We've all had it happen. An unfamiliar phone number appears on
your phone, and you decide to answer. Immediately you regret your
decision because on the other end is the dreaded debt collector looking
for payment for some random debt item that you may or may not even be
responsible for.
They begin to threaten you with credit reporting, penalties, late fees, and even lawsuits. The debt collector is rude, harsh, abrupt, and abrasive. They send you letters, emails, and call you nonstop. You are asking yourself why you deserve such horrible treatment from some stranger from some company you have never even heard of.
Who are these people harassing you with phone calls and threatening messages day in and day out?
Many times the company calling you to collect a debt is not the original owner of the debt that you owe, or that they claim you owe. Typically after 90 days or sometimes longer, an unpaid debt gets sent to an agency to take over the collection process. Why does this happen you ask? Many companies do not have the time or manpower to collect unpaid debts from people for long periods of time.
Those companies have many other departments of business to run. The debt collectors' only job is to contact you, in any way, shape, or form to fulfill an unpaid debt. Businesses or a person to take on the task of collecting debt, and take on no other roles hires them. Debt collection agencies usually consist of one or more call center locations comprised of employees that are trained to seek you out and hound you with communication about outstanding debt.
In recent times, debt collectors have taken on some scary ways of finding people to collect unpaid debt. They can track you down through social media networks, such as Facebook or Twitter. Sounds crazy, but it is true. Debt collectors can also use location services such as Foursquare, or even employment websites, such as Monster, to harass you with unpaid debt accusations. Good thing is, you don't have to take this abuse!
If a debt collector truly is harassing you, you can do something about it. Debt collection agencies are not allowed to be rude, abrasive, and unreasonable with you. If you are receiving such treatment from a debt collector, there are some things you can do to put it to an end.
Document All Correspondence:
Keep written documentation of all communication between you and the debt collector. More specifically, make note if the collector is being rude or unprofessional to you.
Speak to the Boss:
If the debt collection representative is being unreasonable, always ask to speak with a manager. If you do not get any better results with the higher-level agent, file a complaint against the agency. You can report their unnecessary behavior to the Federal Trade Commission.
Don't Ignore Them:
As long as the debt collectors have a way to contact you, they will not stop trying to contact you. The problem will not go away by itself. If you do not owe the debt they are referring to, then you should definitely not avoid the call and handle it properly.
In the end, if you have an outstanding debt that needs to be handled and are being hounded by debt collectors to pay the amount owed, then try to settle and reason with them to take care of the matter. If you do not owe anyone and are being accused otherwise, then you should definitely take all action possible to put the debt collection agency in his or her place and end the abuse once and for all. This may mean hiring an attorney and taking your battle to a courtroom. However your matter is resolved, refuse to tolerate any type of collector abuse.
They begin to threaten you with credit reporting, penalties, late fees, and even lawsuits. The debt collector is rude, harsh, abrupt, and abrasive. They send you letters, emails, and call you nonstop. You are asking yourself why you deserve such horrible treatment from some stranger from some company you have never even heard of.
Who are these people harassing you with phone calls and threatening messages day in and day out?
Many times the company calling you to collect a debt is not the original owner of the debt that you owe, or that they claim you owe. Typically after 90 days or sometimes longer, an unpaid debt gets sent to an agency to take over the collection process. Why does this happen you ask? Many companies do not have the time or manpower to collect unpaid debts from people for long periods of time.
Those companies have many other departments of business to run. The debt collectors' only job is to contact you, in any way, shape, or form to fulfill an unpaid debt. Businesses or a person to take on the task of collecting debt, and take on no other roles hires them. Debt collection agencies usually consist of one or more call center locations comprised of employees that are trained to seek you out and hound you with communication about outstanding debt.
In recent times, debt collectors have taken on some scary ways of finding people to collect unpaid debt. They can track you down through social media networks, such as Facebook or Twitter. Sounds crazy, but it is true. Debt collectors can also use location services such as Foursquare, or even employment websites, such as Monster, to harass you with unpaid debt accusations. Good thing is, you don't have to take this abuse!
If a debt collector truly is harassing you, you can do something about it. Debt collection agencies are not allowed to be rude, abrasive, and unreasonable with you. If you are receiving such treatment from a debt collector, there are some things you can do to put it to an end.
Document All Correspondence:
Keep written documentation of all communication between you and the debt collector. More specifically, make note if the collector is being rude or unprofessional to you.
Speak to the Boss:
If the debt collection representative is being unreasonable, always ask to speak with a manager. If you do not get any better results with the higher-level agent, file a complaint against the agency. You can report their unnecessary behavior to the Federal Trade Commission.
Don't Ignore Them:
As long as the debt collectors have a way to contact you, they will not stop trying to contact you. The problem will not go away by itself. If you do not owe the debt they are referring to, then you should definitely not avoid the call and handle it properly.
In the end, if you have an outstanding debt that needs to be handled and are being hounded by debt collectors to pay the amount owed, then try to settle and reason with them to take care of the matter. If you do not owe anyone and are being accused otherwise, then you should definitely take all action possible to put the debt collection agency in his or her place and end the abuse once and for all. This may mean hiring an attorney and taking your battle to a courtroom. However your matter is resolved, refuse to tolerate any type of collector abuse.
Andrea DeLuca is something of a cross between a ninja & a
warrior. Having overcame her battles with negative credit. We all have
to start somewhere when it comes to restarting your credit. Andrea hopes
to help others create a better and more thorough way of rising above
the downfalls of having negative credit. Her main site: Rebuild Credit. Check back for great tidbits and to understand your credit better!
