Handling collection calls

You are finally on the right track. Joining that debt settlement program was the smart move, not for your neighbor or co-worker, but for you. However, just because you’ve purchased professional assistance for your financial hurdles doesn’t mean you can sit back and leave everything to the professionals. Unfortunately, until the correct moves have been made, your creditors will do their best to collect your balances in full. Here are some tasks you may need to do.

1. If you have phone messages in your voicemail, simply provide the name and number of the caller to your debt relief representative and they will contact the collector.

2. When speaking directly with the creditor, politely tell them that you are now being represented by (company/attorney name here), and provide the creditor with the appropriate phone number. If the creditor asks anything else, repeat politely but firmly: “You are now representing me by ________________ with respect to this account. Your phone number is xxx-xxx-xxxx.” The creditor may try to ask you if you are filing for bankruptcy. If you’re in a debt settlement program, you obviously don’t plan to file for bankruptcy, but that’s none of your creditors’ business. Once the creditor knows that you are being represented by an attorney, they must stop contacting you.

3. It’s always a good idea to keep a record of the phone calls you receive from creditors and send it to your debt relief representative on a regular basis. There are specific guidelines that collection agencies must adhere to. One of which is the number of phone calls within an allotted time period. If collectors violate regulations, your debt settlement company may be able to get a much lower settlement or have the debt forgiven entirely, depending on the severity of the offense.

4. A very small number of collectors will continue to harass you. If that happens, let your representative know. Continued phone calls may be cause for a claim against the creditor and may help settle your account in the future. Now debt collectors can’t legally call you at work unless the phone number you put on the credit card application is your work number. However, once you establish with your creditor that they are in fact calling your place of work, at that point they are required to stop all phone calls to your work. Be sure to provide the attorney’s or debt settlement phone number to the creditor.

5. SOCIAL MEDIA: These days, collection agencies are using every tool available to them to collect on balances owed. In the past, I have had a few clients whose in-laws were being harassed by a major credit card company. The bullying was so bad that one family member in particular was moved to tears. What puzzled the client most was that she had not lived with this part of her family in over twenty years, and the phone number she called the collections group was a new number. How could they have obtained this information? FACEBOOK. Be very careful what you post for the whole world to see. Although this act of calling and harassing family and friends is unacceptable, it does happen. Just like when you contact your place of work, once you establish with your creditor that they are in fact calling a third party that is in no way related to the debt itself, at that point they are required to suspend all calls. phone calls to friends or family. Be sure to provide the attorney’s or debt settlement phone number to the creditor.

Joining that debt settlement program was the smart move for you. You did not acquire this debt overnight and it will take some time and effort for you and your Debt Settlement Company to complete the task of eliminating your outstanding secured debt. Be patient, be diligent and participate.

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