Debt collectors are nasty when it comes to
collection of debts. They will call you late at night or at
work, will send you unpleasant letters and make your life a
living hell.
You can make the situation even worse by committing
any of the following mistakes:
1) Avoiding Their Phone Calls: If
you avoid picking up the phone, they will call you even more.
Be man enough to answer your calls or ask them to stop calling
you. You can legally ask them to stop calling you by sending
them a Stop Calling Me Letter. We discuss this more at: Stop
Calling Me Letter to Harassing Debt Companies
2) I Already Sent the Payment: Do not lie! If you tell them that you already sent the payment
or the payment is in the mail while it really is not, this will
make matters even worse. They even have the right to sue you
for lying, so don't!
3) Automatic Bank Debit: Sometimes
the debt collection agencies will intimidate you into giving
away your checkings or savings account # with your bank. Never give out your checking/savings bank account #!
4) Don't Be Afraid: Do not
allow the debt collector to intimidate you. Like Eleanor Roosevelt
says, "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent."
5) Issue Bounced/Dishonored Checks: If you do not have money to pay the debt collectors,
ask for an alternate debt settlement plan. However, do NOT issue
bounced checks that could be dishonored. First, you will be
charged a Non Sufficient Funds fee by your bank. Furthermore,
the debt collectors will get so angry at you that they will
most likely sue you for both lying and issuing bounced checks.
6) Ignoring Your Debt: Most
people owing credit card or any other form of debt will try
to avoid it as much as they can by not checking their credit
card statements, procrastinating their analysis of debt burdens,
etc. Speaking from personal experience, I once owed $8500 in
student loan debt and 6 months after graduation, I had to begin
making payments on these loans. Sure enough, I tried to ignore
looking at my student loan debt statement as much as I could.
But, you can NOT ignore your debt. The longer you ignore your
debt burdens, the worse it will become. So be man enough, and
tackle your debts.
7) Selling Your Property/Asset: If
you borrowed money from a creditor and used it to buy an asset,
do NOT sell that asset while the debt collectors are calling
you. If you do, the debt collector will have a much better case
against you in court and could reposses that property from you,
if you do not have the cash.
8) Untimely Debt Dispute: If
you think you don't owe the debts that the collectors are demanding,
you have a right to dispute those debts. However, do not wait
too long to dispute your debts. To read more about this, see
our section on Statute
of Limitations on Debt Collection.
9) Unconfirmed Debt Settlement: If
you do make payments towards your debts, make sure you ask for
a confirmation letter confirming that the debt collection agencies
received your payment and your account is officially closed.
Furthermore, check your credit report 2 months later to see
if that debt is classified as "Paid" or "Settled." |
