The enlightenment for this post comes from a conversation I had with a debtor from Florida on Thursday of last week. Sadly, he had been “belittled” by a debt collector the week before who trying to collect the same bill. Unfortunately, this happens too often in collections and it shuts the door on any other collector who calls. Anyway, he begins to tell me how much of a low-life, uneducated person I am (see, belittling goes both ways) and rambles on about all the laws the collector he spoke with before broke and how he will settle the account for 15 cents on the dollar (15%) because we bought the debt from the original collector. Obviously, he has been doing too much reading. So here is a list of three questions you should ask the debt collector before you start to spout off what you don’t know and waste both of your time:
- Did you buy the debt? - Most debt buyers are towards the end of the collection cycle. If your account has only been delinquent 2 years or less most likely you’re not dealing with a “Debt Buyer”. Only ask this if you’re NOT dealing with the original creditor i.e ( Chase Bank, Bank of America or Discover etc…). If you are speaking with a debt buyer than you have a much higher chance to settle for less than you would if speaking to a third party collector.
- Are you going to sue me?- This is a direct question for a reason. If a collector gives you a vague answer i.e, “That’s not up to me”, then you have time to take care of the account. If they tell you “yes”, than this is an account you need to take care of ASAP. A good collector will always imply that legal means is an option for the bank. However, if they say, “we’re going to sue you” get all the information you can in regards to getting it cleared up.
- What are my options? – Every collector is taught to get the balance in full. There are some dinosaurs in the industry that still play this game and some people still fall for it. If you get one of these neanderthals, ask to speak to someone else. Let’s be honest, there are always options. The only option that is not acceptable to a collector is not paying at all.
Just to reiterate my point here, Debt Collections is not customer service. The whole purpose is to inspire action. If you feel you are being “belittled”, talk to someone else but don’t think you’re going to hear “Thank you” or “It’s OK to wait to pay this bill next month”. With these three questions you should be able to show the collector you know your rights and explore your options.
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3 Comments until now.
I never knew to ask these kinds of questions before. My mother went through this type of thing when she became disabled and waiting on disability to kick in. Thanks for the information.
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verses all of these silly questions what you should be asking a dbt collector is “how do i pay the cebt that i legally owe”…. this is why america is in the place it’s at now!!!! Dead beats! be responsible? Anyone?
Interesting Mike, like many things it’s never as easy as it seems.
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