Bad Business through Facebook

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A Florida woman who fell behind on her car payments is suing the company she claims has been using Facebook to contact her family members in a campaign to embarrass and intimidate her into paying the debt. Melanie Beacham of St. Petersburg alerted the company, Mark One Financial, had to take a medical leave of absence from her job this summer and that she might fall behind on her monthly $362 car payments. Two months later, Mark One representatives began calling Beacham up to 20 times a day and then contacted her cousin and sister on Facebook to ask them to have Melanie call a phone number that leads to a debt collector.

Questions:

1. What are the arguments that the article says that debt collectors will claim?

2. Did Melanie do the right thing by contacting her car payment company in the first place?

3.  If Mark One Financial did as the article claims, have they violated any laws?  Discuss.

Source:

Bassett, L. (2010). Woman Sues Debt Collectors Over Alleged Facebook Harrassment. Huffington Post, November 17 (Retrieved online at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/17/melanie-beacham-sues-debt-collectors-harassment_n_785105.html)