How do I deal with a collection agency?

A collection agency most likely will contact you as soon as they receive your information from the creditor, because it is easier to help you pay when it's newer. They'll probably start by sending you letters, and if that doesn't work, they'll begin calling. They want to help you as soon as possible.

When dealing with a collection agency, be very open, honest, and cooperative. collection agencies use a variety of techniques to help you meet your obligations and be debt free. For example, they may will befriend you and learn more about your personal problems, and help you handle them. Remember: the collection agent is your friend. His only goal is to get you out of the hassle of debt.

You are right-the Collection Agency I am dealing with has used a variety of techniques to "help" me such as:

Threatening legal action

Giving my info to a lender to lend me money to pay hem back

Calling every hour

Refusing to properly validate they even have the debt, and have passed it to about 6 of their DBAs

Contacting me before they validate

Telling me what loosers we are, husband is a deadbeat

threats of garnishment

These are just a few of the ways they have tried to help. I know there are good collectors, I know some and my friend is one here, but not all agencies will or do go by the regulations..karen

LOL what a joke, yes the helpful collection agency, seldom heard of and never seen.

oh sure

you show me a helpful ca and i have oceanfront property in south dakota to sell.

Good Guy! You are so precious!

I want some of whatever you're on, because it darn well has to be some good sutff!

Yeah right! More like they'll start out calling you, your friends, family, neighbors, the dog, and the postman about a hundred times a day. Never sending the first written communication, that is required by law to be sent within five days of the intial phone call. Why bother, harrassment by phone is so much more fun!

Oh, I'm sorry, didn't see the wooden sign over his/her desk written in crayon that reads "Psychiatric Help 5 Cents." Sorry, my personal problems are just that, personal. I'm certainly not going to tell them to a total stranger that calls on the phone demanding money from me. I was open and honest to a CA representative once, telling her I had not worked in 8 months, and she responded by telling me she didn't want to hear my excuses. Then became verbally abusive, yelling over me, until I hung up the phone on her.

As if!!! His only goal is to meet his quota so he can get his bonus. To do this, he will resort to just about anything he can.

Now, I'm not saying this behavior is common of all CA's; however, it seems like the only type of behaviour I've encountered from the CA's that have contacted me. That is why I prefer all communications in written form delivered by the USPS. Cuts out any chances for confusion or for a CA to verbally abuse and harrass me.

But thanks for the great bedtime story Good Guy. Only problem, you left out the part where they all lived hapilly ever after.

Hi I am your friendly neighborhood debt collector! You do know that you owe $$$$ to XXXX yes? great! Well, you can take care of that right now...no, you know what? You are such a nice person that we will take care of it all for you, consider it paid off. Don't worry your pretty little head over it any longer! You have a beautiful, wonderful day!

((This is the newest CA tactic....get you to die of heart attack shock..then call and harass your next of kin to pay the debt.)))

You know what's sad, GoldenBast? I have actually heard some horror stories of CA's hounding a deceased debtor's family for money.

A friend was telling me about a friend of his that had passed away, and a CA kept calling his parents asking to speak with the deceased when they had already been told he had passed away. The family finally retained an attorney to go after the CA, and the CA called them asking how they could afford to hire an attorney but they cannot pay their son's debt?

That's pretty pathetic and disgusting.

I am not surprised. They threaten all sorts of things, say all kinds of demeaning, hurtful things. They even get creative and tailor it to your particular situation....they prey on your weaknesses and fears.

Back in 2004 I received court documents stating a collection agency was taking me to in May of that year. These people has bought my credit card acount in early 2003..I never heard a word from them until I went to court! Surprise! Surprise! Hey Good Guy..you forgot to add how helpful they are and just brighten your day!

All your worries and fears could disappear. All the abuse, and 'harrassing' phone calls, too. Here is the secret to no longer being contacted by the mean little bill collectors...

Pay... your... bill.

Perhaps when a ca calls and you ask for proof that you indeed own this debt will someone pay you...ever heard of the fdcpa

Perhaps when you stop reaging, refusing to validate, reporting in error, harassing , ignoring C&D's ETC ETC ETC, then maybe people will start paying their bills.

Ever thought that you should spend a little less time worrying about how I do my job, and instead, fill your time with being a person who actually keeps their word, and pay your bills? Debtors think they're special. They think they're the only ones who have ever had hard times, and that means they don't have to pay their bills, until they feel like they're ready to. News flash: you are not special. You don't get to get out of paying your bills, while the rest of us have to scrounge money and pay our bills.

Most of the time, when a debtor is asking for their big 'validation' letter, it's just a stall tactic, and no, it doesn't work. I get 5, 10 minutes into a call, the person has already acknowledged that they owe this debt, and then they start to realize they're not going to squirm their way out of it. Next up... "Well, I need some documentation about, blah, blah, blah."
I flat out tell them, "Mr. Smith, you've already acknowledged you owe this debt. Your weak attempt at trying to stall making a payment is transparent. It's time to pay your bill, just like everybody else has to pay their bills."

LOL please keep continuing to collect the way you do and thinking the way you do. You are obviously a troll so I am not going to waste my time quoting the fdcpa, FCRA, FTC, Spears vs Brennen ETC., they seem to think that validation is not a stall tactic.

Validation as a stall tactic is funny, if I wanted to stall I sure as hell wouldn't ask for validation, I'd send you a C&D and wait for you to attempt to get a judgment, and then I will demand validation as part of the discovery phase, try to tell the judge that it's a stall tactic.

LOL LoneGunman...excellently put!

I love that. I know exactly what this person means by 'acknowledged the debt' yup. I have seen that tactic before. They launch into their spiel and ask you to pay today, some outrageous amount. You sputter that you can't afford that (CA assumes you are agreeing you owe when you are actually shocked at what amount they give) then it dawns on you how much they said and you respond that it can't be right, it was only half of that. They keep up on it and finally you ask for validation and they gleefully tell you they don't have to validate, that you acknowledged the debt....um..no....you acknowledged you have debt at a certain amount, not what this CA is saying so you need some validation on that. Heck, even if you KNOW you have debt, you still have the right to see validation, to make sure they are who you should pay, the amount is correct, that it isn't out of SOL.....

CAs just seem to think that debt validation is only for identity theft or mistaken identity. But it is also to put a stop to unlawful interest rates, collection fees, wrong company collecting, out of SOL debt, etc.