Don’t let collection agencies get the best of you!

Collection agencies and collection attorneys are the worst kind of business; they are the scum that feeds from the bottom of the earth. Collection Lawyers are not part of the legal community; their own peers don’t join them because they don’t want to get the same bad reputation. Collection agencies pray for those who have fallen on hard times and are unable to pay their bills for legitimate reasons. They will argue that they are saving businesses by helping them recover the money they lost, in reality they are destroying families, causing people to lose their jobs and starving those who cannot afford food! This information is being distributed for the first time to help protect consumers against common tactics that bill collectors are trained to use. Everyone should be aware of these tactics because chances are you’ll be called by a debt collector one day.

The first thing you need to know is that no debt collector is your friend. In fact, they start lying to you from the moment they tell you their name. Almost all debt collectors use an alias to prevent people from knowing their real name. Why do you ask? They don’t want you to go into the phone book and look up the name and phone number there and start harassing them at home like they do to you. Another form of deception that they use is in the commercial name. It is very common for a collection agency to adopt a name that appears to be that of a law firm. A common example of this would be “Anderson, Crenshaw and Associates”, or “Goldman, Phillips, Franklin and Associates”. Anytime you see a name like this on a claim letter or voicemail, ask the collector to identify your bar number. A bar number is the number assigned to each attorney when they pass the state bar exam. If they refuse to provide one, they are not lawyers and can do nothing but make empty threats.

Don’t let them scare you by saying they will recommend legal action. Read and listen carefully. Every time a collector “recommends, advises, will inform the legal department of him” he is lying. It is against federal law for a debt collector to threaten you with legal action unless he actually plans to follow through on that threat within 30 days. But they can recommend what they want as often as they want. This tactic is commonly used with a deadline date and time. If a debt collector gives you a due date to pay his bill or calls you back, call your bluff and another due date will come next month. Know that the bill collector’s job is on commission and the end of the month is where the benefits and bonuses are actually earned. If a collector says he owes or requires you to do something by a certain time, ask “why or what will happen?” I guarantee you they’ll come up with some bogus lie and try to fume over the phone. Legal action is almost always preceded by a demand letter from a collection attorney. This letter is something you should listen to as it is usually followed up with a lawsuit.

Know that a collector does not have the authority to garnish your wages. Only a court can garnish your wages. If a collector threatens wage garnishment, demand a copy of the judgment against you. Again, only a court can garnish your wages and this follows a lawsuit in which a judgment was entered against you. If a debt collector sends your employer information about your debt, they have violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act; a piece of federal legislation that defines the rights of debtors against creditors, collection agencies, and collection attorneys. Wages can easily be garnished for failing to pay child support, student loans, or your taxes, but it’s a difficult and very expensive process to go through with any other debt.

Never give your information to a debt collector. Don’t give them your name, your phone number, your employer details, nothing; if you do, they will use it against you later. A common new trick that a wily collector has come up with is to send you a “hardship waiver” form. This hardship waiver form is nothing more than a generic form asking you for personal information that will be used against you. They claim that if you complete this form, the original creditor may reduce some of your debt or even cancel it. If you refuse to complete this form, then they state that you owe the debt in full and payment is due immediately. This is a very effective trick as most consumers think they are getting something for a few minutes of their time. In reality, you are giving the debt collector everything he needs to use against you. This hardship waiver form often requires all of your contact information, address information, next of kin contact information, employer information, current income status, and asks you to verify information they have already received from the original creditor. . Again, there is no hardship waiver form and it will never be used to help you reduce your debt.

If you give them your contact information, they will call those numbers non-stop. It is not uncommon for them to call 10 to 15 times a day. If you give them the information of your relatives, they will call and leave messages non-stop. I even heard them call a neighbor and tell them they have an emergency message they need delivered. If you give the collection agency your employer information, you should expect them to send an employment verification letter to your boss. This is another form that his employer will complete to verify his employment status and must be signed by the debtor. The reason they make you sign this form is to scare you and let you know that your boss knows you’re not paying your debts. While this tactic borders on the gray area of ​​the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, it doesn’t violate it because they don’t provide any information about you, but ask for it and hint to your employer why they’re contacting you.

Another common tactic a bill collector will use when they start to get disparate or if they are untrained is also using your credit report against you. They will say that if you don’t pay the debt, it will ruin your credit report. Most likely, the debt has already appeared on your credit report and no further damage can be done to your credit score. From here, your credit score will only improve by either waiting 7 years for it to go off your credit report or by paying off the debt. If you pay the bill in full, you’re screwing yourself because it won’t help your credit score any more than if you had done a debt settlement on the debt. When you pay the debt, the account must be updated to all credit bureaus that the debt is paid with a balance of $0. The number 9 that was reported as a charge on your credit report will be changed to a number 5, which means the debt has been satisfied/paid and there is no balance. If the debt is discharged, the number 9 still changes to a number 5, and your credit score will increase in the same way.

Many times, a smart bill collector will tell a debtor that they will not work with a debt settlement company. Again, this is another lie; A collector will work with anyone who has the ability to pay a debt that he is collecting. The reason they will tell you they will not work with a debt settlement company is to undermine what the settlement company is telling their client. If he becomes a victim of collectors’ deception, he will end up paying the collection agency more than he should. If you refuse to believe the lies, the settlement company may stop the harassing phone calls. Remember, bill collectors work on commission; the reason the collector goes to work is to earn his commission.

If you are having problems with harassing bill collectors or if a collection agency has placed negative information on your credit report, you should not try to resolve this problem on your own. The biggest mistake a consumer can make when dealing with a collection agency is trying to resolve the problem on their own. Debt collectors are highly trained people who know how to take advantage of even the most informed consumers. Hiring a debt settlement company is the smartest decision you can make because the debt settlement company can reduce your debt by negotiating a settlement. One company that I have reviewed as a legitimate debt settlement company is FH Financial Service, based in Dallas, Texas. FH Financial has a very strong reputation with the fewest Better Business Bureau complaints of any debt settlement company that has been in business for more than three years. I have also reviewed their Debt Settlement Plan contract and they are the only company that has a money back guarantee; this tells me a lot since no other company guarantees their work.