Please debtors, I need your help

If you weren't so pushy and willing to work with people you would get a lot more money. You need to understand people are in tough places.

:lol:

This is no doubt the same "collector" who works for both Asset Acceptance and NCO who has posted here. Nothing but spam.

I can tell you right now, you'll catch more flies with honey than vinegar. When you call people, be nice (or at least be civil and professional) you'll get better responses. If a CA calls me I'll request validation, as soon as I'm provided validation I work something out with them. It's simple. But if I pick up the phone and I'm getting cursed at, called names and/or threatened, the gauntlets come off.

Think of it this way, if you go to a business meeting and open up with greeting the person and shaking their hand, business might be on. If you call them a lazy SOB and slap them up side the head, prepare for a less than friendly response.

Who says I have money???? Most people are honest and would gladly pay if they could.

You say not to take food out of your children's mouths . . . . But what if paying you took food out of my kids mouth? Or took away the roof over their head? Is that okay because your kids are being fed? That one goes both way . . . .

Also, don't try to play guilt or shame cards. That only makes people defensive.

If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague. :lol:

WOW. that is all I can say...

Don't violate the law is all I have to say. Being nice to people is a plus and being willing to work with people is always a plus. The object is being pleasant and always being nice no matter who you're dealing with.

I agree hockeyman! Nice is a plus but I think respect is one of the main things people deal with here..instead of shame or degradation..frustrated.. if you have two small children to feed then simply follow the law..do your job and treat people right and keep in mind that if you don't ..you have children at home who will not benefit from your actions...the fact that we are all real people with real problems is not the issue here..it is about debt validation and responsibility and helping others deal with their obligations from that point on..your industry should not pay on commission only..industries who do this only breed and advocate liars and deniers..you should be placed on a salary with spiffs when you do a good job..anyone who works in any type of commission only job in any industry.. is never trusted and shouldn't be...and that is my opinion

You picked this profession...you should know the ups and downs. If you respect and listen to the person you are trying to reach...more than likely you will get a positive reaction. As for your children at home it is your responsibility to put food in their mouths not mine. I have labored years and raised four children without stepping on anyone.

Merry Christmas, collector.

Wow, I have money--yea, I thought I was broke! Tell me where it is and I will go shopping :lol:

Who is this "We" you refer to? And what makes them think I have any money? If I'm sitting on this proverbial "pot of gold" you think I am, instead of not having the proverbial "pot to pi. . .", well you get the point, how come I don't know about it?

Sometimes when someone says they don't have any money, it means just that. Calling them 8 times a day, cursing at them, threatening them, trying to intimidate them, etc., doesn't make them magically produce it out of thin air.

You should have gotten a job that gives you a salary as well as bonus. I work in the collection indusrty and I do well for myself. I certainly don't ever feel the need to come to a message board and vent my frustiations of my inability to take advantage of the opportunities before me by making others fel bad or degrade them by trying to put a guilt trip on someone.

Get your manager to train you better or do a little research yourself. The power of positive thinking is a wonderful thing. Try it out.

And I apologize. I normaly ignore stupid crap like this but I am sooooooo tired of dumb collectors runing the collection industry by being stupid.

I appreciate your posts FYI as I am sure everyone else does also. I haven't read one single post on this board and I have been on here since May that anyone has said "oh screw them I am not going to pay my bill because I just don't feel like it".

People that come here don't have the money to pay these bills and are looking for advice on how to handle this harassing, annoying collection calls received 20 times day by collectors what won't and can't validate these debts.

Perhaps if these collection agencies could provide the requested validation/verification that they are required by law to provide they would get paid quicker.:)

ladybug

P.S. Sorry if I am rambling on but I am pissssed off right now reading that person's comment. :twisted:

I work for a huge agency and I have to say I agree with FYI. It really is frustrating to be prejudged just becuz we are collectors. Not every collector in this industry is a bully. I was one of the top 10 prducer sin my compnay this year and I have never generated a complaint in the 10 years I have been doing collections. You have to really work woth empathy in order to be successful and you have to be realistic in your proposals. Don't expect an elderly person ona fixed income of 600.00 a month to be able to pay a 5000.00 bill in full work woth her/him. Offer some advice on how they can resolve this instead of pushing them into a corner. And as for the debtors this is a two way street. When you are clearly capable of resolving yoour debt there is no need to argue about it be honest in your efforts to resolve the debt so that when we do come across a person who may have a high income but many medical or financial struggles we don't have to b so weary. I notice ther eare alot of mentions about vcalidation of debt. If you are truly unaware of the debt and itis absolutely needed in order to jog your memory, great, request the validation, but don't abuse the right to vcalidation a s a way of trying to escape the debt. As a collector it is not the fact thatteh request is being made, it's the fact that in most cases people make the request as a stall tactic when they are already aware thatteh debt is due. Pales edo no tbecome frustarted when we ask the bal to be paidi n full. Remember, In most cases that was the agreement you signed when you agreed to the line of credit, we're just doing our job. Don't allow yourself to be stepped on but when you let a collector know you are willing to work withthem and you explain what is going on in your life honestly, not with made up hardluck stories , most collectors will negotiate a resolution that is suitable for not only their client but, for you as well. Remember an open line of communication gets you further than a screened call or inreturned message. Also a little advice...If you are not going to pay the bill just let the collector know you are not oging to pay the bill, believe the calls will stop especially if they work on comission they want to call people who are goign to pay and not waste tiem on accounts that ar not paying so just let them know flat out you are not going to pay. If you are trying to pay and are just not getting any place with the collector assigned to your account simply ask a manager to reassign you account to someone who is willing to work with you an donce you take that step an dfound some one to work with you please stick to y the agreement that the collector probably took 20-30 minutes of their day to work out with you. Understand, yes we chose the industry but, just as you don't deserve to be abused because you bill ended up in our office, we don't deserve to abused just becuz we're doing our job....at least those of us who conduct ourselves in a professional manner.

