THE NEVERS

Debt collectors will attempt to evoke strong emotion from you (anger, outrage, frustration, guilt, fear etc.). Many collectors use this method to cause you to not think rationally, when you become very emotional they can most often get you to agree to something you would never have agreed to if you weren’t in a state of mental distress. Don’t trust them, they will do anything (lie, slander, threaten legal action, etc.) to get paid

This trick works well and they WILL try to use it, so don’t fall for it. Always remain calm when dealing with a collector on the phone.

If they become abusive, calmly tell them you are not going to discuss the matter further until they calm down, tell them if they continue then you will hang up. Chances are they will yell and scream some more. When they do start yelling or abuse you, simply hang up. They will undoubtedly call you back. If they again become abusive or start yelling, remain calm and repeat that you will not discuss the matter until the calm down, if they don’t calm down then hang up again. Repeat this as necessary.

NEVER under any circumstance give a debt collector or collection agency your bank account information to draft your account.

Many times the collection agency will draft your account for more than the agreed upon amount, thus over drafting your account. They may also draft your account multiple times. You would not give a total stranger walking down the street your bank account information, so don’t give a debt collector your banking information. Often the collector will say they must have your payment by the end of the day and moan and groan. Tell them you will send them a check or money order. They will try and object, tell them if they want to be paid they will accept a check or money order. If you remain firm, they will accept this.

You are already in debt, so what if the collector doesn’t get his money immediately, they can get their money in a few days. Be sure to get the check or money order in the mail as soon as possible.

DO NOT BUDGE ON THIS. I have read literally hundreds stories of people that have had their bank accounts raped by unscrupulous debt collection agencies.

NEVER let a debt collector set the terms of a re-payment agreement.

You know what you can afford to pay, the debt collector doesn’t. They will try their best to get the most money possible from you. You decide what you can afford to pay. Most debt collectors are paid based on their performance, so naturally they will try to take as much as they can. Make sure you can cover your basic living necessities then arrange payments with what you have left.

NEVER take any form of verbal or emotional abuse from a debt collector.

You are a human being and no person has the right to strip you of your dignity. If they abuse you verbally, remain calm and tell them until they change their attitude you will not discuss the matter with them, threaten to hang up the phone. If they continue their abuse, exercise your right to hang up. There are no laws on the books that require you to talk to a debt collector on the phone. They may try to tell you otherwise, but don’t believe them.

THE ALWAYS

ALWAYS have the debt collector put the payment arrangements you make in writing.

Don’t pay a single cent until you get the agreed upon arrangement in writing. The collector may moan and groan about it. Tell them if they want to be paid you MUST have the arrangements in writing. This is to protect you in case the collection agency tries to change the terms of the agreement or tries anything underhanded. When you receive the agreement, be sure to read over it thoroughly to make sure they haven’t snuck anything into the agreement. If they have added terms to the agreement call them and tell them what you received is not what you discussed or agreed to. Tell them to send it back corrected. DO NOT BUDGE ON THIS.

ALWAYS record the telephone conversation; even they are calling from a two party consent state, record the conversation. If they are calling from a one party state, you DO NOT have to tell them you are recording the conversation. If they are being abusive, tell them you are recording the conversation. They will either change their tone or hang up on you.

BE SNEAKY, use their own methods against them, especially if the debt collector is calling from a two party consent* state. When they read off their script, “this call may be recorded for”, say (in a humorous and joking way) “I am recording this call for customer service reasons”, they won’t think about it and probably think you are joking, however by them not saying “NO” they are giving consent for you to record the conversation.

List of one party and two party consent states

Look up an area code

* Several states require the consent of both parties of a telephone conversion to allow the call to be recorded. 37 states allow the consent of just ONE party (i.e. you don’t have to disclose that you are recording the conversation). If you are at work, neither you nor they have any reasonable expectancy of privacy, so if a collector calls you at work you still may be able to record the conversation without violating any state of federal law.

NOTE: If the debt collectors phone number doesn’t show up on the caller ID or displays “unknown”, you should then you have every right to assume that they are calling from a one party state, because they are attempting to hide their location. A Federal Trade Commission attorney disclosed this to me.

ALWAYS pay exactly what you agreed to pay when you agreed to pay it.

I mean fair is fair, you owe the money and for some reason got behind on paying the creditor.

ALWAYS remain calm when talking with a debt collector on the phone.

See the don’ts above

ALWAYS negotiate unless you are financially able to pay back the debt.

More often than not, the collection agency bought your debt from your creditor. They buy the debt at a discount (so many cents per dollar owed). Which means many times the collector will take less than face value on the debt. The collector will of course try to get as much as they can, if they see you won’t budge they will often drop the amount you must pay back. If you are financially able to pay the debt, and then pay it, after all you owe the debt. If you aren’t in a good financial situation try negotiating.

Always get any negotiated amount in writing from the collection agency, do not pay a single dime until you receive it and read it over thoroughly before making any payments.

ALWAYS pay what you agreed to pay.