Mindful that they could face serious consequences if they are found to be in breach, Jamaica’s debt collection agencies are rushing to get compliant with the provisions of the Data Protection Act (DPA).
This is what led in part to the first-ever conference of the newly formed Jamaica Debt Collectors Association (JDCA) that took place on Wednesday at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel in New Kingston.
According to the provisions of the DPA, debt collection agencies must be registered to conduct business in Jamaica.
“Regarding this Data Protection Act, as collections agencies we believe it can make or break our business. If you look at the fines that can be imposed for data breaches for example, we could run into serious problems,” said Christopher Johnson, Chairman of the JDCA. He was speaking during an interview with Loop News on the sidelines of the conference.
When asked about the biggest challenge facing the industry, Johnson pointed to the DPA.
“The Data Protection Act is a big risk; remember that if there’s a breach we’re going to lose business, our clients might fire us because we would have let out their information so they would be breached as well. So that’s why we said we had to put this conference together because we want our clients to have confidence in using third-party debt collection agencies.
"We also want the agencies to understand that when clients give us their information, we have to put in measures to protect that information,” said Johnson who is also the CEO of Jamaica Collection and Recovery Services Limited.
Johnson sought to assure that as soon as an assignment is competed, all data pertaining to the parties involved is destroyed. He also shared that the agencies have been proactive in implementing certain changes.
“As an association, we’re promoting togetherness, hence our coming together at this conference. We also acknowledge that there’s room for improvement in the way debt collectors operate in Jamaica,” he said.
Acting Information Commissioner in the Office of the Information Commissioner, David Grey.
Of note is that the Acting Information Commissioner in the Office of the Information Commissioner, David Grey addressed the conference. In a 90-minute presentation, Grey took the debt collectors through the main provisions of the DPA, including the obligations and requirements of debt collectors and the agencies.
Wednesday’s conference was well attended. It brought out nearly all the top debt collection agencies in Jamaica including the eight largest entities and about 35 active members.
“As long as people see the relevance of an association like this it can only grow; we’re also saying to Jamaica, do business with one of the companies that are part of the JDCA,” said Johnson.
Insisting that debt collectors “are good people”, Johnson said “There’s nothing to really fear about us as we’re only doing our jobs. Our job is really important because without a robust debt collection system or debt collection industry in Jamaic,a prices are going to go up because people must be able to mitigate their losses”.
“If you can recover your losses then we’re going to have fewer price increases. Also, when investors are looking to come to Jamaica, they want to know that if they're selling their products then they can collect their money. There must be a system in place to help us recoup potential losses,” Johnson noted.
Meanwhile, Johnson said the association is lobbying to get the Government to enact legislation that would see debt collectors being licensed. Presently, debt collectors operate under the Vendors/Bailiff Act. He explained that not all collectors are vendors/bailiffs “so we’re now forced to be under the Vendors/Bailiff Act for us to be licensed to operate in Jamaica”.
And he’s urging Jamaicans to be prudent in who they utilise to collect their debt.
Said Johnson: “We want individuals and businesses to be discerning and to choose to work with ethical people and agencies because we have a lot of persons who just walk off the streets and form an agency overnight and create all kinds of problems in the business. We don’t want that because that damages the reputation of the professional agencies and individuals in the business”.
“We protect this at all cost, it is our profession, it is our job, we are debt collectors and that we promote,” the CEO stated.
