A single mother of four was allegedly told she could lose her furniture, car and even wind up behind bars if she failed to pay up to debt collectors. Now, she is suing the firm she says repeatedly harassed her.
Edwina Crawford, who is on a Centrelink pension and has a history of mental health issues, says she broke down after collectors from Panthera called her up to 10 times within a fortnight.
“They said we can take whatever we want, even your car,” she told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“They shouldn’t be allowed to do what they do.
“Now whenever I get a private number call or from a number I don’t know, I freak out again.”
Crawford’s original debt — amounting to less than $3000 — was bought by Panthera from AGL for an estimated 3 to 6 cents in the dollar.
They now claim she owes them around $5000 and, she says, repeatedly harangued her to get it.
Crawford, who suffers from anxiety and depression, alleges they even went so far as to threaten her Centrelink payments and would sometimes call early in the morning and late at night.
She is working with the Consumer Action Law Centre in Victoria’s Civil and Administrative Tribunal to bring the lawsuit against the company, asking for $10,000 to be paid in damages.
According to industry guidelines, it is illegal for debt collectors to call more than 10 times in a month and any more would constitute harassment.
It is also illegal for collectors to threaten to take clients possessions or garnish their incomes.
“Even if someone owes debt, they’re still a person,” the Consumer Action Law Centre’s Gerard Brody told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“They’ve still got families to feed and lights to turn on and they’re often our community’s most vulnerable people. The laws exist to ensure that even if you have debt, you are protected from harassment and still treated with basic dignity.”
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Top Comments
Why didn't she just pay the debt? Centerlink can organise to have the payments garnished for bills.
She may have been paying the debt. I was harassed by a collection agency for many months. I lost my job and was making smaller payments. They would phone and demand i clear up the entire debt immediately to avoid prosecution. It stressed me out so much i ended up declaring bankruptcy just to get the calls to stop. They called my job, my family, just to see if i was hiding money. It was brutal.
The debt collectors are not happy until you pay the whole amount. Then they get bonuses etc. they are not like the decent companies that abide by the law, we are talking about a ruthless and lawless company breaking the law. They think if they put enough pressure on people they will sell their magic stash of gold jewellery or rental properties.
Parsley is a garnish. I think you mean 'garnisheed'.
Both are acceptable.
Even though she's racked up this debt I do know how she feels... I was recently harassed by Westpac - called up to 12 times a day, no messages left (I don't answer numbers I don't know) for a week straight all for... Ready? $12... That's right, $12!!! It would have cost them more in those phone calls than it did for them to just wait for me to call them back! (I was in the middle of moving house)
It's absolutely disgusting that they can do this to people