Nervous about dealing with debt collectors- how much information do I have to give them?

Question

Long story short, I have several bills that I thought were paid years ago, that I recently found out were actually never paid and went to collections. Obviously I need to start dealing with them. I'm just really nervous about dealing with the debt collectors.I knew a guy who did that for a job, and he used to laugh about how he'd bully and intimidate people into paying more then they could afford. I really don't want to deal with someone like that.

I've worked with several people in the past who have gotten calls at work from debt collectors looking for them. Am I required to tell them where I work? How much money I make? Or can I just call up and tell them how much I can afford to pay, and ask where to send the checks? Anyone have any tips on dealing with them?

Answer 1

First, learn all you can about the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act.  Second, get a copy of your credit report.  

As far as the law is concerned, they do not have the right to call you at work once you tell them you cannot receive such calls at work.  The law says:

§ 805. Communication in connection with debt collection

(a) COMMUNICATION WITH THE CONSUMER GENERALLY.

Without the prior consent of the consumer given

directly to the debt collector or the express permission of

a court of competent jurisdiction, a debt collector may not

communicate with a consumer in connection with the collection

of any debt—

(1) at any unusual time or place or a time or place known

or which should be known to be inconvenient to the consumer. In the absence of knowledge of circumstances

to the contrary, a debt collector shall assume that the

convenient time for communicating with a consumer

is after 8 o’clock antimeridian and before 9 o’clock

postmeridian, local time at the consumer’s location;

(2) if the debt collector knows the consumer is represented

by an attorney with respect to such debt and has knowledge

of, or can readily ascertain, such attorney’s name

and address, unless the attorney fails to respond within

a reasonable period of time to a communication from

the debt collector or unless the attorney consents to

direct communication with the consumer; or

(3) at the consumer’s place of employment if the debt collector

knows or has reason to know that the consumer’s

employer prohibits the consumer from receiving such

communication.

More importantly, the law says:

(c) CEASING COMMUNICATION. If a consumer notifies a

debt collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay a

debt or that the consumer wishes the debt collector to cease

further communication with the consumer, the debt collector

shall not communicate further with the consumer with

respect to such debt, except—

(1) to advise the consumer that the debt collector’s further

efforts are being terminated;

(2) to notify the consumer that the debt collector or creditor

may invoke specified remedies which are ordinarily

invoked by such debt collector or creditor; or

(3) where applicable, to notify the consumer that the debt

collector or creditor intends to invoke a specified remedy.

Most importantly, you should force these people to validate your debts.  People have made payment arrangements in the past, only to receive a call from another "debt collector" later.  Turns out, the first company was not properly engaged by the creditor.

On this point:

§ 809. Validation of debts

(a) Within five days after the initial communication with a

consumer in connection with the collection of any debt,

a debt collector shall, unless the following information is

contained in the initial communication or the consumer has

paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice containing—

(1) the amount of the debt;

(2) the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed;

(3) a statement that unless the consumer, within thirty days

after receipt of the notice, disputes the validity of the

debt, or any portion thereof, the debt will be assumed

to be valid by the debt collector;

(4) a statement that if the consumer notifies the debt collector

in writing within the thirty-day period that the

debt, or any portion thereof, is disputed, the debt collector

will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of

a judgment against the consumer and a copy of such

verification or judgment will be mailed to the consumer

by the debt collector; and

(5) a statement that, upon the consumer’s written request

within the thirty-day period, the debt collector will

provide the consumer with the name and address of the

original creditor, if different from the current creditor.

Make them jump through these hoops.  Deal with these people IN WRITING, using certified mail, not over the phone.

Answer 2

It's good to deal with old ghosts to get them off your mind, but please remember that if a negative tradeline is already on your credit report that paying the debt with neither improve your credit nor make that tradeline go away.  The only thing paying the debt will do is that the creditor will place the word "paid" next to the tradeline.  Sometimes.  Sometimes they do nothing.

If you are anywhere close to the 7 year mark for these things to fall off your credit report don't bother dealing with it.  Let time deal with it.  If you aren't, then you should ONLY pay collection agencies that agree to delete their tradelines upon reciept of payment.  Make sure if and when you pay, you get a signed statement stating that you are paid in full and if you settle, get a statement that says they agree not to sell the remainder of your debt to another CA.  Always assume you are being told lies and keep a paper trail.

Do not EVER give a CA your bank account information.  Pay with money orders.  You do not have to give them any information about yourself.  I'd advise you to not even give them a telephone number as they will call you constantly.  All they need to know is that you are Jane Doe and Ms.Doe is currently making payments on account #xxxx

They will struggle to get as much info from you as they can.  They are trained to do that.  Don't budge.  Legally they do NOT have to know who your next of kin is, where you work, what your phone number is (although if you call them from your home phone they can trace the number even if its blocked), etc.  If I were you, I would do any and all business with them through the mail.  Keep a paper trail no matter what.

Best of luck to you.

Answer 3

Don't be nervous or intimidated about dealing with debt collectors. Not all of them are as bad as you might think.  If it's been years since your debts have gone into collections then chances are they have been "charged off" on your credit. Contact the collection agencies  and see if you can negotiage an amount lower than is actually owed. Talk to them about setting up a payment plan as well - you'll find that they will be much more willing than you think.  

Answer 4

Good. Thats ALL they need to know is you owe. You can only afford, maybe $ 5.00 a month. They have to take it. They payed for your debt, they bought from who you owe. They want a fast re-turn. They got it for a lot less than you owe, but to make money they want you to pay in full. You can tell them to stop calling and you will send the $ 1.00-$ 5.00 a month. They can not, anymore keep calling IF you keep sending something...EVERY month.

