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Avoid Debt Collectors Easily!

AprecheApreche
edited October 2008 in Everything Else
Bad economy got you down? Debt collection agencies all over your ass? Want the phone calls to stop? It's easy!

Check this out. I got the iPhone recently, and a new phone number. I've been receiving a few calls from places looking for the person who previously had this phone number. One of them was a debt collection agency. I called them back, told them my phone number. They asked if my name was so and so, I said it was not. They said they would stop calling me. They did nothing whatsoever to confirm whether or not I was lying. I could have just been friends with the person making the call for them on their phone!

If debt collectors call, just tell them you are somebody else. Apparently "you got the wrong guy" can work.
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Comments

  • LusankyaLusankya
    If debt collectors call, just tell them you are somebody else. Apparently "you got the wrong guy" can work.
    I don't know what collection agency bought the delinquency on the previous guy's account, but I can tell you from personal experience that it's never worked for me (even after offering to prove my identity in person with ID). Nor has it worked for any customers whose phone numbers I've changed to avoid the collectors here at work.
  • RymRym
    edited October 2008
    You've really got to watch out for that fucking easily. The debt collector clearly owns it, and it's clearly something to be avoided. Thanks for the astute warning.
    Post edited by Rym on
  • HungryJoeHungryJoe
    You've really got to watch out for that fucking easily. The debt collector clearly owns it, and it's clearly something to be avoided. Thanks for the astute warning.
    True. You don't want to be caught with someone else's easily.
  • DiagorasDiagoras
    edited October 2008
    Tip #2 - If you don't have money, don't spend it.
    /sarcasm - I don't think anyone here is dumb enough to get into debt.
    Post edited by Diagoras on
  • AprecheApreche
    /sarcasm - I don't think anyone here is dumb enough to get into debt.
    Being in debt is good. I am in debt. I don't own my car (yet). I also have student loans to pay off. Being in debt you can afford is good. Being unable to repay your debts is when you're in trouble.
  • DiagorasDiagoras
    /sarcasm - I don't think anyone here is dumb enough to get into debt.
    Being in debt is good. I am in debt. I don't own my car (yet). I also have student loans to pay off. Being in debt you can afford is good. Being unable to repay your debts is when you're in trouble.
    True, there is a reasonable amount of debt. I stand corrected.
  • kage_rodkage_rod
    x3 I'm in debt because I kinda got a biiit wild with my credit card and bought a laptop. Now, that card's in the freezer and I'm trying to get some extra money to pay it off faster.
  • AprecheApreche
    x3 I'm in debt because I kinda got a biiit wild with my credit card and bought a laptop. Now, that card's in the freezer and I'm trying to get some extra money to pay it off faster.
    Why did you buy a laptop you couldn't afford?
  • GreatTeacherMacRossGreatTeacherMacRoss
    Actually, speaking as someone who worked as a debt collector, the '"You've got the wrong guy" thing will only work for a little while. Debt collectors have access to surprising amounts of information, and are not above calling people who know you or neighbors in order to verify you are you.

    The best way, and one they must legally adhere to, is to simply tell them you do not want to receive phone calls in relation to the debt. They then have something like 48 hours to update their systems. The can still contact you via mail, but depending on the state you're in, they can't do anything except damage your credit report.
  • KieyKiey
    Just saw something on CNN.com about people moving overseas after college in order to avoid paying their student loans (at least until they can afford to pay them back it seems.)
  • ChurbaChurba
    Just saw something on CNN.com about people moving overseas after college in order to avoid paying their student loans (at least until they can afford to pay them back it seems.)
    Actually, we get that a lot in Australia - People move over here, get their degree, and then immediately go home never to be seen again - And their HECS debt sits forever unpaid.
  • AprecheApreche
    Just saw something on CNN.com about people moving overseas after college in order to avoid paying their student loans (at least until they can afford to pay them back it seems.)
    Actually, we get that a lot in Australia - People move over here, get their degree, and then immediately go home never to be seen again - And their HECS debt sits forever unpaid.
    Why would someone ever give a line of credit to a foreigner if they don't have the power to collect on that debt across national borders?
  • thaneofcawdorthaneofcawdor
    Why would someone ever give a line of credit to a foreigner if they don't have the power to collect on that debt across national borders?
    Yeah, that doesn't happen. You have to be a citizen to get one of those loans, or hold a humanitarian visa. So saying it happens "a lot" is inaccurate.
  • Kate MonsterKate Monster
    Actually, speaking as someone who worked as a debt collector, the '"You've got the wrong guy" thing will only work for a little while. Debt collectors have access to surprising amounts of information, and are not above calling people who know you or neighbors in order to verify you are you.

