Consumer Debt Trends Not All Roses, Says Collection Firm Johnson Morgan and White

Trends such as the delinquency rates in consumer debt stabilizing at a much higher level than pre-2008 and the number of people subject to third-party debt collections doubling in a dozen years are not good signs for the economy.

Boca Raton, FL (I-Newswire) December 5, 2012 - Recovery firm Johnson, Morgan & White (JMW) says that consumer debt trends, overall, are not recovering as well as some analysts might hope. "We have a long road ahead for consumer debt in this country," says Johnson, Morgan & White CEO and President Robert G. Cooper. "Despite some rosy outlook, most of the trends in consumer debt in this nation are not following the overall positive trends in business debt recovery."

"The U.S. Federal Reserve has been showing a steady decline in overall consumer debt, which headlines saw as a good thing," continues Cooper. "The trouble is, those numbers just begin the story." In a new article outlining these trends, Cooper's Johnson, Morgan & White shows the debt collections industry how tough the road ahead (for debt) may be, which is a good thing for the industry on some levels, but bad overall economically.

Trends such as the delinquency rates in consumer debt stabilizing at a much higher level than pre-2008 and the number of people subject to third-party debt collections doubling in a dozen years are not good signs for the economy. About 14% of Americans (1 in 7) are faced with collection attempts from debt collectors other than the original creditor, which means that many more Americans are under pressure. Add to this the fact that the rate of people becoming delinquent on debt, while stabilizing, is still happening at rates far higher than it was just a few years ago.

Cooper sees this as a bad thing, overall, for the debt recovery industry as a whole. "The media tends to portray us as evildoers out to screw people in any way we must while showing those who owe as being unlucky and just needing a break," he says. "The more people there are feeling the pressure of debt, the more they're going to turn to Washington and their local governments to make it stop, regardless of the reasons for their being in debt in the first place. That's rarely good for our industry."

Johnson, Morgan & White, which Cooper heads, deals with business to business debt and is therefore not a part of the consumer debt industry directly, but Cooper says that they will be affected just as surely as the consumer debt collector will. "There is inevitable crossover in this industry," he says. "some businesses are dependent on their owner's or family's credit ratings and that crosses the line between business and personal debt, changing the laws that apply. Currently, business debt recovery is on a fast upward trend – especially in comparison to consumer collections – and this is a good sign for the economy. But this could change if politicians begin catering to those in debt and changing the rules to make our jobs more difficult than they already are. Debt recovered is money added back into the economy," Cooper finishes. "Every dollar we collect for our clients adds to their payroll, their purchasing power, and their overall financial impact for the better on the communities they serve."

About Johnson,Morgan & White
Johnson, Morgan & White (jmandw.com) has extensive expertise in corporate credit card debt ecovery. The firm is one of the leading businesses and forensic collection companies in the world. JMW is a certified and bonded business collection company with the target of recovering debts while protecting clients' customer relationships. Various investigation techniques are employes to legally investigate and track corporate debtor's money activity, including digital and public file investigations.


Contact:
Robert Cooper
Johnson, Morgan & White
6800 Broken Sound Parkway
Boca Raton, FL 33487
800-441-9550 or 561-241-2500
Fax: 561-912-1500