struggling consumer

Try to obtain an address and send them a C&D letter, this usually stops the phone calls.

Quote:

??
Why stop with charge offs? Why not a push to eliminate the extension of credit to consumers?

debt collectors will never disappear....there will always be some form of debt to collect.

Meircats...yes consumers have their rights. However, so do your creditors. Just because they are calling from out of area on a sunday, doesnt mean they are evil....they are doing their job. You obviously incurred a debt which you are not paying, and yet you automatically assume that the CA is evil. Think about it.....

I never meant to say that debt collectors would disappear altogether. That is impossible. The changes that I am speaking of would be legistlators enforcing debt collection laws and holding debt collectors to the law. When a debt collector calls, don't automatically assume that it is a debt that you actually owe. It might be and even if it is, Debt collectors need to be held to the letter of the law. I am paying my debts thankyou so it could be another family member but irregardless...., no matter who they want to get in contact with, they all have the same strategy when they get you on the phone. Some (only a few) Collection Agencys have courteous people working for them and are willing to observe the laws and work with you, but all too many debt collectors are breaking the laws right and left. If a debt collector exploits someones inability to pay due to illness, lack of income, joblessness or other cirucumstances...than the debt collector has no conscience and is only concerned about lining his own pocke whether the debt is legitimate or not. No one is stating, don't pay your bills. My stance is, if you are able to pay it you should. If you cannot, work something out with creditor...if creditor will not work with you and wants to continue to collect money that you do not have, and makes you feel like you are the lowest thing on the face of the earth because of it(ie through verbal assaults, threats of arrest etc...)that is evil.

If a collector calls and allows you to set up payments, they are extending a courtesy to you. Once an account goes delinquent the contract with the creditor is broken and the balance is due in full. Yes, people fall on hard times - more so now than ever before. It is the consumer's responsibility to prepare for these situations as best as possible. Isn't there an Aesop's Fable about that..."The Ant and the Grasshopper".

Meircats, you sound like you're just looking for ways to bait collectors into violating fdcpa therefore getting out of your financial obligations. Not saying you are, but that's what your post sound like....

Quote:

Let's touch on the word "courtesy" for a moment.

Now I don't defend CA's; they may be ruthless, uncaring and harsh. Their call is hardly a courtesy. Yet, the alternative is that the creditor can file a lawsuit as soon as the account defaults. In that sense, a CA's "courtesy" call just might prevent the account from becoming legal.

Now in my line of work, being the actual lender, we start calling accounts when they are 5 days past-due. We aren't aggressive or demanding immediate payment, just a reminder call that the payment is past-due and the customer can save a late charge if they make the payment before it's 10 days late.

Many of my customers actually do appreciate the call, because they forgot about the payment, and they're glad we're reminding them before they get hit with late fees. To that degree, it is a courtesy call.

I guess I can't speak for all finance companies since I have only worked at this one in my life; but I think we have a very good repoire with our customers. Being small, we get to know the customers personally. I've made some 5-day "courtesy" calls, and ended up having 15-minute conversations with the customer over life in general. I've also had customers that I don't call for some reason, and they come in to make the payment asking "Why didn't you call me this month?"

Id be a perfect world if I could give service like that ---- there are waaaay to many accounts out there.

I approach accounts with the assumption that the lack of payment activity was an oversight and my job is to be the persistant bug in someones ear until they call me back. Its a rare person that takes the iniative and calls us.

Morningstar,

Because of the way the collection industry is structured, yes, payments are necessary. But not required. Readers out there may not like it but the collection industry provides jobs and for the most part, keeps money out of lawyers pockets. If I had any sort of say in it I would spend all my time educating both sides, debtors and collectors. In this industry the only folks that can brag about wearing $3000 suits are the lawyers.

Instead of using the word courtesy, what would you call it morningstar?

Yes, the collections industry does employ a large number of people.