    The best way, and one they must legally adhere to, is to simply tell them you do not want to receive phone calls in relation to the debt. They then have something like 48 hours to update their systems. The can still contact you via mail, but depending on the state you're in, they can't do anything except damage your credit report.
    I love you, honey, but you are wrong. You have to write a cease and desist letter to each of your creditors. If you debt is over 4 years old or older, you might want to work with the collection agency as they have probably purchased your debt for pennies on the dollar and you can usually pay it off for a fraction of the cost, rehab your credit, and even get payment plans.
  • AidoAido
    Avoid debt collector's what?
  • lackofcheeselackofcheese
    Just saw something on CNN.com about people moving overseas after college in order to avoid paying their student loans (at least until they can afford to pay them back it seems.)
    Actually, we get that a lot in Australia - People move over here, get their degree, and then immediately go home never to be seen again - And their HECS debt sits forever unpaid.
    I'm an Australian citizen, and I might leave here with an unpaid HECS debt ;)
  • ananthymousananthymous
    The other way to avoid debt collectors is to just pay off your debt.

    The Consumerist has an article about someone who paid off $14330 in 20 months. Comprehensive article about someone serious about getting out of debt. The ringer, to me, is Month 2:

    MONTH 2: GO CASH-ONLY:
    I cut up every single card except one for emergencies. I actually put my remaining credit card in a big plastic cup full of water and stuck it in the freezer. That way, I'd really have to work at it to get that card. Cash only was the rule. If I did not have the cash, I did not need it. It's still in the freezer 20 months later.

    Dramatic, but ultimately effective.

    Reader Pays Off $14,330 In 20 Months With Our Tips
  • NuriNuri

    I actually put my remaining credit card in a big plastic cup full of water and stuck it in the freezer. That way, I'd really have to work at it to get that card.
    It works better if you use a metal cup or bowl so you can't just microwave it. Tip from a financing grad school seminar. :) That is, if you don't have the willpower to have restraint with your money.
  • OmnutiaOmnutia
    I've always wondered about the cards in ice thing. Wouldn't a sledge hammer be able to crack it open with the card serving as a pre-built fault?
  • DaveDave
    Reading that article, it mostly just sounds like a lot of things sane people would do anyway (and so, not get into debt in the first place). "Oh I spent all my money at overpriced grocery stores, on manicures, and a FUCKING GARDNER! Now I just cut back and see how easy it is to get out of debt?" Maybe if you have a 14k debt you don't need to be sending money to public television.

    The personal success story is a lot more appealing when the person doesn't seem like such a moron going in.
  • HungryJoeHungryJoe
    x3 I'm in debt because I kinda got a biiit wild with my credit card and bought a laptop. Now, that card's in the freezer and I'm trying to get some extra money to pay it off faster.
    Why did you buy a laptop you couldn't afford?
    Don't worry about it. You need your laptop. You're doing the right thing by paying for it as fast as you can.
  • AprecheApreche

    MONTH 2: GO CASH-ONLY:
    I cut up every single card except one for emergencies. I actually put my remaining credit card in a big plastic cup full of water and stuck it in the freezer. That way, I'd really have to work at it to get that card. Cash only was the rule. If I did not have the cash, I did not need it. It's still in the freezer 20 months later.
    Maybe if he didn't charge things he couldn't afford to pay for, he wouldn't have had the debt in the first place.
  • SailSail
    Avoid debt collector's what?
  • Kate MonsterKate Monster
    Avoid debt collector's what?
    Phone calls and letters, I assumed.
  • NuriNuri

