February 12th, 2010 | 
Author:
When you’re dealing with debt, one of the most stressful things can be the constant harassment from debt collectors via phone calls and letters. Fortunately, you do have some rights and protection as you deal with them.
Debt collectors are required to follow certain guidelines as they attempt to collect outstanding debts. They are set out in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. For example, they can’t call before 8:00am or after 9:00pm. They also must stop harassing phone calls if you have requested they do so.
The full text of the Fair Debt Collection Practices is available at the following website:
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm#801
There are a few ways to deal with debt collectors under these rules. The simplest is to simply not answer the call. If you have caller ID on your phone and don’t recognize who’s calling, don’t answer. If it turns out to be somebody you would like to talk to, he or she can leave a message.
If you do answer the call and it turns out to be a debt collector, you can insist that they stop calling you. This should be followed up with a “cease and desist” letter physically sent to them, via certified or registered mail so you have proof they have received it. Debt collectors are legally obligated to stop calling if they receive one of these.
The most obvious and effective option for dealing with debt collectors is to actually pay the debt. After all, you agreed to pay the debt when you acquired it and you therefore should repay the creditor who lent you the money. You should still pay it even if you have told debt collectors to stop calling you.
If you are unable to repay the debt in full at once for some reason, you may be able to negotiate a reduced interest rate or partial repayment if you explain your situation. Keep in mind, however, that telling a creditor you’ve run up debt by doing too much unnecessary shopping is not going to gain you much sympathy. On the other hand, if you’ve just been fired from your job and are going through legitimately difficult financial times while you look for another, this will likely give you some room for negotiation.
If you do negotiate a better deal with your creditors, be sure to keep your word and pay what you’ve said you would. While bill collectors may seem relentlessly cruel, they’re really just there to collect the money you owe. That’s their job. Once you have made arrangements with creditors to repay what you owe them and have shown that you can be trusted to keep your word, bill collectors will move onto other people and leave you alone.
Michael Geoffrey
http://www.articlesbase.com/finance-articles/how-you-can-deal-with-debt-collectors-116960.html
Posted in deal no deal
How to deal with debt collectors?
I obtained a copy of my credit report and I want to clean it up. I am planning on calling all three of the collection companies today. Does anyone have tips on how to deal with them? They intimidate me to the point where my whole body is shaking. I just want to get over the fear of calling them. Thank you in advance.
BTW- I don’t have money today to pay them all off. Do you think they are flexable with payment plans?
First thing – if you aren’t comfortable on the phone with them contact them in writing. There are some great websites with samples and tips on how to contact them such as creditboards.com.
References :
As long as you are willing to work with them, they are not so bad. Just be honest and tell them what you can afford.
References :
I did this for my husband and myself,
The first thing you do is look over the report where it gives your personal information. Look at all three reporting agencies. Make sure they are all correct, name, middle initial, ssn#,alias, jobs, EVERYTHING.
Then get all your creditors together(write them down) and start checking the list against all three reports. If you find any discrepensies , say you paid this off but it’s still showing ass open, or if your name has a different initial or address attached to it.
Next – Call each agency and report the discrepensy then follow up with a letter certified return receipt requested. In the letter makke sure you put all your current information and demand it be changed. They must correct any incorrect inormation on your credit report within 45 days.
Next, If you owe people money start handling all of your bills, get them in order, and start sending money. even 20$ will help.
If you owe creditors over 6 years then, let it go and focus on the cards that are current or within 2 months or past due. Stop paying late and try nard to be current.
If you have balance transfer options from credit cards , looking into transfering your debt to a single card , that way you can forcus on that card alone.
Find ways to cut daily spending and then add it to the payements you are going to send. EVERY LITTLE BIT HELPS HERE EVEN 5$ TODAY CAN SAVE YOU ALOT MONEY$$.
In 3-6months, request copies of your credit report. Make sure the information is correct and if not call and send out more letters.
Also I also improved my credit by paying even charge off items, most people said I was crazy but it helped increase my scores 50points when I did that. Of course this was after I paid the currently late bills first.
The companies probably dont have payment plans per se, but if you send a letter with an amount of money that you agree to sending and continue to make the payment, then they shoulld not take the action any farther as they will see you as willing to pay.
I would give you a breakdown of the items to pay and how but you havent given me real infor about what you owe.
I did this and it took 1 -2 years to get everything corrected and updated inthe mean time I continued to pay everything on time and it showed on the reports every 6 months when I ran it. Also my scores improved from the first actions I took to correct misinformation on my report, they had my middle initial incorrect and they had 2 crdit cards that were not mine, and my address was wrong for those 2 cards, they were someone elses, and my emplyer was wrong as well. I increased my score 45 days later just by fixing those few things.
For my husband, this father;s name has the first 2 letters inthe first name the same ,same middle initial and last name and they lived at the same address until my husband and I married at 29 so my father inlaws pastdue and outstanding credit cards were on his report including a MAXED out AMEX card. and delinquent things that. SO my doing step one my husbands score flew up 100points within the 45 days.
dont be intimidated you handle one thing at a time and be consistent and you shoudl be ok.
I just wanted to *EDIT* credit companies do now handle things online Transunion is very quick online, but it’s no substitue for a phone call. it;s all logged and recorded and shows them your not playing and wont drop it. So make sure you follow up with a phone call.
References :
First: Check to see if these debts are "time barred" which means beyond your state statute of limitations. You can check your states SOL at the following site.
http://www.fair-debt-collection.com/SOL-by-State.html
If they are time barred, then they can not take legal action against you. Establishing a payment schedule will re-set the clock on your states SOL and then they CAN take legal action such as wage garnishment.
If the debts are not time barred, try and pay them off. You can request a "pay for delete" so it can be removed from your credit report by the creditor. However, they don’t always do this. If they do, GET IT IN WRITING before you pay!!!!
Do not make arangements to communicate over the phone, this does not provide you with any legal proof should you need it. Always do it in writing!!!
Use that web site to find out how to deal with them and you can also find sample letters to send to the collection agencies to validate the debt if you feel it is not your debt.
Hope this answers your question
LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The advice contained herein is for informational purposes only. It is not to be construed as Legal Counsel nor Legal Advice.
References :
If the charges are close to 7 years, i’d leave it be. It will fall off anyway. If you want to settle, get it in writing and tell them you want it deleted from the credit file.
References :
Retired bill collector 35 years