Debt Collection

Are Your Creditors Calling? Don’t Be Afraid of the Telephone.

It’s certainly understandable.

You no longer answer the telephone. You know who’s on the other end - another nasty-toned collector, another creditor’s employee with a supercilious tone, bent on making you feel 2 inches tall. The number scrolls on the screen or the display, and you sigh, and feel a little more beaten down inside. Maybe your kids have noticed, and you are starting to feel less than honest with them. Maybe you tell them it’s a telemarketer, or a wrong number.

I’m here to give you permission - and encouragement - to pick up the phone.

First of all, it’s your phone. You need to reclaim ownership over it and not allow them to intrude into your home life by remote.

But more importantly - every time that bill collector calls - after you’ve told him not to - it’s a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).  Make a new habit of keeping a pad and pen by the telephone, and answer those calls. Make excellent notes about each and every call - names, dates, times, length of calls, and (most importantly) what was said.  The following statements are red flags:

• Threatening criminal prosecution
• Statements suggestion they will take immediate legal action
• Any sort of harassing conduct - name-calling, calling when you’ve told them it’s inconvenient, rude language, intimating you’re immoral or have done something illegal
• Calling at work (after you’ve told them you’re not allowed to take personal calls at work)
• Calling your neighbors or family members

If any of these things happen during those phone calls, stop thinking of them as little daggers being thrown at you. Bill collectors only engage in this kind of behavior for one reason - and one reason only: it works.  Stand up and help stop this abusive treatment by making a record of it, and taking the violators to court. 

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