    MONTH 2: GO CASH-ONLY:
    I cut up every single card except one for emergencies. I actually put my remaining credit card in a big plastic cup full of water and stuck it in the freezer. That way, I'd really have to work at it to get that card. Cash only was the rule. If I did not have the cash, I did not need it. It's still in the freezer 20 months later.
    Maybe if he didn't charge things he couldn't afford to pay for, he wouldn't have had the debt in the first place.
    Agreed. Most people who run into credit card problems use the card to buy things they have no forseeable way to pay off effectively. I balance my credit card into my budget. I also micromanage my budget in Excel, checking my online statements every few days to add things and check things off. Amazingly, I have the will power to resist the lure of those things I want but really shouldn't buy right now. It's different if it's something you NEED, like you wreck your car and have to pay for repairs on the credit card. But people don't generally get 14k in debt from wrecking their car. I wish some people would get a frickin clue...and a backbone. Stand up for your money...don't let the greedy voice in your head bully it around. :)
  • YoshoKatanaYoshoKatana
    As someone who currently works in a collections office for large Rochester- and Buffalo-area hospitals, I can say that it's ridiculously easy to avoid going to collections. HIPAA regulations were recently changed so that if you make a payment at least every 90 days, you won't be sent to collections. It didn't specify how much you need to pay, so you could conceivably pay $1 every 3 months for your entire life. This has been implemented in some hospitals already in Buffalo, and others are starting it now. Now, we're not supposed to make the consumers aware of this information, because then everyone will take advantage of it, but you're all such nice people, so there we go.

    If you tell us (in pre-collections) that the phone number or address is wrong then we will remove it. However, we check five different databases every time we lose information, and when it goes to collections they will colloquially "pound you in the ass."
  • NuriNuri
    HIPAA regulations were recently changed so that if you make a payment at least every 90 days, you won't be sent to collections.
    Unfortunately, this doesn't help when someone told you they paid the bill, but really it was sent to collections. That happened to me (my parents were supposed to pay a hospital bill when I was in college) and it got sent to collections because they didn't pay it, but it was in my name. It's the only fucked up thing on my credit report, and I paid it off as soon as I could get ahold of the collection agency (took a year and a half because they are retarded, didn't send me a single written notice, and would put me on hold for hours when I took their calls).

    I think the most irritating thing about collections is that they call you and don't leave you any useful info about getting back to them, or if you answer they put you on hold for an hour (I hang up after an hour, often before that).The not sending a written notice...I'm pretty sure that's not universal, and I'm pretty sure it's also illegal (under the fair debt collection act). Seriously, I was trying to pay this off for over a year and couldn't find someone to pay? WTF?
  • AprecheApreche
    I went to the hospital once when I was in Rochester. They sent me a bill, even though I had given them my insurance info. The insurance paid them, and they still tried to bill me. I never paid them. They got the money from my insurance company, but there were still trying to come after me.
  • Kate MonsterKate Monster
    I went to the hospital once when I was in Rochester. They sent me a bill, even though I had given them my insurance info. The insurance paid them, and they still tried to bill me. I never paid them. They got the money from my insurance company, but there were still trying to come after me.
    They were not still trying to come after you. Almost every hospital will send you a copy of the bill. That isn't an attempt at collections, that is simply standard operating procedure.
  • AprecheApreche
    They were not still trying to come after you. Almost every hospital will send you a copy of the bill. That isn't an attempt at collections, that is simply standard operating procedure.
    This I know. However, they were definitely trying to come after me. They didn't send me just one bill. They kept sending and sending and sending. It clearly stated there was an unpaid balance, and that I owed them hundreds of dollars. They even called me once, and offered financing solutions. When I did a free credit report back in '05 one of the agencies listed an unpaid debt with the hospital. That doesn't show up anymore, though.
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