Are you crazy about the endless calls from collection agencies? here are 7 clever ways to stop debt collections.
If you fail to meet your monthly debt payments, your creditors can turn your account over to a collection agency. The agency then tries to help your lender raise the money you owe.
You may wonder why anyone would enjoy chasing after other nations’ debtors. In fact, however, the debt collectors have some of the money they use to help creditors collect from debtors. This explains why they are usually willing to harass and threaten debtors in order to get money from them.
Even more annoying is a new generation of debt collection agencies called debt buyers who buy old, stale debts when the original creditors drop them and pay crumbs for those unpaid bill lists to make the debtors pay and make huge profits in the process. Often times, these debt buyers rely on inaccurate information – because the information is very old – and end up looking for the wrong people.
If you are rightly or wrongly pursued by collection agencies, they must not break the law – the trap they usually fall into in despair. Here are some tips to put an end to those pesky debt collection calls for good:
7 Smart Ways to Stop Debt Collection Permanently
1) Tell them you know your rights
Debt collectors usually prohibit any of the following actions:
- Contact your employer or your neighbors to let them know about your debt ( You are only allowed to contact them to find you )
- Call at work
- Call me repeatedly
- Make a mistake
- Call late at night or at unnecessary times
- You call without revealing the identity of the creditors ( Debt buyers usually do )
- Risk of child arrest or loss of custody or social security benefits
- Publish your name
- Use derogatory or offensive language
- Use messages, languages, or symbols on envelopes or postcards to indicate that the sender is collecting debt (This will send signals that the recipient is a debtor )
Collection agencies are less likely to continue harassing you if they know you understand the rules. So have the courage to say something like this at the beginning of your conversation I know my rights under the Fair Debt Collection Act. The mere mention of the name of this act signals that you are familiar with it.
Now don’t say you know your rights. Exercise them: ask who originally had a credit card or other loan, the amount of the original debt, and the date of the original debt. Then ask the collector to send you a letter stating that the guilt is and is yours. Most of the time, they don’t want to go through a lengthy process. So they will stop.
Better yet, just tell them not to call you again ( or did not send them a letter of termination or rejection ) and threatens them with the law. If a collection agency breaks any of these laws, you can sue them for damages, legal fees, and an additional $ 1,000. That advice alone should be enough to send them away. If not, there are other things to do. Continue reading.
2. Imagine you want to pay
They’ll need the name and address of the debt collection agency so you can send them a cancellation and abstinence letter warning them not to call you again. The easiest way to get this information is to pretend you’re about to send a payment. You will quickly receive detailed information while you wait.
Make it clear in your letter that all subsequent communications must be in writing or through your lawyer. Keep a copy of the letter for your records.
Most collection agencies do not want to disclose their names or contact details as they do not want to receive your cancellation and opt-out letter. They understand very well that this is a strong command for them not to call you anymore (what they must obey ). The only sensible way to prevent you from using your free writing against them is to leave you at sea wherever to send it.
3. Get in contact in other ways
If you’re smart enough not to give out your contact information, there are other ways you can get it:
- Get your phone number ( they will leave it willingly ). Then call back and ask to speak to the registrar, not the collector who is handling your case. You should be able to squeeze the company name out of the registrar. Once you have the company’s name, you can find the address on the internet.
- Order all three of your credit reports. Collection agencies usually get your credit report before they contact you for the first time. Usually, your name and address are displayed in the credit report in the “Inquiries” area. Send your opt-out letter here.