Quote:

Forgive me for saying this, but why is it when I think of Debt Collector, I see a Vulture in my head??
I consider myself a fairly "decent" person, and I do not care if there were no other jobs available, it's against my morals to take a job that causes people hardship and stress.
Granted, I cannot speak about all bill collectors, but I am sure if I ever got a job as one, I would have to be aggressive and nasty, or get fired. Also, I think it's wrong to turn a bill over to collections unless all other attempts to get the person to pay fails.
They should be warned: If you do not settle this debt, we will send it to collections.
Courtesy is a funny word. Whenever I get a call from a telemarketer, they tell me it's a courtesy call. (But if they showed courtesy, they would not call me in the first place)
Courtesy:

Courteous:

1 : marked by polished manners, gallantry, or ceremonial usage of a court 2 : marked by respect for and consideration of others

Respect for others?? If they truly respected people that would show respect!!

Quote:

There's a difference, in my opinion. One should not PROFIT off of the weaknesses of others.

imadebtcollector stated that I am just attempting to bait a debt collector into violating the fdcpa laws. A debt collector phones the consumer and goes into a tirade about what they are going to do to you the consumer if you do not pay, and whose baiting whom? It's perfectly simple and I will make this statement again...."If you owe a debt and are able to pay it...you should do so. If you cannot due to job loss, illness etc...than contact creditor or debt collector and work something out. If they are unwilling to do so, than what is a consumer to do? Continue to be bombarded with phone calls to get money out of you that you do not have? Americans are working their backsides off everyday to pay our debts...times however being what they are, it is becoming more difficult. Too many of us are behind the corporate, special interest group 8 ball and are finding that each day is a stuggle. If it seems that I am biased when it comes to CAs well you'll have to excuse me. In the research that I have done and also due to seeing someone in my own family of whom is still experiencing problems with a CA that incidently has broken several Fair debt collection laws...I tend to err on the side of the consumer. From the research that I have been doing.. I am coming across too many incidences of CAs participating in illegal and some downright criminal activity. Why are law abiding Americans being placed at the mercy of people breaking the law? Some on a daily basis.... This is also a debtor nation. Sorry to say. We are billions of dollars in the red and guess what...our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren are going to be paying on this debt long after the generation that created the debt in the first place are dead and buried. Are debt collectors from China of whom we owe most of this money to going to call the White House or the defense department and start demanding repayment on these defaulted loans? I don't think so. If I sound somewhat anti-establishment in my views, well..I don't apologize for it. I am a product of the 60s and 70s and I am always pulling for the underdog. This nation does not belong to Wall Street, the Washington Insiders, The Millionaires Boys Clubs, and Special Interests, but to the people. All of whom work hard everyday and are struggling each day, one day at a time. We deserve compassion...not sarcasm. We deserve respect, not disrespect. It is UnAmerican to kick a man when he's down and there are too many of these CAs that are practically springing up over night that seem to take some sort of glee in doing this. If you don't believe me, watch "Maxed Out" and watch collectors talk about their jobs, almost as if they work at Disney World...."Mad World" is more like it.

Couldn't have said it better myself, meircats.

Why are law abiding Americans being placed at the mercy of people breaking the law?

If your debts are not current, you are breaking the law meircats.

imadebtcollector,

Under no circumstances is failure to pay a debt (except under court order) a violation of the law. It is breach of a CIVIL contract, ACTIONABLE under civil law.
A civil court can hand down a judgement and failure to comply would be a CONTEMPT OF COURT citation. Which would be not doing what the court told you to.

Quote:

Theres always excuses as to why people cant pay their bills... lots of fingerpointing in your last post Meircats, not much accountability.

Cellular, thanks for the correction.

MOK - its an observation not a justification.

