The Twin Cities Daily Planet recently did a feature article on Sharon Hemmeke and Michelle Wallace of Phoenix Management Systems, Inc., a collection agency near Loring Park in Minneapolis. The article is a sharp departure from the recent reporting on debt collectors, which tends to be negative.
Wallace says collecting debts “can be very rewarding. Sometimes people are in tears because I’ve helped them.”
Color me dubious. I have heard that before from a collector I sued for lying and harassing conduct.
Just the same, I don’t think I have ever seen Phoenix Management Systems in connection with a consumer claiming FDCPA violations. There must be collection agencies out there doing their best to stay clear of violations, and I hope Phoenix is such a business.
If nothing else, the article is a reminder that debt collectors—however awfully some may behave—are people, too. People who have taken an oath, apparently.
According to the article, “Sharon is the president of the Minnesota Association of Collectors. Minnesota agencies must take an oath—with regards to practice and procedure—to join.” (Emphasis added.)
I looked, but I could not find a copy of the “oath” that members of the Minnesota Association of Collectors take. In fact, I could not find the Minnesota Association of Collectors, but Hemmeke is apparently president of the Minnesota Collectors Association, a member of ACA International, whose president came off looking pretty ridiculous on Fox News back in July. I am not sure that the oath carries much weight in the ACA. Or, at least, violating the FDCPA does not seem to be a barrier to membership.
Profile of a collector: Phoenix Management Systems, Inc. (debt) | Twin Cities Daily Planet
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