How it really should be in debt collection

Thanks Ari, for your point of view. Hopefully a lot of collectors will read it and will use your way of thinking.

Thanks for your post Ari. I think most of us after reading this, will see that not all collectors are the same. It is nice to see your contributions to the community.

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'fdcpa' not fdcps, of course.

KP,

Yes, it is regulated in the fdcpa that calls to places of employment be kept to a bare minimum or a need basis. People can rarely accept calls of a personal nature where they work, it can get them fired.

But, can they still call after you send a cease letter telling them not to call your home or work and request for written correspondence only?
thanks, shirley

ari, please advsie; what section in the fdcpa states a collector can only call a poe twice a month. thanks.

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KP,

I don't know which section of it states that, I didn't read it word for word, but I did take a week-long class on it and every day after that, guidelines of it were ingrained in my head by managers on a daily basis.

Perhaps it's not exactly a law, but it is consideration because people do get fired if they allow themselves to be interrupted at work with personal calls.

Since the common goal is to recover funds for our clients, it is very destructive to get debtors fired, isn't it?

ari, maybe it is a company policy which you heard about, or just common courtesy like you just said.

however, nothing in the fdcpa mentions calls to a debtor's poe. there are only just a COUPLE of states which have laws stating how frequent you can call a poe, all other states do not regulate at all.

p.s - not trying to give you a hard time ari. just trying to clear things up for the people who are being called in violation of the law. i don't want anybody to be under the wrong impression.

Dear KP,

Part of my collections philosophy is not just about laws, it's also about concience. There have been instances where I just felt it was inappropriate to be on the phone with someone. For instance, an account came to me in the autodialer, and as i studied the account while waiting for the debtor, I read that she'd had recent surgery. When she finally came to the phone, she sounded deathly weak. I could not continue the conversation because she was in no state to discuss her money problems at that moment. I also got an account in the autodialer where the debtor answered, I could hear water running, and she said she was in the shower. I offered to call later because I felt that talking to a naked debtor was awkward.

These are just personal morals of mine, that there is a time and place for collections activities and those times and places should be meticulously selected. The more one tightens their grip, the faster their success slips away.

[color=Red]****Adult term removed - Jason[/color]

Ari, KP

The debt collection industry really needs people like you. These aesthetical values followed by you can still make the collection industry look good in front of the consumers. But the sad part of the story is that nowadays, a majority of people in collection industry now go after money rather than values.

Your firm will never have a bad name because people like you are responsible in growing the company's name and wipe off the bad practices faced by most of the consumers.

Dear Ben,

Thank you for your kind words. I love people, I enjoy helping them and restoring their confidence. As long as this forum exists, I will be there. even long after I recieve my degree and go into the Marketing industry, my caring will never cease.

Best,
Ari

Ari,

Thanks for your kind words for this community. It is really appreciated. And through your posts, people will get a new dimension of viewing and dealing with the collection agency industry.

Please catch a glimpse of this topic

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/forums/about5886.html

Hi everyone,

I'm proud to announce that I've just been knighted! Actually, just an official samaritan now. :D

Now, anyone who needs immediate answers or assistance can send me an e-mail or an IM anytime!

congrats ari. when's my turn?

ari, i agree debt collectors really should have a good sense of what is right and wrong, despite what the laws state. i, however, also like to make the people aware of the laws, even if the laws do allow for some things people may tend to think of as 'harassing' or 'threatening'.

Congradulations Ari and welcome aboard!!! We'll look forward to seeing more of you around here!!! Its nice to have someone from the 'inside' that might be able to help us get a different perspective on things. My name is shirley and I'm the drama queen in the group. LOL! No, actually, I'm kidding, but I say this because I always seem to have alot going on. But this group has been right there for me, helping me deal head on with my different problems. I get through one, and two more are waiting on the side. But I have learned alot and am stronger for it. Anyways, its nice to meet you and we look forward to hearing some of your input on things. :) And getting to know you better. Shirley

Dear Shirley,

Getting through one problem and having two more on the side is something everyone deals with! That's just the rigors of survival. While everyone's problems are different, that's still the general pattern of dealing with life. Get through one then take on the ones on the side. You're not alone. :)

KarmaPolice, it's your turn now to join the board! :D

Jason has posted one comment at this thread for you. Please check this one.

