scared and don't know what to do

AS you have stated it is important to pay your debts. It is great that you acknowledge them and are willing and ready to begin repaying them. Sometimes it can be a rough and frustrating road to travel. Learning your rights and responsibilities is the first step of the journey. This forum will not tell you how to use the laws to avoid paying your debts. With out knowing the specifics of your situation, you may want to consider taking advantage of the consolidation services this site can refer you to. If you prefer to do it your self, this site also makes several resources available for you to take advantage of.

First, Don't panic! They (collection agencies and Collections Attorneys, often referred to in posts as CA's) will be mean, rude, uncivilized and do anything to get you to pay them now. Many will intentionally violate the laws to get you to pay.

You have made a good first move finding this forum. There are many people active here who want to help you and will give you the benefit of their experience and knowledge. All we ask is that you do the same when your time comes. If you see someone having a problem and you already dealt with it, tell the community what happened. How did you deal with it? Did it work out ok? What could someone else do in the same situation? The community consists of other consumers, those in trouble with debt, those that just want to help other with their debt, even a few lawyers and people who either currently or used to work in the collections business.

Next, learn your rights under your State and Federal laws. IF you have further questions don't hesitate to post them here. If someone has an answer they will post it back, sometime right say, but usually within a day or so.

You can view the Fair Debt Collection Practices act (commonly referred to in posts as fdcpa) on the Federal Trade commissions website at ;
http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.htm

The FDCPA is the United States Federal law that governs Collections Agencies and Attorneys and what they can and can not legally do. Many will willfully violate the law in order to collect. Keep GOOD RECORDS OF THESE VIOLATIONS WHEN THEY OCCUR.

Report violations to the Federal Trade Commission (Commonly referred to as the FTC) and the Attorney General of your State as well as the state the Collection Agency In question is located in. Under the Federal Law, you can sue for $1000 per violation of the FDCPA.

Another important law to become familiar with is the Fair Credit Reporting Act (commonly referred to in posts as FCRA) this law can also be read on the FTC's website at http://www.ftc.gov/os/statutes/fdcpajump.htm

A few tips top get you started.

Always request validation as outlined by the FDCPA before paying any Collection Agency or Attorney. There are numerous example of validation letters posted in the forum. There is a free book with many example which you can download at http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/books/sample-letters.html

When Sending Validations / Cease and desist letters, always send them via USPS Certified Mail Return Receipt Requested (often referred to as CMRR). This establishes that you tried to contact them and address the issues, and validates the address that you sent the letters to.

You cannot be arrested for being in debt. This is Federal law. If you are threatened with arrest, this is a violation of the FDCPA.

Please post at least the state that you live so others may be able to help you by finding state laws that may apply. Most (if not all states) now have their laws and statutes available for free on line, which is a great resource for the consumer to learn and apply their remedies and rights under the laws of their state.

Don't make commitments to CA's that you know you will not or cannot keep (be it calling back or promise to pay). They keep track of such things, and eventually will use them against you, especially some of the more unethical agencies.

When sending cease and desist letters, be sure and specify they are not to contact you by telephone, but leave the option open for them to contact you by mail. This way they cannot say you refused to talk or co-operate. It is on them if they choose not to communicate by mail.

Original Creditors ARE NOT subject to the FDCPA. However some states (like I believe Texas) have laws which do affect original creditors in the same way.

You will get through this, and we are all here to help!

If you are ever served notice creditor is seeking a judgment, go to court. Do not let the date come and go. IF you fail to go to court , they will get a judgment in default. Show up in court and explain your situation. While they may still get a judgment , the judge will work with you to make sure the payment is acceptable for both sides.

Just be firm with them and say that you do not have the money and when you get it you will work a payment out, but until then you can not pay them anything. You have to be firm, do not let them think they have the upper hand. When they say do you no how serious the situation is, and you just have to not be imtimidated by them. I know easier said then done, but we have all been through it and like I said be firm.

That was good information by Clay. I think you definitely need to stand firm and don't let them run over you. There are the many laws that help you as a consumer with rights. In the FTC link, check out Section 811...if they are abusing you in any way, you have a right to bring this to court and sue them for this matter.

You can record the conversation with debt consolidation Care's phone call recording mechanism. Just go through the thread below and follow the steps. Once the call is recorded, you can use it as evidence of how nasty they are. It will be available for everyone and all can listen to it.