I don't refer to myself as a collector. I use the term account resolution specialst. Most debotrs find themselves in our office because they are not aware of the resources avail to them to help get the bills resovled. I see each case as way I can help someone get out of their situation with the account in my hand at the time. I listen tou whatthey are telling me try to work within their means. Of course as a collector I want them to pay the accoutn in full but that is not always possible. The best way for you to be successful is to arm yourself wth resources for your dentors and a code of professionalism and you will see you career blossom. Blessings com ein different waya and you may be blessed for blessing that debt with and open ear and reasonable response.

I will say one thing on this topic - most of us on this forum ALWAYS respect collectors who come here with constructive suggestions or advice. However, what we don't tolerate very well are the ones who come here and just spout drivel like "pay your bills", without taking into account the reasons why we CAN'T pay our bills.

We sincerely appreciate the collectors who come to us with understanding and a willingness to work out a payment plan - and who come here to make helpful posts.

Merry Christmas!

To the collector and "resolution spec.":
I appreciate your professionalism, that is the type of people that we can easily deal with.

Now I don't feel that I abuse validation but I always request it to know for certain that I am paying the right person. I had a outstanding debt before that was being collected by 5 different agencies. 4 were not even businesses. If I would have paid them instead of the agency managing the account I would have been out $3,000. After that I've become very cautious when dealing with any collection agency.

Thank you JCEMT!

That's what I thought validation of a debt was for; so you could be sure the debt is actually yours and the CA is authorized, by the original creditor, to collect on the account. Am I confused in that definition? I don't think I've ready anything on this site that advises to use it as a stalling tactic.

Oh heaven forbid, a CA would attempt to collect from someone when the debt did not even belong to that person. I just can't believe that would happen. (sarcasm) Also, like JCEMT, I too have had 3 different CA's attempting to collect on the same account at exactly the same time. I'm certainly not going to pay all 3 CA's, am I? Even if I had the money, that's not going to happen. Also, debt validation letters sent to all three have, so far, generated no responses and it's been a little over 2 months now.

As for calmly explaining my situation to a collector? I tried that once. The woman then began yelling and talking over me, telling me she didn't want to hear any of my excuses. She told me she was going to mark me down as a "refusal to pay". I finally lost my cool, at that point, and told her she could mark me down as telling her to kiss my @$$, and hung up. Then sent a validation and cease and desist letter to the CA and never heard from them again.

So yes, I'm sure there are some decent collectors and CA's out there that do follow the letter of the law; however, it's the really bad ones that make forums like this necessary. And I'm certainly glad I found this web site.

If you were a half decent collector, who wouldnt have to come here whining for people to pay up. (Don't you get a draw?? Employment standards would also require that any hours worked over 40 should pay overtime.) A good collector would be enjoying a joyous holiday season with all the timings and lots of presents under the tree for the little ones. A great collector would be sitting under a palm (christmas) tree with some neon drink in their hand with a christmas decorated umbrella sticking out of it with the kids playing in the sand.

I know.....I was the GREAT collector.

My recent experience with CAs is limited to having some of the sweethearts of the industry call up demanding money for something I know nothing at all about. Tender, caring, kind-hearted folks like Wolpoff & Abramson, and MRS associates. I always enjoy chatting with them....

And, let me see... They want to talk to my wife, so they ask for her by her maiden name. Hmm.... We've been married longer than it takes for the SOL to run out, so there's a clue. Am I gonna demand full validation? Now there's a silly question.

So, go ahead. Call up here at the house and do your best attempt at character acting.

Stern? Yeah, right. Doesn't work.

Guilt? Surprise! I'm pretty certain I don't owe you the time of day, so that ain't goin' very far.

Intimidating? I rode with a motorcycle club for almost twenty years. I've been threatened by real experts. That ain't gonna work, either.

Here's a thought for ya... You want to actually collect something every now and then? Try acting in an honest, ethical manner. Try obeying the law for a change. Try treating the poor slob on the other end of the phone as a human being for a change.

Is all this to much for you collector types to keep straight? Tough. Still can't feed your kids? Too damn bad. Try getting an honest job. I have one, and my kids eat pretty damn well.

To those lamentably few collectors who can keep it all straight, keep it up! I hope you enjoy your semi-annual vacation in the Bahamas.

