Take them on - Dealing with debt collection agencies

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Dealing With Debt Collectors

It can be a terrible feeling to receive a call from your creditor to discuss your overdue account or bad debt. We tend to go through a lot of
reactions if it takes us by surprise including…

· Avoidance. We just want the problem to go away. We have the urge to “let the machine get it” or say “he’s not home”
when they ask for you. It’s not a particularly noble trait but we all feel it.

· Anger – that they would dare call you at home.

· Embarrassment – because we feel badly for owing the debt.

· Fear – because he have heard some bad things about creditors – some scary things.

So thinking in advance and knowing not only what they are looking for so you can have the right questions and the right
answers but what your rights are will help tremendously with those emotions of confusion and fear. In this article, we will
spend some time laying out just how to respond to those calls.

Just Lay it on the Line

Just as with most things in life, honesty is the best policy. If you can just be honest with the creditor, it’s amazing how
open they will be with you and ready to work out a solution. The truth is, they really don’t want to do this any more than
you do. Litigation seldom works and they understand if you have cash flow or employment problems then they will work with you to devise a way to resolve the debt.

Once you have put it all out there, have the credit representative do the same. Have them explain to you where in the collections process you are, if you are dealing with the creditor or an agent of theirs, how many notices has gone out and how many more will go out before it goes to more severe action, etc.

Now Run With the Ball

Having done some preparation and thinking about this moment in the conversation, you are prepared to know what you want and carefully, tactfully go after it. You can propose a plan to the representative he should be open to it. If you feel the representative is getting resistant or hostile, he is probably not at the level of authority to really help you so ask for a supervisor so you can do some negotiation.

Plan right now not to be intimidated or let them push you around. Don’t let them pressure you into something you cannot afford. If you have an issue, you can present it firmly but without anger and they will sense that you are serious and respond accordingly.

It Never Hurts to Ask

Once you get the creditor in the right frame of mind to negotiate, imply that you are ready to resolve the debt or reach some resolution if they will give a little. At this point, some concessions you can ask for are…

· Will they accept a reduced lump sum payment?

· Will they wave interest or late charges for a few months to give you time to catch up?

· Will they wave outstanding service charges on your record?

· Will they remove any negative marks on your credit record?

You may not get these concessions but it doesn’t hurt to add them to the negotiation and if the creditor feels they can get
the debt paid, they may have a lot of leverage to work with you.

Keep It Between Friends

If you are working with the creditor directly, that is where it should stay. They may attempt to use a little intimidation
that they are going to “turn it over to legal” or to a collection agency. You should make it clear that it is not the right way to go if they did that. That is a tactic that has almost all of its value in fear and pressure.

Once the debt goes to a collection agency, specific laws concerning how collections are being done kick in. Find out when they might consider doing that and make sure the creditor knows that the best line of communication is directly with you and not with the collection agency. It is going to take some tact but if they know that the minute it goes to legal or to the collection agency, you are going to shut down communications and it will require a full law suit to resolve the debt, it is in their best interest not to go down that road.

Created by Ryann Cairns