(Radio Iowa) – Iowa’s Attorney General is joining an effort to target abusive and illegal debt collectors. Attorney General spokesperson, Lynn Hicks says it has become a nationwide problem. “We are calling this Operation Corrupt Collector and our office is working with other A-G’s and the Federal Trade Commission and other agencies,” Hicks says. “Part of it is the enforcement — but a lot of what we are doing here is just educating people what their rights are.”

He says the pandemic has created a lot of stress for people and some debt collectors are trying to take advantage of that. “So we want to make sure people understand that if they do get calls for debt — maybe a debt they already paid or don’t think that’s theirs — or if they are getting threatening and harassing calls, that they are armed with the information that they need” Hick says. He says the people on the calls may not have the legal authority to collect the debt, but sound like they do. “Sometimes they seem to have enough information, a little bit of information to fool people into thinking this might be real,” Hicks says. “One of the things we say is to make sure you get the name of the collector and the collection company and all that information. And don’t give out personal information out over the phone,” according to Hicks.

Hicks says a common tactic is to try and scare people with threats of legal action if you don’t pay right away. “If somebody tries to threaten you like that — especially if they try to threaten to arrest you or suspend your driver’s license — things like that — you can just hang up. And you can also report them, report them to us or report them to the F-T-C,” he says.

You can call the F-T-C at: 1-877-F-T-C-HELP (382-4357). Or contact the Iowa Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division at 515-281-5926 (in Des Moines area) or 888-777-4590.

(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has rejected a request that would have let some Iowa grocery stores quit accepting empty bottles and cans and repaying the deposit fee. The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that the Iowa Grocery Industry Association asked the D-N-R to write a new rule for administering the state’s “bottle bill.” It’s the 41-year-old anti-littering law that’s set up to let consumers go to grocery stores to redeem their nickle deposits on empty cans and bottles. Grocers had asked the D-N-R director to let stores within a 15 mile drive of a redemption center to be excused from the requirement to accept empties and pay back deposits. D-N-R director Kayla Lyons says it’s prudent for the agency to wait on legislators to make a decision, since lawmakers have been discussing significant changes to the Bottle Bill.

Grocers have long complained about being required to accept empty bottles and cans in stores, arguing it’s unsanitary. Legislators for decades have DISCUSSED changes to the Bottle Bill, but have never come up with an acceptable alternative.