Former... Debt Collector

So do you plan to look for another position as a collector, or are you going to try something different?

oh no .... i have had it with debt collection ... don t get me wrong ... i wracked up a hell of a reputation, boss reasons one day that i should do telesales, i can sell snow to an eskimo, and condoms to a priest, but, enough is enough.

i lost my appetite for saying the mrd, mmdc and cid... all that formal stuff just so i can say "So, u paying me today?" the response is gonna be yes or no... so heck ... what ever...

several things learned from working with them ...

the host company/ clients... they lie. some of these ppl don t even have the foggiest clue what they got themselves into, next thing they know, they're being called by 4 different CA about the same debt.

SOL- will be exploited... just because someone can no longer take u to court, doesn't mean u don t owe them n/e thing.

however, that doesn t mean that u owe them the world either... Settlement arrangements can always be made... especially on credit card debt...

and last but not least ...

i HATE autodialling ppl's homes, 4 times a bleeding day ... even tho i complained and complained, nothing was done about it... so i just simply, came off the dialler, and made manual calls to the ppl i knew were home ...

and, i'm a secretary/ personal assistant at a property management and maintenance firm ... i can live with this...

It's really good to know someone nice who is been in the collection industry. Marlee, welcome on the board. Your comments on the collection industry will be helpful for many people. There is a forum called "Dealing with collection agencies". Have a look at the different consumer issues and share your thoughts. Your suggestions might save some people dealing with the rude collectors.

When I was collecting, I absolutely HATED the autodialer. WITH A PASSION! I did whatever I could to stay off it. Luckily I had a huge unit and a manager that also hated the diaer, so I didnt have to go on it very often.

most hilarious event... auto dialing minnesota ...

i never got cussed like that before, thank god i'm such an angel.. and know how to grovel ... i mean extreme grovelling went down ... its illegal to call most upper west coast states ...

That autodialer is annoying. I know for me dealing with even my mortgage company, they said they were on an autodialer and 10 to 20 calls a day is too much and if by chance I did answer, 9 out of 10 times, within 30 minutes to an hour, I would get another call from them. Then be told it was not thier place to read the previous notes, that it didn't matter and had to repeat myself, AGAIN! I was also told that they could not read any notes until after I picked up the phone and answered. Many moons ago, when I use to work for a collection agency and we dialed things ourselves, but we never acted like collectors do now. It is amazing how things have changed in 11 years.

not only annoying, but sometimes illegal ... like in minnesota and oregon, where i would have to wait until after 12 or 1 pm my time to manually dial 350 calls (my desk was average 560 accounts) i was so pissed when some idiot set the dialler to call mn... all of a sudden all the calls i had scheduled for the next day popping up like rabbits in a carrot patch ... and no one can tell me why ...

It is not illegal to autodial to Minnesota...you just have to have a live person on the phone to take the call!

strange... that info came from NCO's attorneys... me, i just didn t like calling ppl at 9 am my time, or ....

4 am their time ... now, that is a lot of SugarHoneyIceTea!

Well, NCO isnt known for having the best lawyers or best collection practices.


MINNESOTA No licensed collection agency or collector shall communicate with a debtor by using a recorded message with an automatic dialing announcing device, unless the recorded messages is immediately preceded by a live operator. The live operator must disclose the collection agency????????s name and that the message intends to solicit payment. The operator obtain the debtor????????s consent to hear the message.

lol u tellin me...

true what u say, but since we never did that, guess what... its illegal to autodial (what, and waste precious company minutes talking to someone not NCO... men would scrimp toilet paper if they had to)

I don't believe it is illegal to autodial anywhere as long as there is a collector immediately available to take the call. I don't remember any state being precluded from our dialer campaigns. Our computer would adjust the amount of calls being dialed depending on how many collectors where actually talking on the phone...if all collectors on the dialer were talking with debtors, the dialer would stop so there would be no violations.

oh, u mean a regular dialler... we used 2 different types one that left a message, and the one that was 'supposed' to connect u to a live agent... notice supposed is in quotation brackets, what was supposed to happen, didn't always happen. as a matter of fact, very rarely did it actually happen

I am not fond of anyone who enjoys collections. I appreciate the former employees of this harrassing trade, who come here to share the inside scoop. When I meet someone, and find out that thier job is in collections, it tells me so much about them, and then I tell them to f#uck off.

well mr. lemons i'm touched that u actually have an opinion in regards to someone who has a job, now, don t get me wrong, i know what u may mean. but i enjoyed my job because i believe i was providing a service (including referring many debtors to this site so they can find more help than i was able to offer them)

i enjoyed being a collector.. if that makes u tell me to f**k off, well, knock urself out ... its not making me n/e richer or poorer, if its making a substantial adjustment to ur bank account to do so ... well... u need to share that secret with me ( the amount of ppl i've told to bugger off, i should be bill gate's closest rival by now....) dang!!!

