This is a quote from the FTC website. Annual Report: Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Federal Trade Commission June 2002 Complaints about creditors' in-house collectors: The Commission also received 11,021 complaints in 2001 about creditors collecting their own debts. Because creditors are not generally covered by the FDCPA, some in-house collectors use no-holds-barred collection tactics in their dealings with consumers. While the Commission cannot pursue such creditors under the FDCPA, it can do so under the Federal Trade Commission Act. The Commission included such charges in a case filed in March 2001 against the large subprime lender, The Associates, and its successors, (12) and will continue to do so as appropriate cases present themselves in the future. So when they start misbehaving, report them to the FTC. I think we ought to start learning the Federal Trade Commission Act as well.
