Bad Paper
Chasing Debt from Wall Street to the Underworld
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4.5 • 17 Ratings
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
The Federal Trade Commission receives more complaints about rogue debt collecting than about any activity besides identity theft. Dramatically and entertainingly, Bad Paper reveals why. It tells the story of Aaron Siegel, a former banking executive, and Brandon Wilson, a former armed robber, who become partners and go in quest of "paper"—the uncollected debts that are sold off by banks for pennies on the dollar. As Aaron and Brandon learn, the world of consumer debt collection is an unregulated shadowland where operators often make unwarranted threats and even collect debts that are not theirs.
Introducing an unforgettable cast of strivers and rogues, Jake Halpern chronicles their lives as they manage high-pressure call centers, hunt for paper in Las Vegas casinos, and meet in parked cars to sell the social security numbers and account information of unsuspecting consumers. He also tracks a "package" of debt that is stolen by unscrupulous collectors, leading to a dramatic showdown with guns in a Buffalo corner store. Along the way, he reveals the human cost of a system that compounds the troubles of hardworking Americans and permits banks to ignore their former customers. The result is a vital exposé that is also a bravura feat of storytelling.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Author and journalist Halpern (Fame Junkies) reports from a "shadowy corner of the economy" the world of consumer-debt collection, which "remains dysfunctional and largely unsupervised." Our entry to this world is Aaron Siegel, a former banking executive who left his job on Wall Street in 2005 and returned to his hometown of Buffalo. He began to operate as a privately financed debt buyer buying and selling debt, rather than trying to collect on it and found an unlikely partner in Brandon Wilson, a former armed robber turned debt collector. Halpern's narrative follows these two in the "aboveground economy" (that is, the consumer-debt marketplace) tracking down a rogue collection agency that stole their debt, answering to million dollar investors, getting tips on deals at a Las Vegas debt buyer's conference, etc. The author then delves into the inner workings of what he refers to as the "financial underworld." Here, debt is bought and sold with no questions asked. Halpern also discusses the regulatory climate of the current economy; these details combined with the narrative, a startling picture emerges. By fostering a greater understanding of the workings of debt collection, the book sheds enough light into the shadows to compel readers to push for change.
Customer Reviews
Fantastic Look Into An Industry Few Know Exists!
I was extremely impressed with Bad Paper, which focuses on the debt collection industry - an industry that is structured in a fashion most American consumers have zero idea exists. I will say, as someone who works on Wall Street in Finance, the unregulated and opaque marketplace that exists where banks (any firm that extends credit, to be clear, not just banks) sell a myriad of different types of bad consumer debt accounts - BAD PAPER - is no fantastic revelation to me.
What WAS incredibly revealing and quickly became a fascinating read for me was the details of the extraordinarily shady layers of both the actual on-the-ground debt collection firms as well as the secondary markets where bad paper is bought and sold several times over, often in a fraudulent manner. The story reads like a white collar crime meets mafia story, with former gangsters and drug dealers, ex-convicts and sketchy conmen are working with hedge fund managers, wealthy investors, large legal firms and all of the largest lenders in America in a dizzying complex array of deals and crooked double dealing.
Even if you have zero interest in finance, as an adult consumer in this nation who has credit cards, mobile phone bills, gym membership contracts or literally any other type of loan product or contract with revolving monthly payments, I highly recommend Bad Paper - a lot of insightful information here that may save you a lot of money and heartache one day...and even better, reads like a Sopranos meets Wolf of Wall Street type book.