NY Times: Indebted Americans Hounted by Debt-Collectors from India

Do they mention that India, through labor and wage arbitrage, now has a
lot of our money too? ~7.5% of India's GDP to be exact. (note this is
being automatically posted to EP, so if you reply remove the original
text and do not change the subject line).





Kim Berry wrote:
What is the cause and effect at play? Like maybe if all the U.S. jobs weren't moved to India in the first place there would not be such a demand for debt collection. (But the ivory tower economists will assure us that these offshored debt collection jobs will free up
Americans to work at higher-level jobs.)
NYTimes

NY
Times: Indebted Americans Hounted by Debt-Collectors from India

Debt Collection Done From India Appeals to U.S. Agencies

— In a glass tower on the outskirts of New Delhi, dozens of young Indians are on the telephone, calling America’s out of work, forgetful and debt-stricken and asking for cash.

“Are you sure that’s all you can afford?” one operator in a row of cubicles asks politely. “Well, how do you take care of your everyday expenses?” presses another.

Americans are used to receiving calls from India for insurance claims and credit card sales. But debt collection represents a growing business for outsourcing companies, especially as the American economy slows and its consumers struggle to pay for their purchases.

Armed with a sophisticated automated system that dials tens of thousands of Americans every hour, and puts confidential information like Social Security numbers, addresses and credit history at operators’ fingertips, this new breed of collectors is chasing down late car payments, overdue credit card debt and lapsed installment loans. Debt collectors in India often cost about one-quarter the price of their American counterparts, and are often better at the job, debt
collection company executives say.

“India will be the only place we grow this year,” said J. Brandon Black, the chief executive of the Encore
Capital Group
, a debt collection company based in San Diego. India
is the company’s largest operating area, with about half the company’s
collection force of more than 300.

.....more at link.

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