Allied Progress Presents CFPB Director Kraninger With the Most Annoying Sound in the World: Endless Phone Dings and Buzzes
New Digital Ad and Netroots Effort Opposing Trump Debt Collection Spam Plan Launched in Final Week of Public Comment Period
TrumpSpam.org Encourages Consumers to Email Director Kraninger 10-Hour Loop of Smartphone Message Alert Noise
Watch New Digital Ad ‘Harassed Enough’ HERE
WASHINGTON, D.C. (September 16th, 2019) – If the Trump-Kraninger CFPB intends to go through with its proposal to allow debt collectors to send unlimited emails and texts to consumers, consumers should have the option to return the favor. And now they do. Consumer advocacy group Allied Progress launched TrumpSpam.org which features a simple tool to email CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger a 10-hour long audio clip of smartphone alert dings. The goal: help CFPB Director better appreciate how annoying it would be for millions of families to suddenly see their inboxes overwhelmed with messages from random debt companies (and possibly scammers) without prior permission — oftentimes about debts that are so old they can’t be legally pursued, or debts that don’t even belong to the person.
TrumpSpam.org helps users send an email directly to Kraninger’s public email, externalaffairs@consumerfinance.gov, with the video and a pre-populated but editable message:
“Subject Line: ‘May I have 10 hours of your time, Kathy Kraninger?’ ‘Body: “Wanna hear the most annoying sound in the world, Director Kraninger? It’s the sound of never-ending dings on my phone. I’m not the only consumer that doesn’t want unlimited email and text spam from debt collectors. But millions of people will have to get used to it if you go through with your debt collector spam plan. Before you do, put yourself in our shoes, for as long as you can stand it…[audio link]”
Making Concerns Official:With the public comment period on CFPB’s debt proposal set to close September 18th,, Allied Progress is also running a new digital ad, “Harassed Enough”, this week on social media platforms including Facebook and YouTube that encourages consumers to make their voice count and tell their story why debt collectors should not have more options to harass them and invade their privacy.
“Bad policies from Washington are often the brainchild of people who aren’t personally impacted by them. Maybe spamming the spammer-in-chief at the CFPB will help them realize the massive invasion of privacy they are inviting with this plan,”said Jeremy Funk, spokesman for Allied Progress.“If the Trump administration doesn’t care about consumer harassment as long as the GOP’s debt collection industry donors are happy, Congress should get prepared to hold them accountable.”
BACKGROUND:The CFPB’s proposal isn’t just wildly unpopular, it’s likely illegal based on a recent Federal appeals court ruling debt collection agencies are prohibited from asking consumers to click on hyperlinks to obtain legally-required notices about outstanding debt. The proposal seeks to permit exactly that. The Trump spam plan rewards the debt collection industry with “almost everything” on their wish list despite racking up among the highest number of consumer abuse complaints and millions of dollars in fines and legal penalties for misconduct. Allied Progress recently released an analysis showing the debt collection industry trade groups have spent over $2.1 million on federal lobbying since Trump took office, and debt collectors have donated over $343,000 to Republican political campaigns since 2016.
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