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/forums/about5886.html

Title 15, Chapter 41, Subchapter 1692c does not say how many times you can call but does say the following:

(a) Communication with the consumer generally
Without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, a debt collector may not communicate with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt???
(1) at any unusual time or place or a time or place known or which should be known to be inconvenient to the consumer. In the absence of knowledge of circumstances to the contrary, a debt collector shall assume that the convenient time for communicating with a consumer is after 8 o'clock antemeridian and before 9 o'clock postmeridian, local time at the consumer's location;
(2) if the debt collector knows the consumer is represented by an attorney with respect to such debt and has knowledge of, or can readily ascertain, such attorney's name and address, unless the attorney fails to respond within a reasonable period of time to a communication from the debt collector or unless the attorney consents to direct communication with the consumer; or
(3) at the consumer's place of employment if the debt collector knows or has reason to know that the consumer's employer prohibits the consumer from receiving such communication.

Source: http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpa/fdcpact.htm

as i stated elsewhere in this forum, there is a difference between 'communication' and a 'call.'

Of course they can't hide! However, how they are approached by us will determine how much they can be helped by us. You can be well within the fdcpa and still be precieved by a borrower as a jackass.
I called this one lady one time, she'd previously had her head bitten off by one of my former coworkers. She politely said she would respond by mail within thirty days, just as the collection letter said she could. I told her I was there to help, but the way my former coworker treated her turned her off to taking calls, even mine. She repeated her intent to respond by mail, all I could really do to help her was step off.
That's what I meant when I said that the more you tighten your grip, the faster you lose control. I take pride in certain accounts I worked because borrowers have thanked me for my patience and my help, I also gave them the time and space they needed to look at their budget and figure out how to fit in their rehab payments.
All good things to those who wait.

although she said she would respond in written form, as you well know, that will not stop the collection process against her. i don't agree with the way she was treated by your co-worker, but by letting her go without a payment over the phone, she is now open to those bad calls.

You've got a point! She very well could have suppressed her anger long enough to stike up a deal with me!
I don't know what became of her account. Hopefully, she was true to her word and paid the bill soon enough to avoid another call! Some people just don't want to be helped.

On the other hand, some people want a war! I came across one account in an autodialer, as I waited for her to come to the phone I reviewed her account and history of correspondence, turns out she'd been refusing to pay and demanding to be litigated from the get-go. I also saw in the special notes that she'd had a recnet surgery to remove cancerous tissue. I knew I had to walk softly.
When she came to the phone, I took a moment to mention the surgery and ask how she was feeling. After she reported that she was fine, I got down to business. I didn't play dumb, I just came out and asked her what she was hoping to gain by letting teh account go to litigation. It turns out she was disputing not only the balance, but past collector behavior. She would not agree to a discretionary compromise, and she detailed some ludicrous behavior coming from past collectors. She told me that if I would please forward her account to the legal department it would be a big help!
I thought to myself "Is this chick for real? She's got cojones wantingt o take on the USDOE!"
But all I said to her was "as you wish."

are you telling me you actually have a 'legal department' which takes care of accounts like this?

Absolutely! Student loans are government money! Bankruptcy will never eradicate a debt to the government. You know what else? And I hope Mom of Twins read this. Even failure to repay government money is not punishable by imprisonment! The worst punishments for failure to repay a student loan are garnishments, suspension of preofessional licenses for deadbeat doctors and lawyers, and litigations of accounts which means nothing more than balance in full, no compromise or waiver of collection fees.

The ONLY debt that is punishable by imprisonment is tax evasion. For the record.

ok, didn't know you worked on student loans.

That's right! What do you collect? By the way, i just read your introduction in the pub forum. I agree with you completely, many of these debtors are scaredand they need our help. I too would go for a fast payment plan over a slow balance in full any day. Above all, these "collectors" that everyone is complaning about who are breaking the laws are a real embarassment to us.

i work in 3rd party collections and have worked for various cell phone companies.

To Ari and Matt

Reading your posts, the community will get a new dimension about collection industry. And it is obvious that you both actually do fair collections.

But tell me, do you see other collectors by your side who tend to put a bad name to this industry? Don't you get shaken when you hear someone sitting next to you making this rude call?

Not me, Roxette. The company I worked for were and still are fdcpa sticklers. After all, their clients were only Fortune 500 companies. Department of Education, Providian, Cingular, AT&T, DirectTV, Healthcare, all clients we could not afford to embarass with childish tantrums and nonsense words directed at people who were once their valued customers.
Never have I sat next to a violator. However, as I became a more seasoned collector, I would see the new hires come in and i would soon be able to tell which ones would make it and which would not.

