How to talk to collectors
Date: Tue, 03/23/2010 - 14:36
Many people advise to not speak with the collectors but honestly if you prepare yourself you can not only get valuable information, but if you record the calls you may get them on violations!
First find out if you can record the calls without their knowledge:
All parties must consent:
California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington.
Any other state and you can record away.
Basically at the beginning of the call you inform them, "This call is being recorded. If you object to this recording then hang up now. By continuing this call you are agreeing to being recorded."
If they argue, keep saying, "then hang up." If they hang up..so be it.
Remember that you are in control. Do not let them intimidate you. Do not let them take control of the conversation. When you first call they will need to identify you. Give them your name, current address and last four digits of your social. That is all they need...don't let them talk you into giving any more.
When calling for information you typically want this:
Who the original creditor is
What is the full account number
The total amount owed
who is in charge of the account
what is the mailing address of the company
This is all you need to get out a good debt validation letter.
Now, they will try to get you to admit to the debt. Don't. Here is a golden answer to almost any question:
Not that I recall.
It is golden. Have you ever had an account? Not that I recall.
Have you ever gotten a bill? Not that I recall.
It is as simple as that.
If they are giving you trouble with answering simply remind them that by law they have to give you the contact information.
If they start giving you a hard time simply tell them that you are calling for information and that you have no wish to discuss the account at all. Keep reminding them that by law they have to give you the contact information.
Also if they are being belligerent you can inform them that you are recording the call and you have them violating and now it would be in their best interest to cooperate with you if they don't want this situation to get any worse for them then it already is. It is so wonderful to hear them suddenly splutter, or cry, "I have not given consent!" You answer either that they continued the conversation thereby giving consent or your state does not require any such consent.
WOW, this is some great stuff... I, however, tend to do things
WOW, this is some great stuff...
I, however, tend to do things a little differently, but then again, I am not your average bear....when a debt collector tries to pull some crap with me, I tend to smell blood in the water.
Take this latest call....I have been getting calls for three weeks now regarding some supposed medical bill. I have informed this company no less than twice that I dispute the debt and have requested validation. Of course, each time they call, they have no record of my dispute.....how surprising, right?
Fast forward to last night. I get on the phone and this guy proceeds to tell me the same deal..."we're calling you because of this outstanding balance you have with so-and-so surgical center for $58.....how would you like to take care of that today?" So, I proceed to tell him that this has already been disputed in accordance with federal law, and that they are now required to provide validation of the debt to me. I tell him that until that validation arrives in my mailbox, they are acting illegally by continuing to call my house every day--yes, it has been every day since this began three weeks ago. He immediately got all mad, and started shouting at me...."well, I dont have one debt here in your name, I have TWENTY....so whats your excuse now? Why dont you pay your bills? Here's another one, I have here that you owe $284.33, what about that one?" At this point, thats a big no-no...collectors are not allowed to treat someone like this. The guy's literally shouting and insulting me left and right. I finally get him to understand that it doesnt matter if youre calling me about one debt or a hundred, if you try to collect on one that's been disputed already, youre breaking the law! So then, its obvious that he's getting really frustrated because his plan to bully me backfired....he rattles off an address in a town thats an hour away from me, that I have never lived in, and says "thats your mailing address, isnt it?? So why are ya trying to tell me that you dont owe these debts?" Funny thing--he verified my correct mailing address at the beginning of the call, and this one is COMPLETELY different, not the same house number, not the same street, and the town could NEVER be mistaken for the one I live in. And when I remind him that he already verified my correct address at the start of the call and that this new one is not correct by a mile, suddenly there's silence on the other end of the phone. This would be the moment that the guy realized defeat, that he knew he screwed up. The next thing he says is that he's switching me to a manager to get this resolved and puts me on hold.
Manager "Dan" comes on the line.....I give him the run-down, and inform him that I have his debt collector employee on tape violating federal law in about a dozen ways or so. The first words out of his mouth are an admission that his employee did wrong and that he can understand why I am pissed off.....imagine that! I have ON TAPE a manager agreeing that his company just broke the law. This is sure gonna look great to a jury, isnt it!
Bottom line, I am now preparing to file suit against these morons....so they will pay me $1000, plus court costs and fees, over a supposed $58 debt. I sure hope it was worth it, "Dan".....
Yeah...I just love talking to them...they honestly don't know h
Yeah...I just love talking to them...they honestly don't know how to talk to someone debt educated! I always get them violating left or right, or I just play with them...like the one I told couldn't take away the barbie dream house...I STILL wish I had that one recorded..I would have put it up for everyone to hear.
My post was for the general person and how to talk to these guys to get what you need from them.
I had one actually try to tell me that it was against the law to give out company info...I had a good laugh at that...then I informed her that I had her on tape saying that.
Before any of the feeding frenzy starts..let me clarify that I d
Before any of the feeding frenzy starts..let me clarify that I don't play with those collecting on legitimate debt..I mess with the ones that are violating my rights all over the place.