Have you (or perhaps someone you know who got behind on bills) been charged an extra processing fee by the collection company? Have you been bullied by a debt collector? Has the collector blabbed your personal information to others?

In a report out today, the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (CFPB) reveals that some collectors are guilty of the following:

• Charging a processing fee on the debt.
• Lying to consumers that if they don’t pay immediately their credit would be further harmed.
• Revealing information about the person’s debts to friends and family while trying to track them down.
• Failing to properly investigate and validate a disputed account.

As a result of these crimes plus illegal practices by some auto loan servicers and student loan servicers, the CFPB has recovered $11,000,000 in damages. This money is to be distributed to 225,000 consumers who have been harmed.

If this is you (or possibly someone you know), contact the CFBP here. Please feel free to post this on social media to help get the word out. You never know who among your acquaintances might be due a nice rebate check.