When you hear of a debt collector, you think of a green faced evil person who wants to do nothing more then hunt you down and shake every last penny out of your pocket - not a person who will empathize with you and work to resolve a situation amicably. Debt collectors are now trying to show their softer side.

They have started calling the indebted “our customers.” They are pushing consumer tips on the ideal way to respond when a collector comes calling (basically: pay up). They note that debt collecting is an old American tradition. They point out how, in a time of rising unemployment, they are hiring.

“Collectors actually care about consumers,” said Rozanne Andersen, general counsel of ACA International, the main industry trade group. “They want to teach consumers how to get out of debt. They’re trying to put themselves out of business.”

“You attract more flies with honey than with vinegar,” the ACA foundation’s chairman, William E. Wilcox, said. “This is just a start.”

Well if you are in collection, you can now expect calls that happen in the middle of dinner to at least be friendlier and that the collectors wont threaten to break your dogs four legs.

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