Comments on: A Quick Primer for Dealing with Collection Agencies

By: MarilynCrabcakes

MarilynCrabcakes — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:12:31 +0000

I worked at a Collections Agency right after college as a receptionist. Most collectors worth their salt won’t pull our their “bad cop” if you show a willingness to work with them to pay the debt off. Try not to hang up on them, but instead ask if you can speak with them at a later time, when you feel more prepared to take the call. Also, make sure to have them send you a breakdown of the debt. Sometimes the company pursuing the debt will tack on extra fees because they know that they will have to turn over some of the returns to the collection agency and want to recoup more of their losses. You can often negotiate those extra charges away and just pay the original bill.

By: Johanna Tuominen@twitter

Johanna Tuominen@twitter — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:17:07 +0000

I don’t really get why people hate “them” (=collection agencies) so much and act as though their rights have somehow been violated when collectors call. I didn’t get the “hang up on debt collectors” part of the advice, because you’re only harming yourself if you do that. They won’t mind – they only get more money in interests and fees when they actually get to you. It’s money you owe, and money you had a chance to pay to the original debtor, but you didn’t. The longer you drag it, the higher the interest and fees on top of the original bill, so yes, don’t try and ignore the collectors.

By: Emma Peel

Emma Peel — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 03:48:26 +0000

If they’re calling about a federal student loan, remember all bets are off. They CAN garnish your wages and take your tax refund and even pick away at your Social Security if, god forbid, you still owe the government by then. And they will. The good news is it’s a lot easier to wipe a screwed-up student loan off your credit report than most other things.

By: mouthalmighty

mouthalmighty — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 23:01:37 +0000

I’ve had multiple bills (incorrectly) sent to collections. It’s the worst. The first time it happened, I dealt with the collection agency, but as soon as they started blowing up my cell, I sent a and they sent me back a letter saying, “Your debt has been cleared”. The next few times, I went straight to the original biller (my medical provider, who are collection agency happy in a way that should probably be illegal).

By: Jerry Newman@facebook

Jerry Newman@facebook — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:54:28 +0000

here’s a good guide.. http://www.cardreport.com/laws/statute-of-limitations.html

By: Jerry Newman@facebook

Jerry Newman@facebook — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:52:22 +0000

Also check your state’s statute of limitations for collecting bills. Each state is different, but say it is 3 yrs…after 3 yrs they can’t collect or take u to court. It will prob kill your credit tho.

By: moelac

moelac — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 21:36:15 +0000

also – first! check with the company/institution the collections agency says you owe money to. it might be a mistake. this happened to me with a hospital. i do (kinda, maybe, still working it out) owe the money, but it should not have been passed on to collections.