How To Deal With Debt Collectors
Sep 12th, 2008 | By William Blake | Category: FinancesRepeated phone calls and letters from debt collectors can be stressful. But there are ways to protect yourself and cope with the pressure.
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act sets guidelines for what debt collectors may or may not legally do when attempting to collect a debt. They can’t, for example, call before 8 a.m. Or after 9 p.m., nor threaten to garnish wages in states in which it’s illegal, or harass you with continual phone calls if you tell them to stop.
This presents you with choices. You can choose to screen your calls, allowing the answering machine to pick up, or use caller id to preview your callers and decide if you’d rather not accept the call.
If you decide to talk you can request that they not continue calling you. If you enforce this request by sending a “cease and desist” letter it is illegal for the collectors to continue to contact you. This can be a costly legal act, so it may be better to explore other options before resorting to this.
If at all possible, the most effective way to deal with debt collectors is to pay your debt. After all you did make the debt and your creditor has a right to payment. If you are struggling to meeting the full payment try to negotiate a rate reduction.
If you make a payment arrangement, stick to it. Debt collectors only have a desire to perform the service for which they have been employed. If you show that you are going to stick with your payment arrangement they will stop calling you.
It is important to keep good record of all calls received and agreements made. If you have instructed a debt collector to stop calling you, make note of that, especially if they are calling your place of employment. If it is legal where you live you could record calls. However research this because you may be required to inform the caller that the conversation is being recorded.
Few debt collectors will make any statement that’s out of line if they know they’re being recorded. That recording or diary can be especially important if you have negotiated a reduction in the debt.
Most debt collectors have the authority to accept substantially less than they’re asking for. Naturally, since they get paid a percentage of what they collect, they’re going to try to keep the amount as close to the original as possible. But they will accept less if you press. They know that 50% of $500 is better than %100 of nothing.