Answer 5

If you want to start paying  them, fine. Send them money orders because if you pay be check or credit card, they can debit the accounts later if you decide  not to pay anymore.  

Answer 6

If you already know one debt collector than you should understand that they are just people. They work in a tiny cubicle with that stupid headset all day and go from one call to the next. They make little money and have a dead-end job with a high turnover rate. They are nobodies and that is all you should think of when you talk to them. They aren't some school-yard bully with all the power in the world.

When you talk to them, and you should, you stay in control of the conversation. Tell them you are willing to talk to them as long as they stay civil. Anything uncalled for and you will hang up (and do it, too.)  They will call back another time. Recording the conversations is a good idea as well. Make sure you inform them you are recording them. This way if the break any laws, which there are many of, you can have proof. Here is a site that helps specifically how to deal with the collectors and some of the laws regulating them: http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs27-deb...

Before you begin talking with them write a budget. Pay all living and transportation expenses first. What you have left over is all you can pay. Go into the conversation with the right mind set, that you are in control. Do not let them bully or sweet talk you into more than you have .They are at the bottom of the list of importance.

Do not give them any more personal information than name, address, and phone number. That is all they need. Do not tell them where you are working or provide a cell phone number. And never pay over the phone or give them any of your account information. Pay only with a money order.

Good luck.

Answer 7

There are plenty of tips online.

http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/objectId...

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_your_...

http://www.credit.com/products/debt/Coll...

Answer 8

Tell them nothing about your finances. They aren't the IRS or the police, there regular people like you and me. Start off very cordial of course and keep the relationship friendly. Let them know you can pay a minimum amount only. It's not going to hurt your credit any more, it's already in collections. I have made deals to pay $20 a month because I wasn't willing to pay more. Make sure you get them to send you all their information and the original bill, that way you know it's legitimate. Good Luck!  

Answer 9

EDIT:

Oh ok. Well call up the debt collectors, ask them to send you paper statements of everything that you owe and go through them and see what you can manage to pay. The other poster was right. If all you can send is $5-20 then do it. Anything is better than nothing. As you start to pay off your debt, then you can probably send in more to pay it off faster. Just don't let them intimidate you and negotiate with them.

Answer 10

Actually you dont HAVE to tell them anything.  It's good that you wish to take care of the problem.  If you tell them not to call you at work then they can't do it.  And yes they will use any form of bullying that they can.

You will be fine just asking them where to send the checks to.  And it doesnt matter what amount you send them.  If you send them a check for 5 dollars and they cash it they are accepting that as payment for 30 days.  I wouldnt commit to any specific amount, because we all know that sometimes things tend to happen that cause money to be tighter than normal.  Just get an address and send them a check monthly til you get it all taken care of.  

I'd start with the lowest bill owed and put most of the money towards that one.  send them all something maybe 5 bucks to others and 20 to the lowest.  Then when the lowest is paid off add that to the next lowest ones regular payment and so on til you are then sending ALL your money to just one bill.

  The other choice is a credit counselor but those can be more hassle than they are worth alot of times ... yes they will consolidate all your bills into one and deal with the collectors themselves but then you have to deal with them and send them the amount they wish each month

Answer 11

1. If they call you at work, tell them not to.  They are not permitted to call some place once you tell them not to.  If they do call you again, put it in writing.  If they call again you can sue them under Fair Debt Collection Practices act. You can also tell them not to call you at home, not to call your relatives, etc.

2.  Pay what you can.  You do not have to tell them what you earn.  One option might be to "settle in full" if you are able to. Often you can "haggle" with them.  Your debt has accumulated interest and the amount has likely ballooned.  Often times you can haggle that amount back down to the original and sometimes lower if you settle in full (not this is different from payment in full).

3. If they bully you asked to speak with a manager.  I did collections for a time when I was in college.  I was never once rude to any person that I spoke with, but some other collectors were.  You do not have to tolerate that.

4.  Keep in mind that they likely get bonuses for collecting your debt so they will say anything to collect that debt.  I remember a cowroker tellng a 95 year old woman to sell all of her furniture.  

5.  if you can only afford $10 per month, than so be it, but make sure that you pay that amount every single month.

6. Don't go to one of those debt consolidators.  You will spend more money in the long run no matter hat they tell you. You can consolidate on your own.

7.  Double check with the debtor (e.g. mastercard) to make sure that the debt wasn't paid off.  Some "collection agencies" are scams.

8.  Most importantly, learn your rights Learn your rights.

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer...

Answer 12

it is a criminal offence to harrassa debtor or is family by for example threatening violence publicity or criminal proceedings it is also an offence to obtain or try to obtain money from a debtor by pretending to have an official sanction from a court if this happens you can sue the creditor

Answer 13

You just need to tell them you want to set up a payment plan. Tell them the amount you would like to pay each month or each week, and stick with it. They are going to try to bully you around, just like your friend said. I, too, have a friend who works in debt collecting and he is the most manipulating son-of-a-b*tch i've ever met! They are going to try their hardest to get your money by saying whatever they have to say that might push your buttons.

Bottom line... they already know ALOT about you. You'd be surprised. Their little computers can look up a ton of information about you, your spouse, your children, your assets, ect.

Just stand firm with what your "price" is. Normally, if you're agreeing to pay an amount, they're not going to hassle you too much. If they start telling you anything that sounds "off" or something that they shouldn't be saying (for example: Well ma'am, do you have a TV? You could pawn it. How about a couch? or a cell phone? Jewelry?) then immediately ask to speak to their supervisor. The debt collectors are perfectly aware that it is ILLEGAL for them to say things like this, however, they are also aware that YOU don't know the "code of ethics" for debt collecting.