Ohio businesses and residents who enter into agreements with financial responsibilities outlined in some fashion know that sometimes there can arise a need to pursue means to collect on a debt. Laws are in place that are intended to provide a means for creditors to receive what is owed to them. Other laws are in place to protect consumers against unfair debt collection practices.
In addition to concerns about getting paid or fair treatment when collecting a debt, the public and businesses alike should be concerned about fraudulent attempts to collect debts that end up scamming innocent people. This can hurt not just consumers but creditors as well. Today, a new concern related to this has arisen due in large part to a law passed by the United States Congress two years ago. That law stipulated that the Internal Revenue Service would utilize outbound phone calls as a means for collecting outstanding tax debts.
The biggest concern about this new practice which will begin in the spring of 2017 and last at least through the summer is that phone-based attempts to solicit tax bills has been a leading form of fraud for many years. Until now, the IRS has not actually pursued past tax liabilities via phone and has actually worked hard to educate consumers that such acts are fraud and should not be heeded.
Entities in need of accurate and fair means of collecting debts may wish to work with an attorney to understand their options to receive what is legally owed to them.
Source: CBS Miami, “Advocates Worry IRS Outsourcing Of Debt Collection Could Lead To Fraud,” April 5, 2017
