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Unfortunately it's not BS. Lots of collection agencies use illegal tactics. Many of the "collectors" are commission-only, and legally independent contractors. The agencies can give them a list of rules for the agencies' legal protection, but neither the agencies nor the collectors have any real incentive to make sure the rules are followed.

A few years ago, an administrative error caused my U.S. Dept. of Education loan to be transferred to a collection agency. I called and wrote and called the DoE, and they kept saying "wait a couple more months, it takes a while to process these things". Meanwhile, the collection agency and other areas of DoE took the position that the debt was now owned by the collection agency and that DoE couldn't do anything (and couldn't accept any payments from me!). I was getting frequent calls from collectors with thinly veiled threats, and only when I threatened the agency with legal action (in writing) did the account get transferred back to DoE.

I have law degree and had no trouble understanding my rights and what was going on behind the scenes, and on top of that I was perfectly able and willing to pay what I owed. For people who are not sophisticated about the legal and business aspects of these situations and/or are really unable to pay some of their bills, these collectors can be truly terrifying.