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Bad Paper

Inside the Secret World of Debt Collectors

Jake Halpern

Picador

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ISBN10: 1250076331
ISBN13: 9781250076335

Trade Paperback

256 Pages

$19.00

CA$26.00

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The Federal Trade Commission receives more complaints about rogue debt collecting than it does about any activity besides identity theft. In Bad Paper, journalist Jake Halpern reveals why. He tells the story of Aaron Siegel, a former banking executive, and Brandon Wilson, a former armed robber, who become partners and go in quest of "paper"-the uncollected debts that are sold off by banks for pennies on the dollar. As Aaron and Brandon learn, the world of consumer debt collection is an unregulated shadowland, where operators often make unwarranted threats and even collect debts that are not theirs.

Introducing an unforgettable cast of characters, Halpern chronicles Aaron and Brandon's lives as they manage high-pressure call centers, hunt for paper in Las Vegas casinos, and meet in parked cars to sell the social security numbers and account information of unsuspecting consumers. The result is a vital exposé on the cost of a system that compounds the troubles of hardworking Americans and an astonishing feat of storytelling.

Reviews

Praise for Bad Paper

"While showing empathy for their plight, the author, admirably, does not absolve them of responsibility. His proposed remedies are reasonable . . . [A] fine investigation of one of the seamier corners of finance."—Roger Lowenstein, The Wall Street Journal

"The book teems with eccentric characters and scenes that made my skin crawl . . . Explained simply, read easily, Bad Paper defies expectations. It should also raise quite a few alarms."—Colin Dwyer, NPR

“A seamlessly told page-turner that takes readers through the world of debt chasing . . . where fortunes can be made through guile and street hustle.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

Bad Paper gives readers an intimate knowledge of the debt-collecting industry, but more important, it gives a comprehensive profile of the people in our country who live and die by the industry. This, ultimately, is the book's power and attraction.”—Frank Tempone, Chicago Tribune

“[A] wonderful inquiry into the seamy, multilayered world of consumer debt collection . . . both an entertaining sociology of the debt-collecting fraternity and a picaresque romp through the industry's most unsavory byways.”—Julia M. Klein, The Boston Globe

“An enjoyable and educational read, with stories that sound too good to be true and word-for-word conversations that a Hollywood screenwriter couldn't make up.”—Jonathan Epstein, Buffalo News

Bad Paper is nonfiction that reads like the finest thriller: suspenseful and frightening, eye-opening, and even, at times, funny. Jake Halpern's fascinating, fearless tour of the underworld of debt collections introduces us to a cast of characters—the (mostly) men behind the scary phone calls—who deserve to be the stars of the next great HBO drama.”—Joseph Finder, bestselling author of Suspicion and Paranoia

“A dramatic rise-and-fall tale . . . Halpern brings unexpected literary heft to the world of debt collection.”—Kirkus Reviews

“By fostering a greater understanding of the workings of debt collection, [Bad Paper] sheds enough light into the shadows to compel readers to push for change.”Publishers Weekly

Reviews from Goodreads

BOOK EXCERPTS

Read an Excerpt

1

THE $14 MILLION GAMBLE



In 2005, when he was thirty-one years old, Aaron Siegel decided to leave his job on Wall Street and move back to his hometown. He was drawn to Buffalo—the self-proclaimed "city of no...

About the author

Jake Halpern

Jake Halpern is a frequent contributor to The New Yorker and The New York Times Magazine, the author of Fame Junkies and Braving Home, and the coauthor of three young adult novels. He is a fellow of Morse College at Yale University. His hour-long radio story "Switched at Birth" is one of This American Life's eight most popular shows ever.

© Kasia Lipska