Complaints about debt collectors are on the rise. Many of them break Federal laws on a daily basis. One of the main complaints against these people is that they call the person that owes the money entirely too much.
Here are some tips you should find useful in dealing with collectors (from a recent crown.org podcast)-
- A collector is not allowed to contact you at inconvenient times. That is, before 8 AM or after 9 PM unless you agree that they can. They are not allowed to call you at work if your boss does not allow it. Tell them to not call you at work.
- They are allowed to call your friends or other people to get contact info about you- phone number, address changes, etc. But they are prohibited from harassing or abusing you or anyone about your debt.
- It is against the law for a collector to lie or mislead you. Many of them lie and mislead all the time. If you are being harassed by a collector, you can file a complaint at your States Attorney Generals office, and even the FTC.
Dave Ramsey suggests you can talk to them no more than once every two weeks… give them updates on your situation, etc. But there is no need to speak with them any more often than this. I suggest that you do not ignore them totally, that will only make matters worse.
I want you to get yourself into a position where you can pay back the money you owe. But you don’t have to be abused by the collectors.