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This Boston Globe Spotlight Team investigation into the world of consumer debt in the United States found a system where debt collectors have a lopsided advantage, debtors are often treated shabbily by collectors and the courts, and consumers can quickly find themselves in a life-upending financial crisis.
 AUDIO: Spotlight reporters talk about the series
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(Michele McDonald / Globe Staff)
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Small claims courts have mutated into a system that ignores individual rights and shows favoritism toward debt collectors and their lawyers.
AUDIO: Listen to today's story
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Constables, appointed by cities and towns to serve court papers and execute orders, carry badges and have arrest powers -- yet are untrained and unmonitored. And many do the dirty work of property seizure for some of the most aggressive debt collectors in the state.
AUDIO: Listen to the story
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Many constables have criminal records
In Boston, 88 of the 186 constables have criminal arrest records of one kind or another, and seven were appointed to their posts despite criminal convictions.
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Property seizure laws dated and ignored
A Globe review found that many laws on property seizures are vague and antiquated, and in recent years, legislative action has left debtors' property more vulnerable, not less.
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As the debt collection business in America continues to boom -- $66 billion worth of delinquent credit cards alone were purchased last year -- many debtors find themselves with their backs to the wall, laden with bills they can't pay and lacking protection from a seemingly unconcerned government.
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Subscribe to this podcast (it's free) to receive each day's installment, including the main stories and sidebars, four debtors' stories in their own words, tips from specialists on how to handle debt, and a roundtable discussion by the members of the Spotlight Team as they discuss the series.
Help & advice:
Groups & associations:
The Spotlight Team would like to hear from readers who have first-hand information about debt collection abuses.
Call 617-929-3208.
You can leave a confidential message at 617-929-7483.
Or e-mail debt@globe.com.
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