim their debts.
In Spain, it is a common phenomenon to have debt collectors follow people around in weird outfits, constantly harassing them in ways that are very embarrassing. Since communities are tight-knit there, it turns into a public scandal and often makes people pay up.
Here we mostly live in commuter communities, where it would not make sense to wait around for someone while they walked from the house to their car. however, stalking on Facebook parallels the Spanish model in the sense that it can often significantly shame a person who is in debt.
The first lawsuit ever has popped up that targets a debt collector for harassing her, her friends, and even family on Facebook. literally everyone this woman ever knew got a message from this guy, and the messages were not too pretty. Thanks to these tools, debt collectors do not have to track you down. They simply follow you online and start sending messages to anyone they want. Not the type of thing you want on your wall. People started messaging her, saying she should pay up. The debt collector even started a group called “Betty, pay your bills already,” which got a bunch of likes and some comments (from an ex-boyfriend of hers.
Of course Betty is not her real name, but one thing we can state about her is that her reputation was integral for her business. Once all her colleagues and business associates learned about this problem, she had a harder time networking and closing deals. It really impacted her ability to make money given that she was in a direct sales position.
There are a few things you can do in this position: One is ensure your privacy settings don’t let someone like this get through the door.
The other of course is to stay out of debt.
And as always, if you need help, feel free to contact us.
Speak Your Mind