I just LOVE you, wulf!!!!!!!!!!! :lol:

:lol: :lol: Speechless I tell you!

That's cuz I'm so cute and snuggly. What's not to love?....
































Gah! I think I just grossed myself out........

I have never used validation as a method to stall or get out of a payment obligation. For me, because I saved nothing in my early days and accounts started to be charged off, I had no idea what I was supposed to be paying who and what account went where.

All of the times I have asked for the debt to be validated has provided me with a history of the account so I could make sure I had a record of it if ever needed in the future.

Now I have a record of all of my accounts history, the payments I made while it was open, the payments I made to pay them in full and paid in full letters. I am tempted to shred them sometimes because some have some bad memories, but I know I could not do that. :D

wulf just brightens my day every time he posts. LOL :-)

[quote=SUEBEEHONEY70]wulf just brightens my day every time he posts. LOL[/quote]


Like I said before, I just call'em like I see'em. :) I do try to lighten the mood a bit from time to time, though.

Oh..... Frustrated Collector? Here's your Christmas bonus two days early. It's the least I could do.

:lol:

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

lol @ Unclewulf

HAHAHAHA!!!

Too funny!

:wink:

LOL that's a good one. Cool bike in your photo as well.

Unclewulf...Bart...funny!!!

You know this PO's me. Take this for an example...I had an Acura a few years ago that was on a lease. I lost my job and got behind a few months. The day before the lease was up, I gave the car back...still owing 3 months from being behind. A few months later, I get letters from a collection agency, stating I owe them $11,000 because of a Repo...$11,000!!! No one ever validated it or gave me a reason as to why all this money was due. They just said it was "fees" and wanted my money. I didn't pay because I COULDN'T. A few years go by and I got a letter from Plaza and Associates stating I owed $5,500 on the same debt. Three months later I get a letter from Mithchell N. Kay stating I owed $6,200 or so. They a month and half later, which was last week, I get a "one time settlement offer of $1,800 to paid in full"...WHAT? On top of all of this, they still haven't validated anything!!

Wow :shock:
That is just, umm yeah. I don't think they can validate. Keep requesting it though. Those amounts are screwy.

Strange how the amounts went down, up a little, then down a lot from the original $11,000 it was claimed you owed. Is this an example of "fuzzy math" that I hear so much about? I would definitely not pay a dime until whichever CA the debt settles at validates it then make sure they send you a proposal letter and a paid-in-full letter. If not, some other CA might get hold of the debt and start attempting to collect on it all over again.

And UncleWolf! You definitely make me chuckle with some of your posts. I try to lighten the mood a little in these forums also, as I have been on the verge of tears a few times from the bad CA's abusing me. If I could just help one person and keep them from going through what I have gone through, then I feel like I've done something positive. And if I can make them smile or laugh while doing so, then all the better.

[quote=Breakthecycle2]You know this PO's me. Take this for an example...I had an Acura a few years ago that was on a lease. I lost my job and got behind a few months. The day before the lease was up, I gave the car back...still owing 3 months from being behind. A few months later, I get letters from a collection agency, stating I owe them $11,000 because of a Repo...$11,000!!! No one ever validated it or gave me a reason as to why all this money was due. They just said it was "fees" and wanted my money. I didn't pay because I COULDN'T. A few years go by and I got a letter from Plaza and Associates stating I owed $5,500 on the same debt. Three months later I get a letter from Mithchell N. Kay stating I owed $6,200 or so. They a month and half later, which was last week, I get a "one time settlement offer of $1,800 to paid in full"...WHAT? On top of all of this, they still haven't validated anything!![/quote]


There ain't no way, I mean absolutely no damn way, that I'd pay these pond scum one thin dime without validation in full. In your position, I'd continue to demand validation while I sat back and made really airtight records. Then it'd be a toss-up as to which of us sued the other one.

Stand your ground and refuse to be stampeded into anything you don't understand. With their refusal to validate and their inability to even decide how much you owe, it oughtta be a real entertaining day in court.

[quote=UnemployedRon]Is this an example of "fuzzy math" that I hear so much about?[/quote]


It's an example of fuzzy something, I'll tell ya that.


[quote=UnemployedRon]And UncleWolf! You definitely make me chuckle with some of your posts. I try to lighten the mood a little in these forums also, as I have been on the verge of tears a few times from the bad CA's abusing me. If I could just help one person and keep them from going through what I have gone through, then I feel like I've done something positive. And if I can make them smile or laugh while doing so, then all the better.[/quote]


Ron [and the rest of y'all, by extension], that's why I do what I do. I fervently hope I don't offend anyone, other than the occasional collector. Your words above, and a lot of other accounts I've read on here, just piss me right off. Collecting a legitimate debt is one thing, but how dare these people think they can just stomp folks into the ground for profit.

I'm helping out where I can. Passing on my own experiences, or the communal wisdom of this board, or just helping to calm and center somebody that's obviously scared until wiser heads appear. It's all good. I also see humor as a valid weapon against unethical collectors. It's a lot harder to scare someone when they're laughing. Abused by collectors? Don't get even, get ahead. Abuse them back.

My $.02, YMMV.