Comments on: Tricks Debt Collectors and Collection Agencies Use – Know Your Rights http://militarymoneymight.com/2008/11/tricks-debt-collectors-collection-agencies-rights/ Helping Members of the Military & Their Families Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:49:51 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Matthew Davishttp://militarymoneymight.com/2008/11/tricks-debt-collectors-collection-agencies-rights/#comment-2927 Matthew Davis Sun, 20 Mar 2011 21:42:06 +0000 http://militarymoneymight.com/?p=908#comment-2927 I personally worked as a debt collector for 2 years. It was an interesting job. I would like an opportunity to set the record straight about a few of the things he said in this article. There are actually reasons why debt collectors try and hide their identities. By law, if you ask them their names, they have to give you it. However, they do not have to give out their last name. They may choose to give you their employee ID number instead. If there are any problems with their practice and you wish to file a complaint, any law enforcement agency can use that information to get their full and correct contact information. There are also some states that require all Debt Collectors to be licensed to conduct business in that state, i.e. contact any resident of that state. That license will include their full name, and any aliases that Debt collector uses. The reason they do that is for their protection. You never know when a consumer will use that information to harm you. Agreed that in my two years on the job, I got plenty of death threats, some of them funny, but some of them made you wonder. I know that at the end of the day, I did not want to wonder if some crazed man was sitting in the parking lot waiting for me to come out so that he could blow me away. Will most of the people you give that information to do that…no. But you also never know. I have actually been on both sides of the coin. I have been a Debt Collector as well as a Consumer. As a Debt Collector, I took a lot of post dated checks, as well as I have paid a few debts that way. I cannot speak for all the Debt Collection Agencies out there, because there are a few that think that they can do whatever they want and get away with it, most of them will not. For proof, all you have to do is write down the name of the person you talk to, their employee ID number (which they must give you if you ask for it), the amount of the transaction, the date of the transaction, and a confirmation number if they have one. (I know for the company I worked for, a post dated check did not have a transaction number till it was actually processed, but a consumer could call back on the day of process and get one then.) Then if there is a problem, you can use that information to get it corrected, if it must go to court, that information should be enough to serve as proof. All phone calls with the consumer are recorded, all of them. And they are required to keep that information on file for a specific period of time although I do not remember how long now. The courts can use the information you gave them and get the call recording. That will be enough proof you should need (Note: I am not a lawyer, but I do know that if someone called with that information about a problem, my company would have taken care of it.) Remember that the collectors are not always taking too much on purpose, although I am sure that some do, they are human just like you, and do make mistakes. It is possible to accidently type in $200.00 when you meant to type in $20.00. Also if you do make a payment with a post dated check, ask for proof in writing. They will send a letter stating the date of the transaction and the amount. I have done this myself with different agencies. One final note that is very important to understand, The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) only applies to third party debt collectors. That is, the people from an outside agency that is hired to collect the debt on behalf of someone else. A company can have an internal collections department that handles bad debt, that department is not bound by the FDCPA and can do anything that their company policies allow them to do. For example, if you owed money to Verizon for an outstanding bill, Verizon’s collections department can call you as many times as they want, can say almost anything they want, and can do almost anything they want to get their money. I hope this is helpful. I personally worked as a debt collector for 2 years. It was an interesting job. I would like an opportunity to set the record straight about a few of the things he said in this article. There are actually reasons why debt collectors try and hide their identities. By law, if you ask them their names, they have to give you it. However, they do not have to give out their last name. They may choose to give you their employee ID number instead. If there are any problems with their practice and you wish to file a complaint, any law enforcement agency can use that information to get their full and correct contact information. There are also some states that require all Debt Collectors to be licensed to conduct business in that state, i.e. contact any resident of that state. That license will include their full name, and any aliases that Debt collector uses. The reason they do that is for their protection. You never know when a consumer will use that information to harm you. Agreed that in my two years on the job, I got plenty of death threats, some of them funny, but some of them made you wonder. I know that at the end of the day, I did not want to wonder if some crazed man was sitting in the parking lot waiting for me to come out so that he could blow me away. Will most of the people you give that information to do that…no. But you also never know.