Few states allow one-party-consent while recording conversations. If you belong to such a state, you need not notify them, otherwise, you have to inform them that the call is being recorded.

http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/phone/index.html

other1, make sure you keep your cool...don't let them frustrate or intimidate you. Read up on the fdcpa so you will be better informed and equipped to deal with these calls. If they upset you that much, start screening your calls, and then call them back when you are ready and on your terms. These people love to threaten, scare and upset you, that is where they get their big bonuses at the end of the month...from people who get scared and pay immediately. If you do not have the means to pay, then let them know that in a calm way, and make sure you are in control of the call, not them. When you have said all you have to say, simply hang up. But do not be rude or say anything vulgar to them, just show them you are in control. The more informed you are about the laws, the better you will be able to handle these calls. I would definitely consider the debt consolidation program offered on this forum too, they are very nice people.

Hey, that script in the first post sounds familar. LOL. Pray tell, what agency is calling you??

First thanks to everyone for your responses. A few hours removed from the harassing phonecall I realize that this guy is mostly full of hot air, but at the time I received it it was really troubling.

To answer the questions people asked.. Clay - I'm in New York State (NYC if that matters too).

Beatlemyn02 - The agency involved (and forgive me, I'm still at work and have the info at home) was something like 'GC Services'. The caller id when they call me comes up as 000-000-0000 (helpful).

A quick update.. I did not call the guy back at 4pm. I actually feel bad about this. I intended to, but I left the information at home. You see, they called me at 8am and woke me up basically yelling at me (I dont work until noon, so I sleep late) so I wasn't really operating at 100% and totally forgot to take his info with me when I went to work. Of course he made it seem like if he didnt hear from me at 4pm today I'd go to jail, but I know its all scare tactics bullshit. I can't wait until the guy calls me up again and threatens to get my mom on the phone so I can come back with 'Surely you know that would be in violation of fdcpa section 805 and I would have to report it to the FTC.'

I guess now I'm going to explore my options for debt consolodation or some sort of loan (I have other debts besides this one.. they just havent started harassing me yet). Unfortunately I don't own a home which seems to be the key to most of these 'we dont care about your bad credit!' type of loans. Anyway, thats a post for a different forum.

You could try T&C...I'm sure you've heard of them from this site. DO NOT try to get a loan to cover all your other loans. This is only a vicious sycle. I know it seems easier to get a big loan to one company and pay that off rather than paying off all the charges of so many smaller ones, but trust me, you are much better off with consolidation than a loan.

Yes, go with T&C. They are very good.

As for the collectors...smack them around with some facts. They hate that!!!!

Dont't feel bad about not calling them back. Remember, you are only an account number to them. This collector broke Federal law by saying that you would go to jail. No one has gone to jail in this country for debt for a couple of hundred years.

These guys are in serious violation of Federal law (the fdcpa). From now on, if you can, record the calls, and tell the collector you are recording. When they contact you say, "excuse me while I turn on my tape recorder". As to the threat of getting your mom on the phone, it is rediculous. They would not want your mom on the phone, she'd be a valuable witness for you. It is also illegal for them to communicate anything to any family member except your spouse. If these guys are a bad as you said, I'd think about sending a cease communications letter (via certified Return Receipt).

Can someone tell me exactly what T&C is? I see lots of posts about them in the forums saying they are great but the information is very vague. I've gathered that they are a consolidation firm. It seems like most people are using them to deal with payday loans. Is that all they do? The debts I'd want to deal with are credit card debts.

Thanks again for all the help!

That was me.. guess I forgot to log in. :)

I believe T & C is one of the consolidation companies that many members of the community have worked with. I have never dealt with them, but I have heard many great things about them in the community.

Could someone who is working with T&C please PM a phone number or something to other1? Thanks!

i'll do it now...

Thanks seeing_the_light.

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Well I recieved a collection notice in the mail today. Something which they claimed I should have already recieved when they called me. Seems like the next logical step is to send them a letter requesting debt validation..?

When they first contact you by phone they are required by law to send you written notice of the debt within 5 days. You are correct, you next step is to validate the debt, then once it is validated, make a plan to take care of it.

And I assume the way to do that is to write a letter something along the lines of the 'debt validation' example in the the free sample letters book?

Try calling 1-888-408-6572 for customer care or 1-866-438-6978

other1--welcome to the forums.

ok, first, yes, I would send out the validation letter. There are many variations on this---let me show you what I use. This is a collection of various ideas, and anyone here is welcome to use it--it is not copyrighted or anything of the sort:

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