Peace!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Guys, don't get personal. Everyone has their own way of thinking. We are free to think what we may, but we cannot force our thoughts on others. Marlee, you have been referring people to this website?? I see you here today only. Well, you should have joined us earlier. :) There's so much to hear from you.

if u look thru posts since november of last year u would have noticed that i was online as guest Marlee j. however... ahem .... my bad was doing it during NCO time :D since i happen to have that soft spot in my heart when a lil ole lady says to me, hun, thats my dead beat son's debt and i keep getting it thrown at me... come on i had to find something to help them out ...

i may have liked the challenge, but i don't like having to black ball ppl into paying something that some of these big companies could really let go... i mean.... how can u chase down a 68 yr old man, for a 150.00 he had on a credit card over 11 years ago? come on now ... WORST OF ALL J.P. MORGAN CHASE ... SWINDLERS!!!!

I don't think it is fair to lump all collectors into one category, as with any profession, you will have the good and the bad. Just because somebody is in the collection industry doesn't make them a bad person. I would like to hear more on CAs and how to defend myself should I ever need to if faced with a collector who is harassing and violating the laws.

This is pretty narrow minded. Personally I hate dentists but I would never be rude to one.

I for one loved my job as a collector! It was one of the best jobs I have ever had. I performed a service and did it well without harrassing or being rude to people.

Before one bad apple spoils the whole bunch, throw it away so that the good ones are saved. It's like a good collector in the so called bad industry or a right person working in the wrong place. Situations might differ from one another. I believe that nice people should be appreciated for their good work. They should not be badly looked at just because they are working in a bad company. They are still the good people and they didn't run that company. Finally, we all want to save our sanity.

Well,
I will be honest that me and collectors don't get along most of the time. I usually don't bite until they start trashing on me. I have had dealing with very good collectors.We have a few on this board. I just seen what the bad ones do everyday and it has kinda soured my outlook on that position. Best thing I can hope to do is keep an open mind.

Welcome to the board Marlee. I hope you give good advice. If you have any inside info on NCO, let me know. I am preparing my next lawsuit against them.

I was not attacking the members here, I clearly stated that I appreciate those who formerly worked for collections, that come here to share the inside scoop. I was speaking negatively about those who get a high off of someone elses plights. If anyone here thought that I was speaking to them in a bad way, then I apologize for not being more specific. Marlee, I was not talking bad about you.

Hey, I have had my fair share of awful, mean and hateful collectors....I would say they outweigh the good ones(the ones that abide by the laws and dont speak to you as if you are a loser)by about 15 to 1

I agree, there are very few decent collectors, who utilize common sense and politeness when dealing with a human being. The majority are, however, pond scum, and would shit their pants if someone they messed with met them outside of their cubicle. I sure hope Bass and Associates have pondered that idea.

Is there a way to block the auto dailer from your phone? How long will an agency hold on to a debt before it gets released to another ca? It is good to have formal debt collectors on here, you can answer sooooooooo many questions. hopefully.

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I was referring to Bass and Associates and companies like them.

Understood, and no offense taken. I just had a story to tell and didn't seem to fit well in any other posts.

I think alot of folks just do it for a job, some may enjoy it, if they are good at it and they get commission but I think alot of them just do it for employment. We have alot of telemarketing here, people hate it but they do it to pay the bills. We all have to eat. For the ones that truly enjoy, I feel for them, it must take a low mentality to get pleasure out of other peoples pain. But you know what they say, It Takes All Kinds! We just need to hang in there and support each other, get educated and beat them at their own game.