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I just ran into something at the new agency I work at here in Pensacola. I've read some posts in this forum about debt re-aging, and I've come across an account today, a past due payday loan in a relatively small amount, that was maybe a year and a half old if memory serves me correctly. Anyway, as I spoke to the borrower she told me she had paid it off, twice. FOr the first time she admitted to the embarassing blunder of bouncing a check, but then she went to Cashland and paid off the loan in cash. Willing to accept the truth instead of money in a situation like this, I gave her my company phone and fax and advised her to send proof of payment. I certainly hope that if she is being truthful, and this is not just a remaining balance that she missed, that this is just a clerical error on behalf of the client. It won't look good if my agency is inadvertently doing business with dishonest clients.
This is a new thing I'm starting to suspect. It may not be the collection agency doing bad business, but they may not realize that they have a contract with a dishonest client. My new place of employment, Protocol, are good people, but are a small agency and contract with retailers, credit cards, banks, and pawnshops. I hope that there isn't one bad seed in there that could poison us.

I have come across this too. Worrying.

It's because I work for a low key CA who has to fight for each client's business, even if that client is full of it.

Attention everybody! I never believed this to be true, but it is! Payday loans! You write a postdated check to a pawnshop in exchange for cash??!! What are you thinking?? Don't be so desperate! IT CAN BE CONSIDERED A FELONY IN A COURT OF LAW!! Writing a postdated check to a business that inevitably bounces? They've got you on a sticky wicket! You guys, I would never! I would prefer to do without that have this nightmare! Vampires are real! We all need to steel ourselves!

Loan sharks is what they are, and thats putting it mildly. And its a vicious cycle that once you get into it, it's hard to break! I have never done this but my brother in law does it all the time. He writes the advance payday loan checks, plus has done the car title loans. He's lost two cars doing this (back to back just a few months apart). And has a car now, that he's about to lose because he's behind on the title payments. The sad thing about it is, its his dead sisters car that she left for her son. Right away, he put the car in his name and took the title to the pawn shop. What makes it worse is, he doesn't even work, he gets a check from the government once a month and its spent before he even gets it.

Another incident, my husband worked with a man that pawned his car title and got behind on the payments. The repo man came out, started loading up the car. He {husbands work buddy} came outside of his house about the time they were driving off. He started chasing repo man with a gun and was shooting. Repo man got out of his truck, shot and killed work buddy. Wife said he was only behind one payment. This was in the news. man is dead, repo man is in no trouble, title loan place has car. I'm not saying work friend was right in what he done, not at all...but people do we really need to put ourselves in these situations?

I have posted about this subject before and this subject just really BURNS me up. People, the loan sharps ARE NOT OUR FRIENDS. repeat after me. THEY'RE NOT OUR FRIENDS. I am convinced this is one of worst things 'financially' going on in America today. I really wish people would think twice and consider their options before going into these loan shark joints. They are feeding on you. They know your luck is down and thats what they do, they take advantage. Do you think they're surprised when you can't pay them back??? no, in fact, they count on it. Nothing good comes from this. You're desperate, you feel you have no other way--you feel pretty good when 'they're helping you' and laying that money on you...then they turn into your worst nightmare. Please friends, think long and hard before getting involved with these people. I'm not judging you if you have, just do whatever it takes to get yourself out from under them.

shirley

That's one hell of a story about your husband's coworker! You are so right in what you are saying. There is absolutely no need for us to stoop to such desperate measures that we find ourselves on the wrong side of the law. I would personally prefer do just do without for a little while. I've had to before and it's not so bad!

They are loan sharks through and through, and what they do is damaging to our economy. If we are to get together and put our country back on it's feet, let us write to our congressmen about this. It really is up to us to think about what is in our best interests as citizens and put that in writing to our lawmakers. That is how democracy works.

I just really hope that if nothing else, the people that come into this forum will read and hear the stories behind these loan shark companies and steer clear of them--for their own good! That after reading some of the hardships and heartaches that these places have caused for some of the people here, that they will definitely think twice before going that route. And for the ones that are already have, that they will get out from under it as quickly as possible, while they can before it snowballs and backs them into a corner. shirley

Eventually I think it will be common knowledge. Just like it's now common knowledge that those silly electrode belts will not tone anyone's abs in a thousand years.