BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nationally known debt collector and industry insider Bill Bartmann today hit the streets of Boston with his 50-state “Stop These Criminals” campaign as he testified on debt collection abuse at a hearing before Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.
“I’m not afraid to pick a fight with abuse in this $40 billion industry even if I’m all alone,” said Bartmann, President and CEO of CFS II, who was in Massachusetts this week. “My goal is to shine light on abuse in this barbaric and out-of-control business. I’ve been a debt collector for decades, so I’m just the guy to do it.”
Bartmann presented his insider testimony to Massachusetts Attorney General Coakley as part of his 50-state initiative to reform abusive debt collection practices in America. So far he has championed his campaign to Attorneys General in 12 states, members of Congress and the Federal Trade Commission, Elizabeth Warren and officials from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Bartmann, who resolved debts for 4.5 million Americans without ever suing any of them, has been called the ‘No. 1 Collection Industry Consumer Advocate’ in the world and was referred to by USA Today as the ‘Patron Saint of the Second Chance.’
Complaints of abuse by bill collectors are skyrocketing. In 2010, consumer complaints against debt collectors reached 140,036, up 17 percent from 2009, according to the Federal Trade Commission. Bartmann has been working for several months in Oklahoma, where his company is based, to introduce pro-consumer legislation that would help end abuse by the collections industry.
“Unfortunately, the collections industry is overrun with bad players who trick, threaten and abuse Americans,” said Bartmann. “Consumers go to jail over less than $100. Collectors threaten violence and demand sex for repayment. Abusive language is the status quo. As an industry insider, I’ve seen clear patterns of abusive behavior by other bill collectors and I know how to stop them.”
To learn more about Bartmann’s campaign, visit StopTheseCriminals.com. The Harvard Business School published a case study on Bill Bartmann’s collection business. He has been named National Entrepreneur Of the Year by NASDAQ, USA Today, Merrill Lynch and the Kauffman Foundation. CFS II is located in the CityPlex Towers in Tulsa, Okla.