I worked at a bank as a teller one time and I got offered a job in the collections department. I really needed the job but I couldn't take it. The reason being was that I had financial problems of my own and I would feel too guilty calling people about their debts when I had so many problems of my own. My car was just about to get repossesed and it just seemed too depressing. But I think knowing what I do now, I could be a collector-I would be a nice, kind and understanding collector :)

I feel to take a job as a collector to make a living is selling out. There are plenty of other jobs, which make as much money, if not more. A human being, who calls others, with a motive to take money, is not only heartless, but cruel, and I don't care how 'nice' one is to the consumer. The bottom line is to get money. I personally could not call a stranger, and say; "Good afternoon, this is Anthony with ABC Collections, calling in regards to a past due acount in your name. When can I expect a payment from you?" Fuk that.

I regard collectors as the Mafia, and being Italian, I can't stand either. They are all extortionists, with or without a license.

Let me pose this... we are not entitled to spend someone else's money ... when a finance company gives you a loan/cash advance/credit, they are doing you a favor by letting you spend their money on something that benefits you. I know we don't see it that way, but they didn't have to give us anything.

And so I ask, shouldn't they expect to get paid back? Or should they give you money, and then forget about it completely? If you loaned a friend a few Gs, and he didn't pay you back, would you forget about it?

I agree with both Anthony Lemmons and DebtCruncher. Debt purchasers, and CA's trying to collect on debt whose SOL has run are extortionists literally. On the other hand, very recent lenders deserve to be payed back, if they play by the rules.

I might add that because I somewhat agree with Debt Cruncher, that doesn't mean to say that collectors should be rude, harassing, and breaking the law. One thing CAs and collectors have never learned is the lesson of life, that you can get more flies with honey.

I can understand why people have to do this job as said before, and since it is a legal job (unlike prostitution or drug dealing), I will defend their right to do it, if they want. However, a collector has no right to call my home numerous times to collect a debt, after I have told them when I will make the payment. I will be happy to speak with them once, but anything after that is harassment. If they can't document in their notes, that is their problem, not mine.

I think some people have no other choice, we have telemarketing jobs here that people absolutely hate but will do to put food on the table and pay their bills.

Again, I will say this; I would rather sweep the floors of a store, before I call strangers, asking them to make a payment. Some people don't want to get their hands dirty physically, so they get them dirty by collecting.

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This is one profession I could never do. I would get fired before the week was over not because I can't handle threats, I get threatened daily at work and it isn't over the phone, it is in my face, I have even been barracaded in houses and chased down city streets. Threats don't bother me, I just couldn't call somebody and discuss delinquent bills and demand payment. I don't have that in me. There is a job market and need for these type of employees and it isn't a field I could do, I would be flat broke and unemployed. Not all collectors are bad. It's just that we focus on the nasty ones and forget the good ones, and that is a shame.

I am in agreement with Steelers and some of the others posters here. I despise most collectors,but I am holding out hope for that 1% out there that do their job professionally. I would be interested in a peek into the life of that type of collector.I understand Anthony's point and his drive,but not all collectors are bad.It is true that the good one's are becoming mighty rare.

So true, Cajun. It IS rare to find a good one. And I do agree with Soaplady, but my question to her is, where ARE the ethical agencies? I know there are ethical collectors out there, Ari being one of them, but I have yet to encounter one--and the politest ones I personally have dealt with have been from India.

So true, Cajun. It IS rare to find a good one. And I do agree with Soaplady, but my question to her is, where ARE the ethical agencies? I know there are ethical collectors out there, Ari being one of them, but I have yet to encounter one--and the politest ones I personally have dealt with have been from India.

Actually once you have done nasty customer service in person, collecting is a breeze!! For starters, you work under an AKA. While the debtor is ranting and raving, you kind of listen (pick your nose, file your nails, clean your computer keyboard, eat lunch..you basically multi task while they are getting it all out.!) Once they have exhausted themselves, then you ask how it is going to be resolved (still while multi taking!) A good collector doesnt let it get to them! You don't let them get you angry. Honestly, the more money I made, the happier I was, the better I collected! I went to work in a good mood and came home in a better mood! I had massive goals to meet each month and it 110 months I collected, I only missed it 8 times, all of them after I came back from maternity leave! It is all attitude.

You could actually say that about any job, lol.

You are right about that kscornell, you could say that about any job. And any job is about the attitude you take in to it.

True...but who could feel good about ripping off consumers while collecting for a PDL?? Just my 2 pennies...

I agree kscornell. Think of how many bad collectors there are, who lie, threaten, break the law. It's sort of depressing to think there are that many people out there who have crime and abuse in their hearts.