I have actually been on both sides of the coin. I have been a Debt Collector as well as a Consumer. As a Debt Collector, I took a lot of post dated checks, as well as I have paid a few debts that way. I cannot speak for all the Debt Collection Agencies out there, because there are a few that think that they can do whatever they want and get away with it, most of them will not. For proof, all you have to do is write down the name of the person you talk to, their employee ID number (which they must give you if you ask for it), the amount of the transaction, the date of the transaction, and a confirmation number if they have one. (I know for the company I worked for, a post dated check did not have a transaction number till it was actually processed, but a consumer could call back on the day of process and get one then.) Then if there is a problem, you can use that information to get it corrected, if it must go to court, that information should be enough to serve as proof. All phone calls with the consumer are recorded, all of them. And they are required to keep that information on file for a specific period of time although I do not remember how long now. The courts can use the information you gave them and get the call recording. That will be enough proof you should need (Note: I am not a lawyer, but I do know that if someone called with that information about a problem, my company would have taken care of it.) Remember that the collectors are not always taking too much on purpose, although I am sure that some do, they are human just like you, and do make mistakes. It is possible to accidently type in $200.00 when you meant to type in $20.00. Also if you do make a payment with a post dated check, ask for proof in writing. They will send a letter stating the date of the transaction and the amount. I have done this myself with different agencies.

One final note that is very important to understand, The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) only applies to third party debt collectors. That is, the people from an outside agency that is hired to collect the debt on behalf of someone else. A company can have an internal collections department that handles bad debt, that department is not bound by the FDCPA and can do anything that their company policies allow them to do. For example, if you owed money to Verizon for an outstanding bill, Verizon’s collections department can call you as many times as they want, can say almost anything they want, and can do almost anything they want to get their money. I hope this is helpful.

]]> By: Shenal Rosshttp://militarymoneymight.com/2008/11/tricks-debt-collectors-collection-agencies-rights/#comment-203 Shenal Ross Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:32:20 +0000 http://militarymoneymight.com/?p=908#comment-203 The way you have presented the tricks of the <a href="http://www.debtconsolidationcare.com/handle-collectors.html" rel="nofollow">debt collectors</a> and the way they try to cross their limit is really true. Majority of the people face these sorts of harassment. If ever you forget to pay any amount of debt, then there is no way for you to be spared. They will harass you so much that you have to forget peaceful nights, but when you are in need of debt, these debt providers will get you attracted to their different attractive schemes and will try to motivate you to avail their various available schemes. Once you are motivated and plunge into their very attractive schemes, you are no more respected if you fail to pay back. Shenal Ross The way you have presented the tricks of the debt collectors and the way they try to cross their limit is really true. Majority of the people face these sorts of harassment. If ever you forget to pay any amount of debt, then there is no way for you to be spared. They will harass you so much that you have to forget peaceful nights, but when you are in need of debt, these debt providers will get you attracted to their different attractive schemes and will try to motivate you to avail their various available schemes. Once you are motivated and plunge into their very attractive schemes, you are no more respected if you fail to pay back.

Shenal Ross

]]> By: Jerryhttp://militarymoneymight.com/2008/11/tricks-debt-collectors-collection-agencies-rights/#comment-163 Jerry Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:17:05 +0000 http://militarymoneymight.com/?p=908#comment-163 This is a great point. There is NO reason to deal with a debt collector who is overstepping his/her bounds. This happens a lot, and it leads to much frustration. I have been harassed four times over the past six years for a final phone bill that was actually paid IN FULL and on time. These different agencies would call at all hours and were extremely rude, even after I had faxed them proof of payment. There is no insurance that you will not receive such calls, even when you are not in the wrong! Jerry This is a great point. There is NO reason to deal with a debt collector who is overstepping his/her bounds. This happens a lot, and it leads to much frustration. I have been harassed four times over the past six years for a final phone bill that was actually paid IN FULL and on time. These different agencies would call at all hours and were extremely rude, even after I had faxed them proof of payment. There is no insurance that you will not receive such calls, even when you are not in the wrong!
Jerry

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