I agree, CAs are just doing their job and there is no reason for me to get ugly with them, unless they get ugly with me. What happened to me was circumstances beyond my control...not an excuse; just an explanation.

imadebtcollector obviously always has to have the last word, well this is my last communication to imadebtcollector. I will no longer respond to any of this persons posts due to the unwillingness to engage in respectful dialogue and an obvious attempt to intimidate people through this forum.("If your debts are not current, you are breaking the law, meircats") If you currently are or used to be a debt collector that is your business. But when you come on the forum and justify illegal actions by persons within the industry that you work for and display the same tendencies that too many of us have encountered with debt collectors in the past, it is impossible to reason with someone that will not respectfully listen and uses snide comments that criticize individuals views and opinions. I am possibly much older than imadebtcollector and I have lived long enough to see and experience different things, and it is sad to see persons(debt collectors) that have such hard hearts and attitudes toward other people all over the sake of money. I never thought I would live to see the day when people would choose money and other material things over the worth of a human being, but obviously, this is the day and the age that we are living in. No amount of money or materialism is worth loosing your soul or your basic humanity over. Life is more than what you eat, drink, wear or purchase. I have seen people endure hard times and have come out of them fine. It is only because of their strong faith in a just and loving God that brought them through their own season of need. Imadebtcollector should never stand in judgement of peoples situations that you know little or nothing about. You do'nt know what people have to give up to pay some bills. Some folks may have to sacrifice buying prescription meds or the light bill to put food on the table. The payment to a collection agency probably should have gone to paying for groceries, but too many debt collectors could care less. The "I don't care if you can't pay your bills..but you'd better pay me" attitude of collectors is abominable. As for fingerpointing, well there is enough blame to go around, but I haven't seen any debt collector walking on water or changing water into wine. Obviously with imadebtcollector, my posts have struck a nerve. If they did'nt, you wouldn't be responding so much in your own posts. My advice to debt collectors, start treating people as you would like to be treated if you are down on your luck. When you criticize people that are in debt and are not able for one reason or another to pay their bills, it's like breaking a man's legs and getting angry at him because he cannot get up and walk without assistance. That is totally illogical, and unreasonable. One of my professors in school used the term, "economic violence". It was a term first coined by the late Bobbie Kennedy. It describes the poverty that quite a number of Americans in the States at that time were experiencing and now because of the fledgling economy, Too many Americans are knocking at poverty's door. The violence lies in the fact that people are living paycheck to paycheck and can barely afford the neccessities of life. Yours truly is also at that door. (Have a family member also of whom may be on the brink of being homeless as well, but family will come up under this person to assist) So I cannot be biased when it comes to the horrors that I have heard about and am witnessing. Money hungry banks, finance companies, debt collection companies willing to take and not give. They could care less about people living on the street, people going hungry, or about the mental anguish that in some cases leads to depression or even suicide. Yes I agree, debt collectors are only doing their jobs. But it is a job they chose to do. You can always choose to do something else that pays well. And excuse me for saying this, but the line, or excuse for a debt collectors aggressive attempt to collect a debt whether owed or not as a collector "only doing their job," sounds a lot like "I was only following orders." Heard that before, at the Nuremburg Trials.

I agree with your statement Meircats. I wouldn't care to be in the shoes of these heartless people when they meet the Lord.

Yeah, true. I heard that only poor people go to heaven, or that you cannot buy your way into heaven, etc. And you can't take it with you.

:arrow: COURTESY?
MEIRCATS, YOU ARE RIGHT,RIGHT ALWAYS.
FANTASTIC ANSWER FRIEND.

We ALL have 'strapped' months. And I'm sure MOST of us call CA's, utility places, etc..and work out arrangements. A few CA's, I have spoken to have actually been grateful I call. They tell me it's those who DON'T call, that they have to 'chase down.' Breaking the law because you can't make a monthly payment, for whatever reason?....YEAH, RIGHT.

I have NEVER known ANYONE that have gone to jail for a debt being unpaid.

Consumer debt being unpaid is not a violation of law bearing any criminal responsibility.It is only civil code & I would ask our resident debt collectors to not give out incorrect information.