John Oliver heroically takes on the debt-collection industry

(Image credit: Last Week Tonight)

last updated 6 June 2016

Sunday's Last Week Tonight was about consumer debt, which sounds boring but in John Oliver's hands was anything but. "American households collectively owe over $12 trillion in debt, and right now, $436 billion of that debt is seriously delinquent," or more than 90 days past due, Oliver began. Oftentimes, those debts are incurred through no fault of the debtor, like from medical emergencies. "The fact that so many people have money trouble is not really surprising," he said. "What may surprise you is the extent to which seriously delinquent debts have now given birth to an entire debt-buying industry." Really, it's pretty surprising.

These companies buy up your debt for pennies on the dollar; the largest, Encore Capital Group, says 20 percent of Americans either owe it money now or have in the past. "But as you will see, almost every step of how this industry is allowed to operate is problematic," Oliver said. The debt-buying companies often go to great lengths to collect debt people don't recognize, but "buyers can end up harassing you over a debt that is past the statue of limitations, or that you've discharged through bankruptcy, or that you've paid." This is called "zombie debt," Oliver explained, and it's an apt term. "Just like on The Walking Dead, zombie debt comes back from the grave, is incredibly hard to deal with, and seems to disproportionately impact minorities."

There are lots of terrible and even illegal things debt collectors do, but even the majority of companies operating within the law rely heavily on lawsuits, because most people don't respond to the suits and the debt collectors win by default, earning legal power to take your money, Oliver explained. He sent a crew to the main industry conference with a hidden camera, but that was just the beginning of Oliver's commitment to the cause. "It is pretty clear by now debt buying is a grimy business and badly needs more oversight," he said. "Because as it stands, any idiot can get into it — and I can prove that to you, because I'm an idiot, and we started a debt-buying company. And it was disturbingly easy." His company, CARP, bought $15 million in out-of-statute medical debt, and to see how Oliver used that to beat Oprah Winfrey — "I am the new queen of daytime talk!" — watch below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.