Looking Toward a Brighter Future, Consumers Aim to Repay Debts

WASHINGTON — A newly published nationwide survey of 1,000 Americans shows that consumers who have fallen behind on their payments or taken on too much debt refuse to assign blame for their predicament.

The poll reveals that consumers know exactly how they arrived at this point and are completely focused on moving forward in the most responsible manner. Sponsored by the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys (NARCA), the poll unearths a number of consumer views and attitudes that have received scant attention throughout the economic crisis.

"The results of our poll get to the heart of how consumers feel about debt management today," said Robert Markoff, president of NARCA. "The dominant opinion in the media is that consumers are powerless victims. To the contrary, our data shows that consumers are empowered and taking positive steps to properly manage their finances. Consumers fully recognize the importance of accessing affordable credit – now and in the future – and are working hard to pay back the debts they owe. Our members see this every day as more and more consumers reach out to collection attorneys to set up payment plans."

Though most Americans see themselves as more likely to be contacted by a debt collector now than in previous years, they fully recognize the consequences – both personal and national – of not repaying debt.

Among the poll’s key findings were these:

    * By a 3-to-1 ratio, consumers say those who borrow and do not pay down their debts are a bigger problem than businesses trying to collect debt.
    * Sixty-one percent of consumers say that people should pay what they owe and not try to get businesses to forgive debt.
    * Most consumers think that the rules and requirements for getting a loan have gotten more restrictive (77 percent), not looser (5 percent), in the past couple of years.
    * Ninety-two percent of consumers say that actively collaborating with the collection industry to resolve their unpaid debts is preferable to filing a lawsuit.
    * Sixty-eight percent say that local and state governments would do a better job of protecting consumers rights than would the federal government.

The federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) regulates the debt collection industry and is currently under examination by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The FTC is embarking on a series of public workshops to evaluate potential reforms that could impact how consumers are able to resolve their debt issues. The next workshop, titled "Protecting Consumers in Debt Collection Litigation and Arbitration: A Roundtable Discussion," will be held on Aug. 5-6 in Chicago.

"This is a critical time in our nation’s economic history and we need to ensure that sound and effective public policies are in place to support Americans who are putting their financial lives back in order," Markoff said. "Above all else, it is critically important that any policy change does not jeopardize consumers’ ability to access credit in the future. NARCA proudly considers itself a partner in the recovery process, and through responsible and ethical debt collection practices we will continue to do our part to ensure that credit remains available and affordable."

About the survey

The National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys conducted a nationwide poll of 1,000 consumers on May 20-22. This poll examined the perceptions and knowledge American consumers hold relating to debt and personal financial management. The data is available at http://www.narca.org/PDF/PollResults.pdf.

About NARCA
The National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys is a trade association dedicated to serving law firms engaged in the business of consumer debt collection. NARCA’s mission is to elevate the practice of consumer debt collection law through member networking, education, advocacy and outreach to others in the industry and the public. For more information about the Association, please visit our Web site at http://www.narca.org.

About RT Strategies
RT Strategies is a bipartisan public affairs opinion research and polling organization, and sponsor of the National Omnibus Poll, and partners of the Cook Political Report/RT Strategies Poll. Our approach is methodology neutral, using the best tools available for each assignment, including: random digit dialing (RDD) telephone polls, interactive voice response (IVR) polling, on-line panel research and qualitative research. More information can be found at http://www.rtstrategies.com.