Mean collection ppl

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-24-2005
Mean collection ppl
17
Fri, 04-01-2005 - 12:51pm
I have a couple past accounts that have been forwarded to collection agencies. I get notices from them all the time but i'm too scared to call them. They can be really nasty.(from my experiences)
I know it will only help if I call and when i call.
Does anyone feel the same or am I just being a punk?
Anyone have any tips to help me have some courage on calling these mean ppl?

 

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Avatar for cl_phocid
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Fri, 04-01-2005 - 4:00pm

I have had negative experiences when I have called with a negative attitude.


I did have a very positive experience once when an insurance bill went to a collection agency.

All my best,
Danni

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-20-2004
Fri, 04-01-2005 - 4:01pm

I've been there. It's been a while thankfully,
but, I remembner what its like.

Call them up, say you want to discuss your account, etc etc...

The main thing they want to know is: are you trying (?)

Let them know up front, you have a willingness to pay, but that
due to X (insert good excuse), you do not have it all now.
But that you WANT to start up a payment plan.

DO NOT let them talk you into $200/mo when you can only pay $40.

Tell them to keep sending you monthly statements, and that you
will keep making payments on it.

Tell them if they want to call/harass you, you'll just declare
BK and they'll get nothing. If they press the issue I mean, trying
to get more than you can really pay.

Keep in mind (my theory) this is a job to them. They don't wanna go
home and tell their wife 'i had to terrify somebody today', at least
most anyway.

Really, all they wanna know really is you are not defaulting.
Tell them this upfront in the conversation.

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-21-2004
Fri, 04-01-2005 - 6:32pm
Well I too have accounts in collections and yes they can be horrid to deal with. I would atleast answer the phone a couple of times with them. Even though they aren't supposed to call you at work- if you avoid them at home they might start to call you at work. You might want to go ahead and send them a notice that you can't have calls at your workplace certified return reciept requested. I just signed up with Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University. He has a cd collection in the kit and I listened to the cd on collection practices. Dave says that you need to accept phone calls from the creditors atleast once every two weeks/creditor to let them know that you are trying to work your way out and that things havn't changed-you will send them the money when you get it. He has in his text book that came with the kit a form called Pro Rata. On the phone you list your budget-the items that you have to have money for each month like utilities, etc. and then you list the debts you have and how much the balance of each card is and the min. payment. Then you take the biggest payment and he has a formula that you divide it into. Then the money that you have to pay your cc bills with will be divided up accordingly with the highest debt getting the most money that month or the highest intrest card. On the front of the form it has a letter to the creditor that explains the situation on why you have been late and how your are trying to resolve it, etc. He said that this method throws the creditors off so bad b/c they are getting money, and also recieving a lot of communication on your part that it throws their whole system out of whack. He said he hasn't ever had a person be sued who has used the Pro Rata method. I am defiently going to try it. Hopefully he is right. Hope this helps!!!
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Fri, 04-01-2005 - 6:49pm

I can't stop the collections folks from being mean to you. I've been there too, and no matter how nice and apologetic you are, some of them are just plain hateful. I think there is a certain type of personality that thrives on the "power" of getting paid to harrass people. That personality flocks to the collections industry.

Anyway, you're on the right track to be trying to call them. You've got to start communicating with them--you've gotten lots of good advice already on that.

What might help you screw up your courage to just do it, is to remember that you are not your debt. You are *in* debt, you are having trouble financially, but that does not define you. Remember who you are--put in plain terms the things that matter about who you are, and when you get into a spot where someone is trying to make you feel horrid about yourself, run those things through your mind. For example, mine would be something like this: "I am a good mother to two beautiful boys, I am smart, I am kind, I am generous, etc. etc." Whatever good qualities you have that are important to you--that is who you are. The debt is just a thing, and it is good to remember that. Then those collections folks will not have any more power to make you feel bad.

Good luck. You can work your way out of this. Many of us on this board have been in your shoes and worse, and we're still around, many of us in a much better financial place today than we were when we got started. Some of us (not me, yet) are completely debt free and on to the next adventure. You can get there too.

You can do it.

Blessings,

Heather

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-28-2005
Sat, 04-02-2005 - 1:10pm

I have worked as at an collections agency and believe me htey have no sympathy for you what so ever. All they want is the money, they will try and say anything to you to get the money. The more money they collect the more more they make. My advice is to call early in the morning and work out your settlement. I'm not sure if golly or gee will work, I know it didn't work on me and I was the least mean person in the bunch. I advise you to call and take care of it asap because they will just keep calling,if they can get your neighbors number they will call your neighbor, they will call any number they can get that they might be able to reach you at. Also, if you don't want them to call you at the number that you are calling from block your number because they have caller id.

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-06-2005
Sat, 04-02-2005 - 2:16pm

Interesting...I always intuitively knew that collections agents were trained to be unsympathetic, but it's interesting to hear that for sure.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sat, 04-02-2005 - 2:51pm
First of all, why do you have to call them. You said they have sent you notices, so you have their address information. I have one account in collections that I've been paying on for 3 1/2 years. When I first found out about it, I acknowledged that I did owe the money, but unfortunately did not have the full amount. I then sent them a letter saying that I could afford to pay $25.00 per month until the bill was paid in full. If they were not satisfied with that amount, they could sue me or write it off. I then sent them a type written statement every month, showing them how much i've already paid, how much i'm paying them now and how much I have left. I never hear from them anymore and amazingly enough, it doesn't show up on my credit report. I believe that if you make effort to pay them on a consistent basis, they can't do anymore than that. Like I said, don't call them, just mail them a letter, (get a return signed receipt from the post office) saying how much you can pay them a month and then pay it. My bill was originally over $2000, and I've been sending them $25.00 a month, its not much, but its something.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sun, 04-03-2005 - 12:13pm

BTDT - collection calls suck! I would contact them (or wait for them to contact me) and be honest and direct - "I know I owe $x.xx and this is what I can send you now and I will make an honest effort to send $x.xx every month. This is the best I can do."

Good luck - these calls are not easy or fun but you will get through them.

((HUGS))
Christie

iVillage Member
Registered: 12-07-2003
Mon, 04-04-2005 - 1:38am

I too worked at a collection agency, though I was not a caller.

iVillage Member
Registered: 08-20-2004
Mon, 04-04-2005 - 6:36pm

This is way, way, way back when i got out of the army, and i had
cosigned for a CC for a previous girlfriend. Yes, I ended up
paying it, wasn't that much like $425.

But, this dude was really getting nasty with me, and I'm trying to
talk rational with him. This probably won't work if you're female,
but I ended up having a conversation with this dude that went kinda
like

look at me, look at you. I'm a stone cold born again hardcore killer,
and you, you're a little pencil neck f**got geek calling me on the
phone talking sh*t. I'll tell you what: my address is: XX,
you come over, and if you whip me, I'll write you the check, then.
If you don't, I guarentee you'll never walk right again.

The calls stopped. In the end I ended up paying it to protect my
credit rating, which unknown to me (not as sophisticated or knowlegeable
as now) they had already ruined when they started calling.

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